From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed: A record of travel in New Zealand, Australia, the Islands of the Pacific, California and Mexico, by a lady who assumed the pen-name of Marie Giovanni. Period 1843-1853.
Dumas claims that he took this down from the lady's own lips, and possibly that was so in parts, but not, one feels certain, entirely. The earlier portions seem to have been composed by drawing upon recollections of events in the bygone past ; there are errors and exaggerations in the New Zealand portions at least. The American portions seem more likely to be accurate, giving the impression that they were quite recent or that notes had been taken at or near the time of their occurrence. In any case, the work is quite interesting and vivacious, as one would expect from its editor. During its appearance in "Le Siècle," Dumas claims that no proofs were rendered and that the MS. had been very badly maltreated: "pruned, not with shears or a sickle, but with a scythe," he says. As a consequence he reprinted the faulty chapters in "Le Mousquetaire" for April 4th and 5th, 1855, and threatened to do as much for any other ill-rendered portions. Since no more appeared in his journal, one may perhaps take it that improvement resulted from his admonitions.
First ran through the pages of "Le Siècle " in 1855.
Later Dumas reprinted it in his paper "Le Monte-Cristo," somewhat abridged, between November 17th, 1859, and January 26th, 1860.
Original edition : Paris, Cadot, 4 vols., 8vo., 1856.
Illustrated edition : Paris, Legrand, Troussel et Pomey.
Brussels, Méline, Cans et Cie., 4 vols., 32mo., 185—.
A German translation appeared in 3 vols.. Best, Vienna and Leipsic, 1855, and it was issued in the Hetzel Collection during the same year.
This work has never been included in the collected French editions.
References :—
Dumas: "Le Mousquetaire:" Causerie for April 4th, 1855. Under that date and the following were there printed two chapters of the text.
"New Zealand Herald," an article by the late Frank Norton appeared on March 13th and 27th, 1909.
