Dumas, Alexandre, père

French author born as Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, but known as Alexandre Dumas, père. His ancestry can be traced back to Marie Cessette Dumas, a black slave woman from Haiti. She had a son, Thomas Alexandre Dumas, Alexandre Dumas' father, with a French marquis who became a general in the French Revolution and who died when his son was only four years old. The author is said to have inherited his father's flamboyant personality, which resulted in a vast literary output and an insatiable taste for the good things in life: food, wine and women – there are many stories about his conquests. Dumas made a great deal of money from his books, which did not prevent him from working up enormous debts. His interest in food resulted in a gastronomic encyclopaedia that was published after his death. He always surrounded himself with young mistresses and he fathered many children, but the only one he acknowledged was Alexandre, later known as the author Alexandre Dumas, fils.