Alexandre Dumas

Robin Buss

This translation originally published: 2003.

The Count of Monte Cristo

Translated with an Introduction by Robin Buss

eryc

'And that is exactly what I find entertaining,' said Monte Cristo. ‘I am like Nero: cupitor impossibilium' and this is just what is entertaining you at the moment. That's why this fish, which may not in reality be as good as perch or salmon, will seem delicious to you in a short while - because common sense tells you that it is impossible to obtain, and yet, here it is!'

“Gentlemen”, he said, “you must confess that when one has reached a certain level of prosperity, only the superfluous becomes necessary, just as these ladies will admit that, beyond a certain degree of rapture, only the ideal is tangible. So, let us pursue the same line of argument: what is a marvel? Something that we do not understand. What is truly desirable? A possession that we cannot have. So, my life is devoted to seeing things that I cannot understand and obtaining things that are impossible to have. I succeed by two means: money and will. I am as persevering in the pursuit of my whims as, for example, you are, Monsieur Danglars, in building a railway; or you, Monsieur de Villefort, in condemning a man to death; or you, Monsieur Debray, in pacifying a kingdom; you, Monsieur de Château-Renaud, in finding favour with a woman; or you, Monsieur Morrel, in breaking a horse that no one else can ride. Take these two fish, for example, one of them born fifty leagues from Saint Petersburg, the other five leagues from Naples. Isn't it amusing to bring them together on the same table?'

In reality, once you have made the sacrifice of your life, you are no longer the equal of other men; or, rather, they are no longer your equal, because whoever has taken such a resolution instantly feels his strength increase ten times and his outlook vastly extended.

Julie <3

“‘Senseless!’ he said. ‘The day when I resolved to take my revenge … senseless, not to have torn out my heart!’”

Nature wrestles with this divine substance, because our nature is not made for joy but clings to pain. Nature must be defeated in this struggle, reality must follow dreams; and then the dream will rule, will become the master, the dream will become life and life become a dream. [...] When you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only to dream for ever. [...] Try some hashish, my friend! Try it!

“[…] unless an evil thought is born in a twisted mind, human nature is repelled by crime. However, civilization has given us needs, vices and artificial appetites which sometimes cause us to repress our good instincts and lead us to wrongdoing.”

‘[…] the vast knowledge that you must have expended to attain the point that you have reached. What might you not have done, had you been free?’

‘Perhaps nothing: the overflowing of my brain might have evaporated in mere futilities. Misfortune is needed to plumb certain mysterious depths in the understanding of men; pressure is needed to explode the charge. My captivity concentrated all my faculties on a single point. They had previously been dispersed, now they clashed in a narrow space; and, as you know, the clash of clouds produces electricity, electricity produces lightning and lightning gives light.’

In seventeenth-century France, young D'Artagnan initially quarrels with, then befriends, three musketeers and joins them in trying to outwit the enemies of the king and queen

The Three Musketeers

Jordan

“D'Artagnan, my friend, you are brave, you are prudent, you have excellent qualities; but the women will ruin you!"- D’Artagnan says to himself

“Yes, I understand now: to find one woman, you court another. It is the longest road, but certainly the most amusing." -Athos 

We must never look for discretion in first love. First love is accompanied by such excessive joy that unless this joy be allowed to overflow, it will stifle you. 

“Now, I entertain a ridiculous partiality for my head, it seems to suit my shoulders so correctly.” -Aramis

E. L. James

Le comte de Monte-Cristo.

why does no one talk about how FUNNY Dumas is

gray

"Well!" said the Count. "So you have not yet forgotten how I saved your life! Odd; it was already a week ago"

The Three Musketeers is a novel by Alexandre Dumas. Set in the 17th century, it recounts the adventures of a young man named d'Artagnan after he leaves home to travel to Paris, to join the Musketeers of the Guard. D'Artagnan is not one of the musketeers of the title; those being his friends Athos, Porthos and Aramis, inseparable friends who live by the motto "all for one, one for all," a motto which is first put forth by d'Artagnan. In genre, The Three Musketeers is primarily a historical novel and adventure. However Dumas also frequently works into the plot various injustices, abuses and absurdities of the ancien regime, giving the novel an additional political aspect at a time when the debate in France between republicans and monarchists was still fierce. The story was first serialized from March to July 1844, during the July monarchy, four years before the French Revolution of 1848 violently established the second Republic. The author's father, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas had been a well-known general in France's Republican army during the French revolutionary wars. Although adaptations tend to portray d'Artagnan and the three musketeers as heroes, the novel portrays less appealing characters, who are willing to commit violence over slight insults and through unquestioning loyalty to the king and queen, and treat their servants and supposed social inferiors with contempt and violence.

