From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed: This romance is one of the very few which Dumas drew from a previously written drama. It seems likely that in haste to supply some work for which he had contracted, probably a serial production, and at a loss for a subject, he bethought himself of composing one from among the less successful of his stage pieces. In any case, this consists of the dialogue of "Lorenzino" (see page 145), with some historical additions, and the stage directions replaced by suitable connective matter.
It deals with the murder of Duke Alexandre de Medici by his cousin Lorenzo. The period is 1537, extended slightly to 1547 at the end.
Dumas had no helpers here, unless for the arranging of the intercalated historical details.
Original edition: Paris, Michel Lévy Frères, 1 vol., 1861. (Thieme.)
It now fills one volume in the standard Calmann-Lévy edition, and one also in their "Musée Littéraire."
In Le Vasseur's "Alexandre Dumas Illustré" it forms part of Vol. XI.
