The Count of Monte Cristo. Tomo I

By Alexandre Dumas

Book Overview

The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by French author Alexandre Dumas (p re) completed in 1844. It is one of the author's most popular works, along with The Three Musketeers. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet. The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815-1839: the era of the Bourbon Restoration through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France. It begins just before the Hundred Days period (when Napoleon returned to power after his exile). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book, an adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness. It centres around a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune, and sets about getting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. However, his plans have devastating consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty. In addition, it is a story that involves romance, loyalty, betrayal, and selfishness, shown throughout the story as characters slowly reveal their true inner nature. The book is considered a literary classic today. According to Luc Sante, "The Count of Monte Cristo has become a fixture of Western civilization's literature, as inescapable and immediately identifiable as Mickey Mouse, Noah's flood, and the story of Little Red Riding Hood."

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1535555831
• ISBN13: 9781535555838
• Release Date: July 2016
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 708 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

great edition

This edition is in French and it is NOT abridged. Exactly what I was looking for!

This IS the orginal, unabridged French novel

Despite what one of the reviewers above claims, this IS the original, unabridged French classic novel. It is over 1500 pages long (not the mere 150 pages claimed). It is a beautiful, classic story, with the gorgeous prose and intricate plots which Dumas is renowned for. One of my absolute favorite books. Of course, this particular ISBN is written in French.

The Count of Monte Cristo in the original French

Twenty-five years ago, I was in freshman college French class, and could read plays and short stories by the great French authors. A recent visit by a French exchange student showed me how much I'd forgotten, so I decided to try reading French again. This great tale by Alexandre Dumas was the perfect way to start: it's the familiar story of false imprisonment and exceedingly complex revenge in the early 19th century. This is the unabridged version with each of 2 volumes running to 750 pages, so it became my bedtime companion for months. Dumas is a wonderful story-teller, almost always amusing or exciting. It's light reading; my old vocabulary wouldn't have been up to metaphors or symbolism. The only draw-back is a lack of footnotes: much of the action takes place in Italy and the text is sprinkled with some Italian terms that I couldn't translate. The Oxford English translations of Dumas' works offer little tidbits of historical and geographic information that are very helpful in understanding context; none of that is available here. Overall though, I heartily recommend this edition for the reader who wants to wade into the original works of a great French novelist.