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The Count of Monte Cristo (1844)

by Alexandre Dumas père

Other authors: See the other authors section.

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingConversations / Mentions
25,287430126 (4.32)9 / 1322
Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML:

The Count of Monte Cristo is Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of revenge and adventure. The young sailor Dantes is fallaciously charged with treason and loses his fiancé, his dreams and his life when he is locked up for thirteen years on the island prison of Chateau d'If. Mentored by another prisoner, Dantes finally escapes the prison, reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo and begins to exact his revenge on the people who set him up.… (more)

  1. 201
    The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas (caflores)
  2. 111
    The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester (rareflorida)
    rareflorida: An old SciFi classic based upon The Count of Monte Cristo. Be patient because the begining of the story may be frustrating but you will eventually see the intelligence.
  3. 124
    Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (VictoriaPL)
  4. 92
    The Black Tulip by Alexandre père Dumas (2below)
    2below: These stories share some key themes and plot elements. It's not nearly as epic as The Count of Monte Cristo but makes for an interesting comparison.
  5. 81
    The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (SandSing7)
  6. 62
    Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (VictoriaPL)
  7. 51
    Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott (SandSing7)
  8. 41
    The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox (citygirl)
    citygirl: Another detailed, intricately plotted revenge tale.
  9. 41
    Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini (MarcusBrutus)
  10. 41
    The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas (keeneam)
  11. 21
    Selected Short Stories by Guy de Maupassant (bokai)
    bokai: While Maupassant's power is in his slice of life short stories told in an objective narrative voice and Dumas is the master of the thousand page epic told (see more) in highly sympathetic narration, both authors evoke images of the same France and are unequaled in their skill at bringing character and conflict to life. A short by Maupassant is a great way to break up the lengthy prose of Dumas, and Dumas, in turn, expands and elaborates the world that Maupassant provides only glimpses of.… (more)
  12. 32
    The Three Musketeers Twenty Years After The Vicomte of Bragelonne Ten Years Later Louise de la Valliere The Man in the Iron Mask (The Complete d'Artagnan Romances): Completed Second Edition by Alexandre Dumas (MarcusBrutus)
  13. 21
    Moonfleet by John Meade Falkner (elizabeth.a.coates)
    elizabeth.a.coates: Both are adventure stories that take place over a number of years and deal with riches, revenge, and romance
  14. 10
    The Count of Monte Cristo [2002 film] by Kevin Reynolds (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: Fascinating interpretation. Very free and very different. Really an independent work of art. If not superior to the novel, certainly not inferior to it either. Great script, superb cast, beautiful music, gorgeous production design.
  15. 22
    The Queen of the South by Arturo Pérez-Reverte (lilisin)
    lilisin: "Queen of the South" is a modern retake on "The Count". Not my favorite read but you can definitely see the parallels.
  16. 11
    Gil Blas by Alain René Le Sage (roby72)
  17. 11
    The Stars' Tennis Balls by Stephen Fry (lizzybeans11)
  18. 66
    The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (TomWaitsTables)
    TomWaitsTables: The story of a man consumed by his obsession, but instead of revenge, Gatsby is chasing the American dream.
  19. 23
    The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (jordantaylor)
  20. 01
    Shōgun by James Clavell (ShaneTierney)

(see all 22 recommendations)

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English (391)  Spanish (13)  Italian (5)  Dutch (3)  German (2)  Finnish (2)  French (2)  Turkish (1)  Swedish (1)  Danish (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (422)
Showing 1-5 of 391 (next | show all)
I have no idea what first prompted me to pick up this book, other than likely sheer boredom at some of my gardening jobs. I found an audio version of the story I liked, and dove in—and oh, what a story!

I doubt I would have gotten through the book if I was trying to read a print copy. In this case, especially with the length of the book, audio was a better option for me. Audio also gave me the chance to speed the story up, so I could keep up with the different elements of the story faster, which was a definite benefit!

As I’ve come to expect from some of the old novels, this book is rich in characters and setting—and sometimes, it’s hard to keep everyone straight. I was impressed by the fact that I was sucked into the drama from the first few chapters, and while there were lulls in the action at times, I never got to the point where I was tempted to scrap the story altogether and move on to something else.

In simple terms, this is the story of the making of a man. It starts as a love story, but as the book progresses, that element becomes increasingly more complicated. It’s also the story of revenge, of mankind’s greed, of hope and despair, and the way grudges and bitterness can taint even the purest of souls. This book is a journey—literally and figuratively—and though it doesn’t have the ending I expected, I realized that a big part of the joy of this story is the journey you take with the characters; not the end itself.

