Adventures in Switzerland

Alexandre Dumas, the French novelist famed for adventures such as "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo," actually cut his teeth as a writer for the theater. Even then, his first actual book was not anything like a swashbuckler, but is instead this chronicle of his travels around Switzerland in 1832, when he was even younger than the century itself. In his forward, "Adventures in Switzerland," Dumas says he made this, his first trip abroad, to recover from cholera; in his introduction, translator and editor A. Craig Bell says that may be true but it certainly didn't hurt that Dumas thought it would be a good idea to, essentially, get out of Dodge when he learned French authorities were considering arresting him because of his Republican positions in wake of recent political upheaval. Dumas took full advantage of his temporary exile, traveling around the country when traveling was still far from easy, from village to city to countryside, going fishing and visiting salt mines and dining on bear steak and climbing mountains. Luckily, he made copious notes along the way. On his return, Dumas found a ready audience for a series of articles that appeared in 1833 in the magazine "Revue des deux Mondes," which is still being published; the book version was published in 1834. Though Dumas had earned some fame and fortune from his plays before, now everything jumped to the next level. Much later, after his novels made Dumas a household name, Dumas wrote in his memoirs that this book was why both he and the public "began to see I had some genius." Bell says, "There is something of everything in [this book]: tragedy, comedy, description, politics, even philosophy. But what gives it its unique and individual flavor is Dumas itself." Bell should know. The standard French edition of the work runs to 250,000 words in three volumes. It was originally published simply as "Impressions de Voyage," literally translated as "Travel Impressions," but after Dumas published similar books about other journeys, "En Suisse," or "in Switzerland" was added to the title to differentiate this book from the others. To give us this particular book, Bell not only worked with fellow translator R.W. Plummer but managed to abridge all that verbiage down to a single 246-page (including index) volume more in line with modern tastes. The "Wall Street Journal," in recommending the best books about adventures in the Alps, says the book "abounds with juicy anecdotes and shrewd observations." Of course, that article is talking about Dumas' words, but if it is recommending this particular edition, it must think Bell in his editing, and he and Plummer in their translating, succeeded in meeting their goal. This copy is the first American edition-it was originally published in the UK with the title "Travels in Switzerland." (The title printed on the cover and spine is "Alexandre Dumas' Adventures in Switzerland," but that is not how the book is cataloged by the Library of Congress nor how it is usually discoverable in internet searches.) Some references say it is a "hybrid edition," with the pages actually printed by the UK publisher, Cresset Press, and assembled and distributed by the American publisher with which it had a cooperative agreement, the Chilton Company-Book Division. It is in exceptional condition for a book released in 1960. The only visible flaw is the expected light age tanning to the pages and upper edges of the cover. It is quarter-bound with brown bookcloth at the spine and the rest of the boards covered in a lovely Delft blue and white patterned paper. No marks, tears, or chips are anywhere on the covers. The title and publisher's name, with a couple of lines of decoration are stamped in gold on the spine; the stamping is whole and quite vivid. The binding is tight and square and there are no marks or any other flaws anywhere on the pages or the inside of the boards. The dust jacket shows more wear but is still in very good shape. There is.…