Draculelle

Hope. Justice. Vengeance. A classic tale you don’t want to miss! Best-selling author Alexandre Dumas--who also wrote The Three Musketeers--tells this heartbreaking yet heroic tale of Edmond Dantes who takes revenge on the men responsible for his unjust fourteen-year imprisonment, keeping him from the woman he loved and the life he was supposed to live. * This widely popular classic, originally written in French, tells a tale of devastating consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty. The Count of Monte Cristo is a must-have for any home library or literary aficionado.

this is so much fun. i went on this journey with him

Chit

What a story! Feels like years that I’ve been accompanying the adventures of Edmond Dantès. As the journey comes to an end, it feels like saying goodbye to dear friends, who I’ll miss until I read it again. And I will read it again! Until then, all there’s to do is “wait” and “hope”. 😌

Pretty great read! A long one, but it kept my attention and I enjoyed the ride! 

Ryan Moore

A young French sailor unjustly accused of aiding the exiled Napoleon escapes from prison and seeks buried treasure on an island and revenge in Paris during the 1800s

𝚕𝚒𝚕𝚢

4.5 ★ - (loved it, favorite)

RTC - I didn't realize until into the first chapter that it says "abridged edition" in faint print on the cover but I still found this a really amazing book regardless. I'm excited to read the full version!

(only reason this isn't 5 stars is because of the violence lol)

Sanjay Krishna 

'And now,' said the stranger, 'farewell, goodness, humanity, gratitude... Farewell all those feelings that nourish and illuminate the heart! I have taken the place of Providence to reward the good; now let the avenging God make way for me to punish the wrongdoer!'

'There is neither happiness nor misfortune in this world, there is merely the comparison between one state and another, nothing more, On someone who has suffered the deepest misfortune is capable of experiencing the heights of felicity.'

'Until the day when God deigns to unveil the future to mankind, all human wisdom is contained in these two words: 'wait' and "hope"!'

Beecher Halladay

Bella Baxter

Oh Monsieur Dumas, you shaped my youth with your swashbuckling tale of adventure and revenge.  The summer I read this book was probably the best summer of reading I ever had. Absolutely mesmerizing. I have to read it over and over again.

Vicky  Nuñez 

I love Dumas! I had only read the Count of Monte Cristo and did not thought the 3 musketeers could top it, but it did.

Something that caught my attention from the start was each chapter's independence from the rest of the book, which is the product of it's publication as a serial in a newspaper. Each chapter has its own goal as well as a major goal for the entire book.

The Three Musketeers is d'artganan's journey into becoming one and his developing friendship between him and the three inseparables (Athos, Aramis & Porthos). Each of the musketeers & D'artagnan have their own personality, something that distinguish them from the other three.

The book is full of fights, comedy and romance all times four.

There exists invincible power and it answers to many names. Trust that all you read are his machinations, and doubly enjoy the intoxicating, unfettered drama so. Such is my faith that whenever reality bends to coincidence, or he appeals as if there is any god more righteous than himself, I am frustrated like the priest cannot meet for my confession. I feverishly know he is invincible and the book stumbles whenever it pretends he is not.

Geese Fish

ÊOn the 24th of February, 1815, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, thePharaonÊfrom Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples. As usual, a pilot put off immediately, and rounding the Chateau d'If, got on board the vessel between Cape Morgion and Rion island. Immediately, and according to custom, the ramparts of Fort Saint-Jean were covered with spectators; it is always an event at Marseilles for a ship to come into port, especially when this ship, like theÊPharaon, has been built, rigged, and laden at the old Phocee docks, and belongs to an owner of the city. The ship drew on and had safely passed the strait, which some volcanic shock has made between the Calasareigne and Jaros islands; had doubled Pomegue, and approached the harbor under topsails, jib, and spanker, but so slowly and sedately that the idlers, with that instinct which is the forerunner of evil, asked one another what misfortune could have happened on board. However, those experienced in navigation saw plainly that if any accident had occurred, it was not to the vessel herself, for she bore down with all the evidence of being skilfully handled, the anchor a-cockbill, the jib-boom guys already eased off, and standing by the side of the pilot, who was steering theÊPharaonÊtowards the narrow entrance of the inner port, was a young man, who, with activity and vigilant eye, watched every motion of the ship, and repeated each direction of the pilot. The vague disquietude which prevailed among the spectators had so much affected one of the crowd that he did not await the arrival of the vessel in harbor, but jumping into a small skiff, desired to be pulled alongside thePharaon, which he reached as she rounded into La Reserve basin. When the young man on board saw this person approach, he left his station by the pilot, and, hat in hand, leaned over the ship's bulwarks. He was a fine, tall, slim young fellow of eighteen or twenty, with black eyes, and hair as dark as a raven's wing; and his whole appearance bespoke that calmness and resolution peculiar to men accustomed from their cradle to contend with danger.

