Synopses & Reviews
The Count of Monte-Cristo was inspired by an anecdote from the Parisian police archives, a pearl of a story, Dumas called it, 'A rough, shapeless pearl, of no value, waiting for its jeweller'. Edmond Dantè's betrayal, his incarceration in the fortress-prison of If, his search for Abbé Faria's hidden treasure, and his reappearance, now fabulously rich, as the brooding, Byronic and vengeful Count of Monte-Cristo - these are the bare outlines of a book which Thackeray, for one, found impossible to put down. Dumas set his magnificent novel of L'action et l'amour in nineteenth-century metropolitan Paris with interludes in Marseilles and Rome. In it he gave free rein to the sensational - hashish-smoking, vampirism and sex - and to his interest in travel, classical myth, the orient, human psychology and disguises. The Count of Monte-Cristo (1844-46) is one of the great popular novels of all time, and a landmark in the development of modern popular fiction.
Review
"I began to read Monte Cristo at six one morning and never stopped till eleven at night." William Thackeray in an 1853 letter to a friend
Review
"The classic book had a lot of complex, smart things to say about revenge....It's also a hell of a lot of fun to read." Jeff Stark, Salon.com
Review
"Dumas was... a summit of art. Nobody ever could, or did, or will improve upon Dumas's romances and plays." George Bernard Shaw
Synopsis
This enduringly popular tale of love and revenge in the post-Napoleonic era follows Edmond Dantes as he prepares to captain his own ship and marry his beloved Mercedes. But on his wedding day, he is betrayed by spiteful enemies and arrested on trumped-up charges. Condemned to lifelong imprisonment, he befriends Faria, a priest and fellow inmate with an escape plan. When Faria dies, Edmond escapes alone. Free at last, and incredibly wealthy, Edmond enters society posing as the Count of Monte Cristo to reclaim his lost love and enact a terrible vengeance on his accusers.
About the Author
Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870) author of more than ninety plays and many novels was well-known in Parisian society and was a contemporary of Victor Hugo. After the success of The Count of Monte Cristo, Dumas dumped his entire fortune into his own Chateau de Monte Cristo and was then forced to flee to Belgium to escape his creditors. He died penniless but optimistic, saying of death, "I shall tell her a story, and she will be kind to me."