It’s hard to know how to put this book in words, because it left me with a sense of awe at the masterful way this story was told. Although there were things I didn’t enjoy so much in the story (believability and the focus on getting revenge), there was a lot more I enjoyed. I came away from the book wondering if there was any chance I’d be able to find other comparable books that had as much depth and richness of storytelling as I found in there—it almost put me in a reading slump, I enjoyed it that much! ( )
2 vote EstherFilbrun | Mar 1, 2024 |
A classic that reads like a cllassic in its good and bad stereotype. Values from a different time, narrative structures with different moralistic ourcome, twists and turns of plots from evil and good - with a sense of the inevitable retribution of justice.

In some parts the book is dramatic and exciting, in ofhers slow and overloaded with mean twists and turns around the power of money to drive ambition, and downfall to those
that are comquered by greed.

Overall… just too long! ( )
  yates9 | Feb 28, 2024 |
Good lord what a great book! I am not a massive fan of huge tomes but this was impressive. It also sold me as a life-time fan of Dumas. I couldn't help but root for the protagonist to get revenge! ( )
1 vote MichaelH85 | Jan 23, 2024 |
One of the top three books I have ever read in my life. ( )
  chancell | Jan 15, 2024 |
It's probably THE go-to, if not just MY go-to for long-con revenge with a lot of social engineering along the way. Alexander Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo is a book I've read 4 times over, first being introduced to the show in a strange way: namely through the anime adaptation/reimagining Gankustuo: The Count of Monte Cristo. Certainly helped the show make more sense after reading the source material! But the original source material is also a great story. Really sets the stage for it's revenge plot well as we see Edmond Dantes transforming into the titular Count to enact revenge, and the build up to him becoming The Count of Monte Cristo is a slow burn, and very much a journey for him that we may not get to see all of from Edmond's eyes (as there are time skips), but we see it and feel it through the actions and statements of other characters - having interacted with Edmond and The Count without even realizing it; and Edmond masterfully weaving himself into so many people's lives and being able to keep his true identity a secret for the sake of revenge is also exciting to read about.

I feel like there are few adaptations of this story that really capture Edmond's complexities as was done in the original. Gankutsuo comes close, but it also puts the story in a more sci-fi, futuristic setting that still had some French aristocratic aesthetics to it, on top of changing the ending. ABC's Revenge clearly took influence from The Count of Monte Cristo and features the same level of social engineering and careful planning that The Count does, but it's clearly trying to be it's own story in a modern-contemporary setting.

Really the original book is best, and anyone hoping to adapt The Count of Monte Cristo should look no further than the original story; and anyone wanting to write a complex revenge tale should read and appreciate The Count of Monte Cristo first and foremost. ( )
  AuthorSSD | Jan 1, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 391 (next | show all)

» Add other authors (215 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Dumas père, Alexandreprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bair, LowellTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Batchelor, PeterNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Binni, LanfrancoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Botto, MargheritaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Brom, PavelIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Bromova, DagmarIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Buss, RobinTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Clapham, MarcusAfterwordsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Coward, DavidIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Coward, DavidRevised translationsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fabre, Francois-XavierCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Finne, JalmariTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Franceschini, EmilioTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hasenbein, MeinhardÜbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Homewood, BillNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lee, JohnNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Loutherbourg, Philip James deCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Mathias, RobertCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Maurois, AndréIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Maurois, AndréIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Moncada, JesúsTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Paduano, GuidoTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Schaeffer, MeadIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Silo, MoroNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Timothy, AndrewNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ward, LyndIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Williams, FredNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Wren, KeithIntroductionsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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On February 24, 1815, the lookout of Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon, coming from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.
On February 24, 1815, the lookout at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the arrival of the three-master Pharaon, coming from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples. (Robin Buss)
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These should be the unabridged editions of The Count of Monte Cristo
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Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML:

The Count of Monte Cristo is Alexandre Dumas' classic tale of revenge and adventure. The young sailor Dantes is fallaciously charged with treason and loses his fiancé, his dreams and his life when he is locked up for thirteen years on the island prison of Chateau d'If. Mentored by another prisoner, Dantes finally escapes the prison, reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo and begins to exact his revenge on the people who set him up.

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Penguin Australia

An edition of this book was published by Penguin Australia.

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Tantor Media

2 editions of this book were published by Tantor Media.

Editions: 1400102103, 1400108624

Skyhorse Publishing

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