Marie Duplessis was based on Duplessis. It appeared within a year of her death. In the book, Dumas became "Armand Duval" and Duplessis "Marguerite Gautier". Dumas also adapted his story as a play, which inspired Giuseppe Verdi's opera "La traviata" and various films. Biographical Studies Citations Marie Duplessis Marie Duplessis (15 January 1824 – 3 February 1847) was a French courtesan and mistress to a number of prominent and wealthy men. She was the inspiration for Marguerite Gautier, the main character of "La Dame aux Camélias" by Alexandre Dumas the younger, one of Duplessis' lovers. Much of what is known about her
A Death in the Desert Cather's reading of Robert Browning. Allusions to Alexandre Dumas, fils' "La dame aux camelias" and Lucretius's "De rerum natura" have also been found. A Death in the Desert "A Death in the Desert" is a short story by Willa Cather. It was first published in "The Scribner's" in January 1903. Everett is on a train from Holdrege, Nebraska to Cheyenne, Wyoming. He is a man that looks like his older prodigy brother Adriance--this similarity haunts him throughout the entire novel and robs him of his own personality. He will always be Adriance's brother. Moreover, Gussie Davis's song "In The Baggage