The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Clothbound Classics)

Edmond Dantes is as happy as a young man can be. He has just completed a successful voyage. Unfortunately the captain of the ship died during the trip but because of the way Edmond brought the ship safely home, the owner of the ship, Mr Morrel, has told him that he will become the captain. He is off to see his beloved father and his soon to be wife, the lovely Mercedes, both of whom are waiting for him. He has everything in life to look forward to. But like the snake in the Garden of Eden, there is one who is jealous of his good fortune, Mr Danglers, whose every hope in life is made of avarice. Edmond Dantes is a pure, happy soul who has aroused hatred in Danglers, who is is jealous of his good fortune in being named captain. It would seem that Danglers would envy and take all happiness away from Dantes, just because Danglers is not capable of truly feeling happiness and contentment himself. So he devises a plot to rob young Edmond Dantes of every bit of happiness. There is another young man who is envious of Edmond Dantes because he has the love of the beautiful Mercedes. This is Mercedes' cousin, Fernand, who wants Mercedes for himself. There is another that envies Dantes simply out of avarice. This is the man, Caderrouse, who wears the mask of friendship. He is the type of man who can never have enough and despite the fact that Edmond and his father have little, Caderrouse wants it. This trio, Danglers, Fernand and Caderrouse gather together to plot the destruction of Edmond Dantes. This story takes place in France during the exile of Napoleon Bonaparte to the Island of Elba. The country is still very much divided between royalists and Bonapartists. The diabolical trio decides to frame poor young Dantes as a Bonapartist, working to bring Napoleon back to power. During what was going to be the homecoming and the marriage celebration, Dantes is placed under arrest and taken away, without any explanation. He is brought before a man named Villefort, a royalist in a very tenuous position as his father was a staunch Bonapartist. When he realizes that the evil lies concocted by the diabolical trio against Dantes may implicate his father and in turn him, he takes steps to ensure that Edmond Dantes will never again see the light of day. Soon poor, innocent Dantes is bound for the Chateau d'If, a horrible prison surrounded by water that those who enter never leave alive. There appears to be no further happiness possible for Edmond Dantes. I feel like I am unable to escape the writing of Alexandre Dumas. It is a very long, melodramatic, action packed adventure. I have enjoyed every word although some surrender to the abridged version. I have heard it said that Dumas was paid by the word. That may well be but I enjoyed every word. It is filled with swashbuckling. This book is an entertaining, exciting classic even if it may not be great literature. We get to see an innocent Edmond Dantes fall into the depths only to rise as an avenging angel known as the Count of Monte Cristo!

The Count of Monte Cristo Title: The Count of Monte Cristo Author: Alexandre Dumas Genre: Realistic Fiction # of Pages: 1200  Reviewed by: Gabe Galper Dashing young sailor Edmond Dantes is a honest young man whose peaceful life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes are abruptly shattered by Mercedes cousin Fernand who is in love with her and deceives them by telling the police Edmond was part of the Bonapartist party. This party supported Napoleon, a person who all of the Europe hated for taking all he wanted. Dantes was thrown into a jail and for trying to kill the person bringing him food, he was taken to the dungeons. 2 years later he met a another prisoner because that prisoner was trying to escape and dug a tunnel to Dantes cell. This man's name was Abbe Faria, one of the smartest men alive. For the next 12 years Faria taught Dantes all he knew, including several languages. Sadly, the day before their escape plan started, Faria had a heart attack and became paralyzed, the next day he died. Dantes faked his death thinking he would be buried but instead he was thrown out into the ocean. He then swam for an enormous amount of time until a boat picked him up. The late Abbe Faria had told him of a secret treasure that Farias master had left for him on the island of Monte Cristo. Edmond went there and found the treasure that is now worth 1 billion dollars. Edmond then changed his name into the Count of Monte Cristo after buying the island. He then became one of the most well known men in France, for several very different rumors. He held many partie and such and helped many people through times of hardship and hate. What will become of the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo? This was one of the best books ever for me, it was enticing, thrilling, and exciting. Although I didn’t finish it while I was in France, it was a surprisingly challenging book and I enjoyed it. Also, I was exceedingly happy when I realized that it was a slow paced adventure, almost as if it could happen in real life. Although it took me a long time to read considering it was a 1200 page book, it was still an epic that keeps continuing on in my head, chapter after chapter. I recommend this book because of the reality it reflects on books, I say this because of how lifelike these characters are and how they actually have feelings. From this book you are able to see how the richest men in the world lived, or if you choose to, the poorest. From squabbles to heartbreak, from love to hate, this is one of the best stories ever told and one of the saddest. I would give this book a five star review.

