Henri III: A Play in Five Acts

Dumas wrote and staged Henri III (1829) before Hugo weighed in with the more famous Hernani (1831). It was the opening salvo in the war between The Romantics and the Classicists. Dumas' play was less controversial and more successful than Hugo's play. Dumas' hero, Saint Megrin, a fiery opponent of the Duke of Guise and a favorite of Henry III is also in love with the Duke's wife. Saint Megrin's partiality for the King also has brought him into conflict with Henry's unscrupulous mother Cathe...