Tobias V. Langhoff

This is a really long book (probably because it was serialized and paid by instalment), but it's a relatively easy and riveting read.

Most people know the framework of the story: A strapping young man with everything going for him, Edmond Dantès, is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. 14 years later he escapes, becomes rich, infiltrates the aristocracy of France, and enacts his revenge against the people who had him falsely accused.

Abbé Faria, whom Edmond meets in his prison, is the novel's deus ex machina. He is a very intelligent man, and from Edmond's story he correctly guesses all the details of his betrayal, and who the culprits are. Before his imprisonment, he also discovered clues leading to the giant buried treasure that Edmond later unearths after his escape, and which enables him to enact his revenge at all.

This setup takes surprisingly little time. The bulk of this long novel is about Edmond's plans within plans to enact the most perfect and fitting revenge. After his escape and treasure hunting, the main character Dantès is relegated to the background as the novel skips forward in time. For a while, we don't see his thoughts and his new, adopted persona is as mysterious to us as the other characters. In fact, the first time we see the older Dantès after this time skip is from the viewpoint of a completely new character. When Dantès ceases to be the sole focus of the plot (and narrative voice) after he becomes Count, it allows many interesting subplots to emerge, most of them encircling the drama of the aristocracy in general and in particular the families and friends of the people who had Edmond imprisoned all those years prior.

Even more interestingly, Dantès, who seemed the epitome of youthful perfection before his imprisonment, is eventually even portrayed almost as an antihero, or at least in a much less favorable light. There's never any doubt that he's the protagonist, but his revenge takes on a cruel nature with collateral damage. He is willing to sacrifice the children of two of his enemies, and ends up sacrificing the entire family of one of them (although mostly through negligence).

I was also surprised at some of the subjects tackled by this classic, including lesbianism, infidelity, attempted infanticide and filicide. The historical backdrop is also very interesting. The Napoleonic wars are important to the plot, and we actually meet King Louis XVIII at one point. The death of Ali Pasha of Ioannina is also an important event in the book, although we don't see it first hand; characters in the book are involved in these historical events.

This is not as slow a burn as the page count indicates, but there's still a lot of filler and repetition (perhaps, again, because it was originally serialized). For example, the reader is told (at great length) the truth of Dantès's betrayal three times (once when it occured, once when deduced by the Abbé Faria, and now once when recounted by Caderousse).

I partly read this as a Kindle book, and partly listened to Bill Homewood's narration. He's an outstanding narrator, managing to give each character their own unique voice. In particular, he makes Noirtier sound very menacing, and Danglars sly and weasely.

no me gustó el final, de resto esta increíble

andrea valentina 

Yaffa

One of my favourite classics and also a MAMMOTH of a read. Took me several months (and a huge amount of willpower) to actually finish its entire 1600s pages. The enormity of it aside, this is one of the best revenge stories ever-written. Although written with endless flourishes, as writers of the 1800s often do, Alexandre Dumas manages to pour so much knowledge and philosophy in the dialogues, especially through The Count himself, which easily makes him my most favourite character ever.

Erika

lenkiuosi prieš Diuma talentą ir keikiu šito puslapio vertinimo sistemą, kuri leidžia duoti tik penkias varganas žvaigždutes, kai šita knyga oi kaip nusipelno jų šimtą kartų daugiau

Pepper

An epic tale of revenge and retribution that remains engaging even to the very last page of this long read. At no point did I feel the story was dragging and in fact I was quite astounded and impressed with the way the revenge plan played out. The Fifth of December has got to be the most suspenseful chapter I have ever read. I was so anxious about what the outcome with Morrell would be till the very end and Dumas paced that chapter to absolute perfection.

