From review in Time.com Books: Dumas Returns Seventy-three years after the death of Alexandre Dumas, his Journal of Madame Giovanni was translated for the first time into English, published for the first time in the U.S. Publishers were charmed by its vague topicality and timeliness (most of the action takes place in the South Pacific and San Francisco). from fantastic fiction.com This is a unique record of the travels of a Parisian lady to New Zealand, Tahiti, New Caledonia, the Hawaiian Islands, California and Mexico. Like many of the works of Alexander Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, is somewhat of an enigma. The account is so amazingly accurate even to the minutest details of its historic setting and local colour as to leave no doubt that the work was based on the actual experiences of a traveller who has visited these regions