Five-minute digest

The Black Tulip

Alexandre Dumas

Summary

The Black Tulip is a short historical novel by Alexandre Dumas, published in 1850 and set in the Netherlands in 1672. It opens with a historical event, the murder of the statesman John de Witt and his brother Cornelius by a mob at The Hague, while the young William of Orange rises to power. Cornelius van Baerle, a wealthy and peaceful tulip grower of Dort and the godson of Cornelius de Witt, has been given a packet of papers by his godfather to keep, without knowing what it contains. His jealous neighbor Isaac Boxtel, also a tulip grower, has been spying on him and denounces him as a traitor. Van Baerle is condemned to death, but the sentence is changed to life imprisonment in the fortress of Loewestein. There he meets Rosa, the daughter of his harsh jailer Gryphus. Rosa cannot read, so Cornelius teaches her, and together they secretly cultivate the bulbs of a black tulip, a flower that the Horticultural Society of Haarlem has offered a hundred thousand guilders to whoever first grows. Boxtel follows the bulb, steals the flower, and claims the prize. Rosa travels to Haarlem and appeals to William of Orange, who uncovers the truth. The tulip is named for Rosa, Cornelius is freed, and the two marry. The book is a romance of patience, honesty and love that grows in confinement, and its picture of mob violence and political justice gives it depth. It is suitable for grades 7-12, though the opening scene of the de Witts' murder is violent and teachers may want to prepare younger readers. The novel also introduces students to the Dutch Republic of the seventeenth century, its prosperous merchant towns, its passion for rare flowers and its bitter political quarrels, and it makes a good first Dumas for readers not yet ready for the long musketeer novels. Discussion can return again and again to the contrast between Boxtel, who wants the tulip for money and fame, and Cornelius and Rosa, who love the flower itself and each other.

Top Lessons

Envy
Boxtel's envy of his neighbor leads to spying, false accusation and theft. Dumas shows envy destroying the envious man.
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Patience in prison
Cornelius, wrongly imprisoned, finds purpose in caring for the tulip and teaching Rosa.
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The mob and justice
The opening murder shows a crowd acting without law, while the ending shows a ruler judging fairly.
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Verified Quotes

“Rosa watched over her tulip as a mother over her child, or a dove over her eggs”

— Alexandre Dumas, The Black Tulip, Chapter 23, trans. Anonymous 19th-century translation.Quote card

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“Van Baerle was one of the tulip-growers who were struck with the idea; Boxtel thought of it in the light of a speculation”

— Alexandre Dumas, The Black Tulip, Chapter 6, trans. Anonymous 19th-century translation.Quote card

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The Black Tulip

Summary

Top Lessons

Envy

Patience in prison

The mob and justice

Verified Quotes