The Count of Monte Cristo [Paperback]

In the post-Napoleonic era, Edmond Dantès, a young sailor from Marseilles, is poised to become captain of his own ship and to marry his beloved. But spiteful enemies provoke his arrest, condemning him to lifelong imprisonment. Then Edmond’s sole companion in prison reveals his secret plan of escape and a letter with directions to hidden riches on the island of Monte Cristo—a treasure trove that will eventually fund Edmund’s dream of creating a new identity for himself: the mysterious and powerful Count of Monte Cristo.

InThe Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas employed all the elements of compelling drama—suspense, intrigue, love, vengeance, rousing adventure, and the triumph of good over evil—that contribute to this classic story’s irresistible and timeless appeal.“A piece of perfect storytelling.”—Robert Louis StevensonAlexandre Dumaswas born July 24, 1802, at Villiers-Cotterets, France, the son of Napoleon's famous mulatto general, Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie. Dumas began writing at an early age and saw his first success in a play he wrote entitledHenri III et sa Cour(1829). A prolific author, Dumas was also an adventurer and took part in the Revolution of 1830. Dumas is most famous for his brilliant historical novels, which he wrote with collaborators, mainly Auguste Maquet, and which were serialized in the popular press of the day. His most popular works areThe Three Musketeers(1844),The Count of Monte Cristo(1844-45), andThe Man in the Iron Mask(1848-50). Dumas made and lost several fortunes, and died penniless on December 5, 1870.

Roger Celestinis a professor of French and comparative literature at the University of Connecticut. He has published on French authors from the Renaissance to the twentieth century and is coeditor of the journalContemporary French & Francophone Studies/SITES.Chapter I

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