"The Black Tulip" is a historical novel written by Alexandre Dumas. The story begins with a historical event - the 1672 lynching of the Dutch Grand Pensionary (roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister) Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis, by a wild mob of their own countrymen - considered by many as one of the most painful episodes in Dutch history, described by Dumas with a dramatic intensity. It then unfold around the city of Haarlem, Netherlands, that has set a prize of 100,000 guilders to the person who can grow a black tulip, sparking competition between the country's best gardeners to win the money, honor and fame.