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The Count of Monte Cristo, Volume 6 of 6
With the post-Napoleonic era as the back-drop, the novel covers the life of a young sailor, Edmond Dantes. The narration follows him from near-triumph to complete disaster and then his swashbuckling adventures to get freedom and revenge. The blustering journey of the protagonist keeps the reader on the edge.
562 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1844
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About the author
Alexandre Dumas
7,037 books12.2k followersThis note regards Alexandre Dumas, père, the father of Alexandre Dumas, fils (son). For the son, see Alexandre Dumas fils.
Alexandre Dumas père, born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a towering figure of 19th-century French literature whose historical novels and adventure tales earned global renown. Best known for The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and other swashbuckling epics, Dumas crafted stories filled with daring heroes, dramatic twists, and vivid historical backdrops. His works, often serialized and immensely popular with the public, helped shape the modern adventure genre and remain enduring staples of world literature.
Dumas was the son of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a celebrated general in Revolutionary France and the highest-ranking man of African descent in a European army at the time. His father’s early death left the family in poverty, but Dumas’s upbringing was nonetheless marked by strong personal ambition and a deep admiration for his father’s achievements. He moved to Paris as a young man and began his literary career writing for the theatre, quickly rising to prominence in the Romantic movement with successful plays like Henri III et sa cour and Antony.
In the 1840s, Dumas turned increasingly toward prose fiction, particularly serialized novels, which reached vast audiences through French newspapers. His collaboration with Auguste Maquet, a skilled plotter and historian, proved fruitful. While Maquet drafted outlines and conducted research, Dumas infused the narratives with flair, dialogue, and color. The result was a string of literary triumphs, including The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, both published in 1844. These novels exemplified Dumas’s flair for suspenseful pacing, memorable characters, and grand themes of justice, loyalty, and revenge.
The D’Artagnan Romances—The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte of Bragelonne—cemented his fame. They follow the adventures of the titular Gascon hero and his comrades Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, blending historical fact and fiction into richly imagined narratives. The Count of Monte Cristo offered a darker, more introspective tale of betrayal and retribution, with intricate plotting and a deeply philosophical core.
Dumas was also active in journalism and theater. He founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris, which staged dramatizations of his own novels. A prolific and energetic writer, he is estimated to have written or co-written over 100,000 pages of fiction, plays, memoirs, travel books, and essays. He also had a strong interest in food and published a massive culinary encyclopedia, Le Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine, filled with recipes, anecdotes, and reflections on gastronomy.
Despite his enormous success, Dumas was frequently plagued by financial troubles. He led a lavish lifestyle, building the ornate Château de Monte-Cristo near Paris, employing large staffs, and supporting many friends and relatives. His generosity and appetite for life often outpaced his income, leading to mounting debts. Still, his creative drive rarely waned.
Dumas’s mixed-race background was a source of both pride and tension in his life. He was outspoken about his heritage and used his platform to address race and injustice. In his novel Georges, he explored issues of colonialism and identity through a Creole protagonist. Though he encountered racism, he refused to be silenced, famously replying to a racial insult by pointing to his ancestry and achievements with dignity and wit.
Later in life, Dumas continued writing and traveling, spending time in Belgium, Italy, and Russia. He supported nationalist causes, particularly Italian unification, and even founded a newspaper to advocate for Giuseppe Garibaldi. Though his popularity waned somewhat in his final years, his literary legacy grew steadily. He wrote in a style that was accessible, entertaining, and emotionally reso
Alexandre Dumas père, born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a towering figure of 19th-century French literature whose historical novels and adventure tales earned global renown. Best known for The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo, and other swashbuckling epics, Dumas crafted stories filled with daring heroes, dramatic twists, and vivid historical backdrops. His works, often serialized and immensely popular with the public, helped shape the modern adventure genre and remain enduring staples of world literature.
Dumas was the son of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, a celebrated general in Revolutionary France and the highest-ranking man of African descent in a European army at the time. His father’s early death left the family in poverty, but Dumas’s upbringing was nonetheless marked by strong personal ambition and a deep admiration for his father’s achievements. He moved to Paris as a young man and began his literary career writing for the theatre, quickly rising to prominence in the Romantic movement with successful plays like Henri III et sa cour and Antony.
In the 1840s, Dumas turned increasingly toward prose fiction, particularly serialized novels, which reached vast audiences through French newspapers. His collaboration with Auguste Maquet, a skilled plotter and historian, proved fruitful. While Maquet drafted outlines and conducted research, Dumas infused the narratives with flair, dialogue, and color. The result was a string of literary triumphs, including The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, both published in 1844. These novels exemplified Dumas’s flair for suspenseful pacing, memorable characters, and grand themes of justice, loyalty, and revenge.
The D’Artagnan Romances—The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte of Bragelonne—cemented his fame. They follow the adventures of the titular Gascon hero and his comrades Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, blending historical fact and fiction into richly imagined narratives. The Count of Monte Cristo offered a darker, more introspective tale of betrayal and retribution, with intricate plotting and a deeply philosophical core.
Dumas was also active in journalism and theater. He founded the Théâtre Historique in Paris, which staged dramatizations of his own novels. A prolific and energetic writer, he is estimated to have written or co-written over 100,000 pages of fiction, plays, memoirs, travel books, and essays. He also had a strong interest in food and published a massive culinary encyclopedia, Le Grand Dictionnaire de cuisine, filled with recipes, anecdotes, and reflections on gastronomy.
