The Count of Monte Cristo Volume 1—Le Comte de Monte-Cristo Tome 1: English-French Parallel Text Edition in Six Volumes

by Alexandre Dumas

Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of revenge and redemption, The Count of Monte Cristo-Le Comte de Monte-Cristo is presented for the first time in English-French parallel text, complete and unabridged with over 20 black-and-white illustrations. The first of six, Volume One includes chapters 1-21: Edmond Dantes' betrayal, imprisonment and escape from Chateau d'If. It also features a touching tribute to Dumas by Countess Dash, in English and French. The Bilingual Library presents the world's classics in parallel text. Each page in the original language is mirrored by its English translation on the facing page. Introduction by series editor D. Bannon. A member of the American Literary Translators Association and the American Translators Association, Bannon has been translating since 1987.

Genres: Classics, Fiction

430 pages, Paperback

Published April 7, 2010

About the author

This 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

Reviews

[Johan Zapffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Det er merkbart at dette ikke er en veldig moderne bok - på godt og vondt.

Den første delen av denne ikoniske serien tar for seg temaer som svik og lidelse, befrielse og gjenoppstandelse. Man får et innblikk i en tidligere kultur, både gjennom karakterenes handlinger og meninger, men også gjennom skildringene av karakterene.

Den eldre stilen har noe koselig over seg, på samme måte som gammel krim som Poirot, Agatha Christie og Sherlock Holmes, men kan også lide under litt merkelig oppbygning, virkemidler som i dag er over-/oppbrukt og overraskelser som ikke er så overraskende.

Likevel fenger boka i dag som da den ble utgitt. Som en av historiens mest innflytelsesrike bøker, står den seg godt og bør absolutt leses eller høres.

Jeg bemerker at dette er en anmeldelse av bare første del av boka da, så ta den med en klype salt. Jeg er ikke helt sikker på om det stemmer med denne boka inne på Goodreads engang...

[Jade 🧿 · Rating 5 out of 5]

(1er tome sur 6)

[Jan Kjellin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se betyget som ett samlingsbetyg av alla 6 volymerna.

[Clotilde Dcl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Panne de lecture à cause de lui…
C’est bien mais qu’est ce que c’est long
J’ai abandonné à 70% pcq je lisais plus du tout mais je reprendrai maybe un jour

[Filip Åkerström · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seg start men blev skitbra sen

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably one of the best books I have ever had the fortune to read.
It is one of those books that I loved so much and just want to re-read and re-read forever.
But know I can't. Because

this book relies on the readers innocence. I tried to re-read it once, I opened the first page but the devastation, the hope all those emotions I had felt whilst reading that book washed over me, because it is so so sad, and so so vengeful. And I start to remember everything, too clearly, too well. It felt like reading the death sentence of a friend, so I could not.
When I read the first page I was exited, for Edmund who would be a captain, and a husband. But then as you read it, it's almost as if you spiral into insanity because it is so unfair, he was young and naive and that is what ended him.

Or so you think, as his years in prison slowly tear on him. And there for a second you almost grow bored and put it away but then Dumas pulls you right back in, because he gives the reader what it needs to keep on reading, hope because Edmund meets a friend and things seem to grow slightly lighter then darker, then lighter, long story short it is an emotional roller-coaster and I highly recommend it, but read it when you are ready, because you might never be able to read it again.

[Myriam · Rating 4 out of 5]

L'écriture est fluide et riche sans être pompeuse (du Dumas donc) et c'est très agréable à lire. Le personnage d'Edmond que je connaissais en film ma plait plus en version originale. Les intrigues se tissent doucement, les personnages se mettent en place, on passe du temps dans les rues et quartiers de Marseille et j'aime beaucoup redécouvrir la ville de cette manière. Ce que j'apprécie particulièrement puisque je trouve que cela manque durement dans beaucoup de livres que je lis, c'est la cohérence des intrigues, la cohérence du rythme, la cohérence des personnages. Je continue avec plaisir ce titre.

[Thea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This book was truly amazing! I had no idea what I was about to read when I picked this book up. I had no idea how intricate the plot would be, how many plot twists awaited or how much drama would unfurl. Sadly, I read a shortened version of the book, but I hope to one day get my hands on the full novel and be able to experience and enjoy this story as is was intended.

Edmond is an amazing character, you never know what his next move is or how his mind works, which is what makes this book such a fun read. He does have a flare for drama which only makes the whole thing even jucier. This book denitely became a well known classic for a good reason, loved it!

[Béatrice Payet · Rating 4 out of 5]

lu sur ma tablette

"L’incertitude, c’est encore l’espérance. " (PiertyM)

#MardiConseil Le comte de Monte Cristo de Dumas. De l'aventure, de belles descriptions, et une histoire addictive. @VendrediLecture

[Åsta Mari Aune · Rating 5 out of 5]

U

[Mari Finstad Bergum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lett å lese, kvinnesynet kan diskuteres, men kul fortelling.

[LMV · Rating 3 out of 5]

lecture 1 : tome 1 // lecture 2 : tome 2

[joanna]

i will rate it once im done all tomes but so far its really good and juicy