The Count of Monte Cristo is a masterclass in storytelling, weaving adventure, revenge, and redemption into an epic tapestry that left me breathless. The scope is colossal—Edmond Dantès’ transformation from betrayed sailor to cunning avenger spans decades and continents, delivering drama, sacrifice, and love in spades. The characters are unforgettable: Dantès’ relentless drive, Mercédès’ heartbreaking loyalty, and even secondary figures like Haydée shine with depth and agency. The emotional payoffs—redemption, repentance, and reconciliation—hit hard, especially in the final chapters, where every thread converges with purpose. Dumas’ prose, while not always lyrical, sparkles with wit and wisdom, painting vivid settings from Marseille to Paris. The themes of justice and mercy lifted my spirit, never sinking into despair without reason. Could Be Improved: The middle section dragged painfully. While Dumas needed to develop characters and set up the revenge, these chapters felt bloated with verbose social maneuvering. Cutting 20 chapters could’ve tightened the pace without losing impact, making the journey to the stellar finale less of a slog. This kept the book from perfection. This is a near-perfect epic that balances revenge with redemption, making every character’s choice resonate. Despite a sluggish middle, the soaring start and cathartic end make it a must-read for anyone craving a story with heart, stakes, and soul. I’m still thinking about Dantès’ journey and the cost of vengeance. Favorite Quote: “For all evils there are two remedies—time and silence.” This captures the story’s patience and emotional depth, a gem among many.

DISCLAIMER: I am an American, college-educated male in my mid-20's. I understand that my life experiences are different from others', and my reviews and opinions reflect the upbringing I've had. The point of each of my reviews is not so much to provide a synopsis of the story or an in-depth literary look at the work itself, but to convey my overall impression of the book, as well as the feelings/attitudes I experienced while reading and the thoughts the book provoked. There are NO SPOILERS in any of my reviews, so read on without fear! ---------------------------------------------- This was actually my second read of the Count of Monte Cristo (the first one being at the age of 12 after having seen the movie and enthusiastically embracing the challenge of reading a monstrous classic such as this one), and I have to say that I was certainly able to appreciate it on a different level. Having a better command of the English language obviously helped, but it was more related to the fact that I was able to connect more directly with some of the themes of the book. Most 12 year olds have not experienced romantic love, betrayal, or revenge in any meaningful way (although to be fair, most people have not experienced any of these in the way our Count has!), and that made reading the book at a young age feel like a chore. I’m sure this trend will only continue as I get older, so if any younger readers out there feel like they’re trudging through the book, put it down for a few years and come back to it later! It will make a huge difference. As far as the story goes, I found that I my expectations for the book had leaned too hard on what the movie presented. I know that movies are typically pretty different from their book counterparts, and I expected there to be medium-to-large subplots in the book that I hadn’t encountered before. What I didn’t anticipate, however, was that some of the story had flat out changed – including some HUGE turning points in the movie. On one hand, that made the book more exciting to read, but I had been looking forward to reading through some of the movie events and was disappointed when they failed to materialize. With that being said, I would highly recommend that anyone thinking about reading the book treat it almost as a different interpretation of the movie’s story, as they end up being quite different (and both good!) Personally, I felt like the story’s pace ebbed and flowed quite a bit. There were chapters that I was struggling to get through because they felt like filler, and other chapters that had me glued to my seat. As was typical with some of the longer “classics” that were written in the 18th and 19th centuries, the book in its original form was published serially in volumes – sort of like a recurring column/short story in a magazine or newspaper. I’m sure that the author was incentivized to make the story longer wherever possible, as each additional volume was another paycheck (I can’t actually verify that that’s true, just speculation on my part). There are literally parts in the book where characters will stop and say “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that – could you repeat what you said?”, only for the first character to repeat it verbatim. Perhaps a bit too realistic for me! I also think that the sheer number of characters introduced in the book slowed character development and bogged the story down a bit, as it took considerable effort just to keep everyone straight – especially after having put the book down for a week or two here and there. That being said, the good parts were VERY easy to read. It’s common to struggle through older English, but this particular translation did a great job making it more accessible (I am by no means a translation expert and some of the other reviews go into more detail here). The exciting parts of the story were a bit over the top, but I can’t fault the author for writing this in a similar style to his Romantic counterparts. I don’t want to say too much, but the end was EXTREMELY gratifying, given how long the story takes to build up to it. I also appreciated the additional depth (as compared to the movie), as it really grounded Dantes’ motivations and provided more detailed explanations of some of the story points whereas the movies had to make some logic jumps to fit within a reasonable timeframe. Overall, I really enjoyed my second read of this classic. The story is deep, complex, and exciting, and well worth taking the time to read. This is the type of book that you have to be committed to reading, as reading a few chapters casually every couple of days may not do the trick, but perseverance pays off!

