Description

The memoir opens with Dumas wrestling with a seemingly impossible task: throwing a lavish fancy‑dress ball for three or four hundred guests while living in a modest apartment of just a dining‑room, sitting‑room, bedroom and study. He persuades his landlord to let him use a set of empty rooms on the same floor and instantly enlists a roster of celebrated artists—Delacroix, the Boulanger brothers, Grandville, Barye and others—to turn the bare walls into spectacular canvases, each choosing a literary or historical scene to illustrate. Their collaborative frenzy turns the space into a living gallery, with painted ceilings, animal‑themed window frames and a massive orchestral panel that promises an unforgettable visual feast.

Meanwhile, Dumas plans the banquet’s centerpiece: game he will hunt himself. He arranges a hunting party in the forest of La Ferté‑Vidame, coordinating with friends and officials to secure permits and transport. A snowstorm delays the journey, turning the night‑long travel into an adventure that heightens the anticipation for the evening’s celebration.

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