Despite his enormous success, Dumas was frequently plagued by financial troubles. He led a lavish lifestyle, building the ornate Château de Monte-Cristo near Paris, employing large staffs, and supporting many friends and relatives. His generosity and appetite for life often outpaced his income, leading to mounting debts. Still, his creative drive rarely waned.
Dumas’s mixed-race background was a source of both pride and tension in his life. He was outspoken about his heritage and used his platform to address race and injustice. In his novel Georges, he explored issues of colonialism and identity through a Creole protagonist. Though he encountered racism, he refused to be silenced, famously replying to a racial insult by pointing to his ancestry and achievements with dignity and wit.
Later in life, Dumas continued writing and traveling, spending time in Belgium, Italy, and Russia. He supported nationalist causes, particularly Italian unification, and even founded a newspaper to advocate for Giuseppe Garibaldi. Though his popularity waned somewhat in his final years, his literary legacy grew steadily. He wrote in a style that was accessible, entertaining, and emotionally reso
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 11 reviews
February 16, 2025
Franchement, fantastique. Écris avec une apparente aisance qui regorge pourtant de phrases et tournures complexes. Chaque chapitre de chaque tome est agréable, logique, haletant. Les descriptions nous projettent dans l'histoire et on s'y croirait ! Je n'en reviens pas de ne pas l'avoir lu avant... Un incontournable !
January 24, 2025
J'ai beaucoup aimé ce tome comme le reste de la saga d'ailleurs. Rapide à lire peu de chapitres. J'ai ri et surtout j'ai trouvé pas mal de citations très philosophiques tel que : "les amis que nous avons perdus ne reposent pas dans la terre, ils sont ensevelis dans notre cœur, et c'est Dieu qui l'a voulu ainsi pour que nous en fussions toujours accompagnés."
August 28, 2024
Je me suis extrêmement régalée à re-découvrir cette œuvre et le parlé de l'époque du Dumas. Merci donc au film qui m'a donné envie de me plonger dans ces 6 tomes. Les différences entre l'adaptation et l'œuvre originale sont multiples, ce qui n'enlève rien à la réussite du film. De toute façon impossible d'adapter fidèlement l'œuvre autrement qu'en au moins 9 heures. Car il y a une longue partie avant la mise en place de la vengeance qui est l'enquête et il y a une longue partie sur l'après. Le Comte fait la paix et retrouve même l'amour et pas auprès de Mercedes.
Dieu est très présent dans le livre. Ça aussi c'est un signe probable de l'époque. C'est Dieu qui punit et abandonne Dantés quand il va en prison, c'est Dieu qui l'aide a trouver la vérité, c'est encore lui qui l'aide à se venger et qui a la fin lui montre qu'il lui a pardonné en lui faisant trouver l'amour.
Cette longue lecture m'a donnée envie de revoir le film, ce que je vais m'empresser de faire.
Dieu est très présent dans le livre. Ça aussi c'est un signe probable de l'époque. C'est Dieu qui punit et abandonne Dantés quand il va en prison, c'est Dieu qui l'aide a trouver la vérité, c'est encore lui qui l'aide à se venger et qui a la fin lui montre qu'il lui a pardonné en lui faisant trouver l'amour.
Cette longue lecture m'a donnée envie de revoir le film, ce que je vais m'empresser de faire.
September 21, 2020
I like it, it was the instalment where the revenge promised was carried out with finesse when it comes to Villefort
November 30, 2021
J'ai terminé cette oeuvre magistrale au sens littéral (plus de 3000 pages) et au sens figuré. On n'écrit plus comme ça et c'est probablement aussi bien. Les auteurs du XIX ième siècle devaient tout expliquer au lecteur dont la majorité avait peu voyagé. De plus, beaucoup de ces romans apparaissaient sous forme de feuilleton dans des journaux où les auteurs étaient payés au mot.
Je recommande fortement la lecture de ce livre, même si c'est un travail de longue haleine. Vous ne le regretterez pas.
Je recommande fortement la lecture de ce livre, même si c'est un travail de longue haleine. Vous ne le regretterez pas.
June 18, 2023
Bon à part le fait qu'Edmond ne retourne pas avec Mercedes parce qu'elle est devenue vieille et qu'il finit avec Haydee "qu'il aime comme une fille" et qui a bien 20 ans de moins que lui... J'ai aimé la conclusion de cette saga. Le rythme reste plus soutenu sur la fin et la lecture se fait plus fluide.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 10, 2009
Of all crappy novels of the nineteenth century, this one is the diamond in the rough. Beautiful lines, a romantic plot or love, wealth, and vengence. You try to step back and realize how ridiculously fanciful the novel is, but the writing's too damn good, and you're held to it. Just beautiful.
September 2, 2024
Je dois avouer que je suis un peu tristoune d'avoir terminé ce feuilleton ! Que d'aventures, d'intrigues, de rebondissements, de destinées bouleversées... Les personnages sont attachants et finement construits, la langue de Dumas est un régal.
"Un nuage passa sur son front"
"Un nuage passa sur son front"
September 25, 2024
Quelle fin ! Quelle Banger !
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October 19, 2009The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (1894)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 11 reviews