Reading this book from my "book bucket list" was a Christmas treat for myself. I've had it on my EReader for a long time just waiting for a little spare time. It's one of those classics people like to claim they've read when they really haven't. I was interested because it begins at the time when Napoleon escaped from the Island of Elba and marched into France to regain control of the country, temporarily as it turned out. You must accustom yourself to the flowery, yet formal prose and stilted dialogue which fits the time of the story and of fiction when it was written. Personally I didn't find those things any detriment because this is quite a good story with excellent characters. Of course there are coincidences that are a bit of a stretch, and plot devices that wouldn't fly in modern times, but I found them easy to overlook in my delight in the story. The count himself is of course the best depicted character of all. He is initially a 19 year old sailor who has applied himself well to learning his trade and who is deeply in love with the girl he is about to marry. Edmond Dantes is on the brink of wonderful things, not least of which is his pending wedding to Mercedes. Such a promising young man generates jealousy though and he has innocently made two enemies. These two men forge a letter implicating him in the conspiracy to help Napoleon and he is sent to prison. Soon he is in a dungeon and all but forgotten except for Mercedes, his elderly father, and his former employer, Mr. Morrel. His years of imprisonment and the intricate plot he follows to get revenge on the people who were responsible make up the bulk of the book, but the point of it all is the emotions that sustain him until he escapes and then how the years of obtaining revenge that he believes he is due affect him. His plans are fascinating, even cringe-worthy at times but always understandable because we know exactly what he endured in that dungeon. I'm so happy that I finally can cross this book off that bucket list and have the memory of it for my life. I find myself thinking about it again and again as the days pass. It's one of those books that stay with you; there's just so much to think about. Highly recommended Source: Free download

One of the best books I’ve read.

An absolutely gorgeous book! This hardcover edition is beautifully made and feels like an instant upgrade to my book collection. Solid binding, great presentation, and one of those books that looks just as impressive on the shelf as it is to read. Worth it for the story and the aesthetics.

I read this book halfway through about 7 years ago when I was younger and not as mature as I am now. I lost the book but 7 years later I found it and just at a moment when I was looking for a book to read. It was my fate that I found this book at the time that I did, and so I start reading it. Now, keep in mind what 7 years of life does to a man, and during the transition period from young and inexperienced to competent and understanding the vast amount of wisdom that you actually lack for the world and all its complexities. And with my newfound perspective of this world, I look at the storyline and the architecture of this book as a masterpiece. The author, Alexandre Dumas, does an absolutely wonderful job at evoking an emotional response from the reader in such a sophisticated and clever fashion. As you read through the story of Edmond Dantes, you see the shift of a young boy who has gone through the harshness of reality, gained so much wisdom which really elevates him and his goals and aspirations from that of the common man. He gives deep justifications of his actions and desires through using the philosophical perspectives of those greeks and other philosophers we all know and which he alludes to. The author is also scrupulous in his explanations of the scenery and the context of situations. He really does a masterful job of describing the emotions that characters have so as to make the reader that much more empathetical to the character, as well as a very precise job in the characterization of those characters. Do keep in mind that if Google is close by than it will be all the more better for your enjoyment of this book because this version does have french words and has many allusions which many people might not understand. So I am not a person to review books and have never done so before but I really enjoyed this book so much and that is why I rate it 5 out of 5.