 Alexandre Dumas based events in the novel on "", an attempt by the Marquis Alexandre Gonsse de Rougeville to communicate with Marie Antoinette by hiding a secret message in the petals of a carnation.According to the biography "La vie d'Alexandre Dumas père" by J. Lucas-Dubreton, Dumas had originally titled the work "Le Chevalier de Rougeville", but changed the title to "Le Chevalier de Maison-Rouge" after receiving a complaint from the son of the Marquis de Rougeville.