The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Christo by Tom Reiss
1789 to 1799, a turbulent decade in the history of France and a period that would bring great social changes and political upheaval that would be felt far beyond that country’s borders. It was a time when it seemed like anything could be possible and anyone could achieve anything, just ask one of the junior officers of the La Fère Artillery Regiment.
Indeed it was possible for even Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, the mixed race son of a French aristocrat and a slave woman of African descent to rise as high as general-in-chief (a feat that would not be repeated until the late 20th Century).