The Club Dumas
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The Club Dumas is a 1993 novel by Arturo Pérez-Reverte. The book is set in a world of antiquarian booksellers echoing his previous work, The Flanders Panel.
The story follows the events of a book dealer, Lucas Corso, who is hired to authenticate a rare manuscript by Alexandre Dumas. Corso's investigation leads him to seek out two copies of a rare book known as "De Umbrarum Regni Novem Portis" (The Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows). Along the way, Corso encounters a host of intriguing characters on his journey of investigation, including devil worshippers, obsessed bibliophiles and a hypnotically enticing femme fatale. Corso's travels take him to Madrid (Spain), Sintra (Portugal), Paris (France) and Toledo (Spain).
The book is full of details that range from the working habits of Alexandre Dumas to how one might go about forging a 17th-century text, as well as insight into demonology, and the nature of social constructionism.
Roman Polanski's film, The Ninth Gate was adapted from Reverte's novel, simplifying some aspects of the plot and removing the Dumas connection entirely.
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[edit] Books mentioned in The Club Dumas
The Club Dumas is a bibliophile's fantasy. Almost every page includes a literary reference, or a description of a rare edition of a famous work. Lucas Corso also comes across a number of books on the occult, presumably of Perez-Reverte's invention.
[edit] Real books
- Stendahl. The Charterhouse of Parma - supposedly translated by the narrator.
- Dumas, Alexandre. The Three Musketeers
- Sabatini, Rafael. Captain Blood
- Sabatini, Rafael. Scaramouche
- Le Siècle, magazine which originally serialized The Three Musketeers between March and July 1844
- Cazotte, Jacques. The Devil in Love.
- Kramer, Heinrich and Sprenger, Jacob. Malleus Maleficarum. Lyon. 1519 - a book in the Ungern Foundation library written by Dominican monks as a tool for the Inquisition
[edit] Fictional Books Concerning the Occult
- Ollero, Julio. Dictionary of Rare and Improbable Books
- Torchia, Aristide. Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingodom of Shadows. Venice: Torchiam. 1666 - the book Lucas Corso is looking for, which contains reprints of illustrations from the Delomelanicon.
- (no author). Delomelanicon, or Invocation of Darkness 4000 BC? - a long-destroyed book containing a formula for summoning the devil, written by Lucifer himself
- Baroness Ungern. Isis, the Naked Virgin aka "Naked Isis" 199? - a modern non-fiction book written about the occult, published by one of the characters
- Corpus Hermeticum. - a book mentioning the existence of the Delomalanicon
- Asclemandres. - a book mentioning the existence of the Delomalanicon
- Mateu. Universal Bibliography. 1929 - a rare books guide used by Corso and his rivals
- Tamisso, Nicholas. The Secrets of Wisdom. Venice: Torchiam. 1650 - a 3 volume work on the occult published by Torchiam
- Key to Captive Thoughts Venice: Torchiam. 1653 - a work on the occult published by Torchiam
- A Curious Explanation of Mysteries and Hieroglyphs. Venice: Torchiam. 1659 - a work on the occult published by Torchiam
- The Three Books of the Art. Venice: Torchiam. 1658 - a 6 volume work on the occult published by Torchiam
- Trevisano, Bernardo. The Lost World. Venice: Torchiam. 1661 - a work on the occult published by Torchiam
- Restructor omnium rerum - a book in collector Victor Fargas' library
- Disertazioni sopra le apprarizioni de' spiriti e diavoli - a book in collector Victor Fargas' library
- De origine, moribus et rebus gestis Satanae - a book in collector Victor Fargas' library
- de Plancy, Collin. Infernal Dictionary. 1842 - - a book in collector Victor Fargas' library
- Fioravanti, Leonardo. Compendi dei secreti. 1571 - a book in collector Victor Fargas' library
- The Book of Wonders
- Kircher, Atanasius. Oedipus Aegiptacus Rome. 1652 - a book in collector Victor Fargas' library
- Baroness Ungern. The Devli, History and Legend. 199? - a modern non-fiction book written about the occult, published by one of the characters
- Remy, Nicholas. Daemonlatriae Libri'.' - a book in the Ungern Foundation library
- Guazzo, Francesco Maria. Compendium Maleficarum. - a book in the Ungern Foundation library
- Sinistriari, Ludovico. De Daemonialitate et Incubus et Sucubus. - a book in the Ungern Foundation library
- del Rio, Martin. Disquisitionum Magicarum. 1599-1600 - a three-volume work on demonic magic in the Ungern Foundation library
[edit] Other Fictional Books
- Balkan, Boris. Lupin
- Balkan, Boris. Raffles
- Balkan, Boris. Rocambole
- Balkan, Boris. Holmes
- Balkan, Boris. Dumas: the Shadow of a Giant
[edit] Other Literary References
The fictional Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingodom of Shadows and Delomalanicon have histories intertwined with many real authors and other historical figures.