Most definetly one of my favourite books I've read this year. It may have taken me a whole month to read it, but these 1500 pages have been some fun. Goodness, doesn't Alexandre Dumas have an imagination? Some of the plottwists in this book had my mouth hanging open catching flies, and the linking of all the characters, all of them being uncovered as somehow being relevant to one another truly blew my mind. The incredible mind of Alexandre Dumas is very alike to the mind of our main character, Monte Cristo, or, Edmond Dantes. The cunning and smart and slyness of both the author and character are one and the same in my opinion. Edmond and his revenge story is so smart it's a living version of good things comes to those who wait, just rather Edmond most probably replaced good things with revenge. This book was so frantic and chaotic and full of murder and death and robbery and evil and wrongdoings and so many crimes were made public and so many scandals were revealed, it felt so real to me I found myself shocked for words. Something I found even more shocking was one particular circumstance left me in tears, which is honestly something special; a novel of such length, or such age, and of such writting has never made me on the verge of tears. This is the first of this genre to ever make me so emotional. I found it even more shocking how well I understood everything going on! If you're daunted by the concept of maybe the context of the Spaniards and the French and Italians, don't worry, I feel like this book does a wonderful job of making it easy to understand. And if you're daunted by the length of this book, don't worry yourself, it's truly a book which makes you wish it never ended. If you pick it up, you surely won't regret reading it. 

surtified™

I needed at least one woman to have a good ending…

Hannah Yang

Epic. Stunning. Wow. That is all I can say for this brilliant piece of literature that I will sing praises about to anyone I meet. It is a novel that will inspire and terrify; it is a masterpiece of human nature. The Count of Monte Cristo captures intense emotion from pain to remorse to shame, and most importantly hope. It exposes thoughts, reactions, and impulse as well as carefully calculated vengeance. It is also one of the novels (my favorite kind!) where it is sometimes impossible to differentiate between hero and villain, because it is easy to relate to the villains and it is difficult to understand the plight of the heroes.

Reading this novel is like experiencing the story - as you follow Dantès' overwhelming joy to his downfall to his eventual glory, as you learn and perhaps even scheme with him. As new (old) characters are introduced you feel the same hostility towards them, knowing that they will suffer. I almost felt impatient as Dantès' plan unfolded because I wanted them to be punished sooner, and I also felt the aching guilt as Dantès saw the aftermath of his revenge plot. There are few novels that are such a mental roller coaster ride. 

I'm glad I read this in one sitting because I would have been so impatient to find out what would happen next! This book is truly remarkable, and I don't think anything I say in this review will do it justice. Read it!!!

Absolutely wonderful. It was so much fun and the Musketeers’ individual personalities bring so much life to the story. 

Tess Letasz

Barbara Williford

I hate it has take me so long to read this classic. A book that is action packed full of action, adventure, bravery, treachery, romance and villains (although at times it is hard to know exactly who the villains really are) and of course, humor. The three musketeers are tracking down a nemesis, a strong woman villain who is tracking them as well. I couldn’t put this book down! 

Trigger warnings: violence and sexual content

altlovesbooks

Easily the longest book I've read to date.

I know a lot of people really really liked this book, and I definitely see what appeal this book has to everyone. Personally, I really enjoyed the beginning, and up through the (view spoiler)[part of the book we spend with Alfred, Franz, and The Count in Italy (hide spoiler)]. After that, though, I felt like the book really dragged a bit in the middle. There was so much in the way of convoluted plotting that I kept getting mired in the detail and losing sight of what the goals actually were. 

That said, I enjoyed my time with the book. I'm not a revenge person (I honestly don't see what it gets you, because it doesn't ever fix the original problem), but there's a lot for even someone like me to find and enjoy here.

rumbledethumps

This is a wild ride of a revenge story. But apparently Dumas didn't want it to simply be a revenge story, as he mixes in bits of just about every other popular fictional genre of the time. It is a mystery, a gothic horror, a courtroom drama, a romance, a novel of manners, an adventure story, and who knows what else, all rolled into one massive behemoth of a book that I couldn't put down. (And this was my second time reading it.)

Set in the years following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, this literature classic tells the story Edmond Dantes and of personal honor and revenge.

Who is God? What is right and wrong? Is love merely an emotion or a tangible power?

Daniel K

The man in the iron mask.

Anyaconda

I really disliked the ending and to be honest, they've done such a great job with the movie. Another disappointing classic to add to my list. The main focus was the political intrigue. It was hardly about the man in the iron mask at all 🎭

The Count of Monte Cristo

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