In 1844–45, while Alexandre Dumas was working on his two classic novels, The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, he found time to write a play called Sylvandire. A young provincial, Roger Tancred d'Anguilem, arrives in Paris to fight a legal battle for a huge inheritance. His opponent is an Indian called Afghano, who has bribed the judges. The case appears lost until Roger's approached by a sleazy lawyer who promises him success--but only if he marries a woman sight unseen. Sylvandire, his new wife, turns out to be a stunning beauty, but the marriage is intended to deliver his spouse as the unwilling mistress of a royal favorite, who can imprison Roger if he resists. The Dumasian themes of unjust imprisonment, followed by implacable revenge, which were more fully developed in Monte Cristo, here make their first appearance in this entertaining and swift-moving comedy.
