The Companions of Jehu was inspired by a story in Charles Nodier's Souvenirs de la Revolution of four young highwaymen who fought their way out of a prison to avoid the guillotine. Dumas weaves a romantic tale involving Roland, Sir John, and the Companions of Jehu, a band of aristocratic royalists, robbing government diligences in support their righteous cause. Alexandre Dumas was a French writer whose works have been translated into nearly 100 languages. His historical novels include The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, The Corsican Brothers, and The Man in the Iron Mask.