The Whites and the Blues

The novel is set in France during the late 18th century following the period of the Reign of Terror and the Thermidorian Reaction which ended the radical phase of the Revolution. The Whites represent the royalists and counter-revolutionaries while the Blues are the republicans who support the revolutionary government. At the heart of the story is the tension between these two opposing factions as France is engulfed in civil unrest. Dumas uses a combination of fictional and historical characters to illustrate the tumultuous events of the time with particular focus on the military campaigns that helped shape the future of France.