considered as source books, whence he was to draw so much of that
far-reaching and intimate knowledge of inner history which has
perennially astonished his readers. The Crimes were published in Paris,
in 1839-40, in eight volumes, comprising eighteen titles--all of which
now appear in the present carefully translated text. The success of the
original work was instantaneous. Dumas laughingly said that he thought
he had exhausted the subject of famous crimes, until the work was off the
press, when he immediately became deluged with letters from every
province in France, supplying him with material upon other deeds of
violence! The subjects which he has chosen, however, are of both
historic and dramatic importance, and they have the added value of giving
the modern reader a clear picture of the state of semi-lawlessness which
existed in Europe, during the middle ages. "The Borgias, the Cenci,
Urbain Grandier, the Marchioness of Brinvilliers, the Marchioness of
Ganges, and the rest--what subjects for the pen of Dumas!" exclaims
Garnett.

Space does not permit us to consider in detail the material here
collected, although each title will be found to present points of special
interest. The first volume comprises the annals of the Borgias and the
Cenci. The name of the noted and notorious Florentine family has become
a synonym for intrigue and violence, and yet the Borgias have not been
without stanch defenders in history.

Another famous Italian story is that of the Cenci. The beautiful
Beatrice Cenci--celebrated in the painting of Guido, the sixteenth
century romance of Guerrazi, and the poetic tragedy of Shelley, not to
mention numerous succeeding works inspired by her hapless fate--will
always remain a shadowy figure and one of infinite pathos.