La tulipe noire

by Alexandre Dumas

"La tulipe noire" by Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet is a novel published in 1850. Set during the turbulent Dutch year of 1672, the story follows Cornélius van Baerle, a horticulturist obsessed with cultivating a rare black tulip worth a fortune. When political upheaval leads to his imprisonment, he smuggles precious tulip bulbs into his cell. There, the jailer's daughter Rosa falls in love with him and helps tend his prized flower—but a jealous rival threatens to steal everything he's worked for.