The Black Tulip is a historical novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is set in the Netherlands during the Dutch Golden Age and tells the story of Cornelius van Baerle, a tulip grower who is unjustly imprisoned for a crime he did not commit. While in prison, Cornelius becomes friends with a fellow inmate, Isaac Boxtel, who is a master tulip grower. Together, they develop a new variety of tulip, the black tulip, which becomes a symbol of hope and resistance against the tyranny of the Dutch government.