Product Description

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the great literary adventures, indeed William Thackeray was so enthralled he began reading `at six one morning and never stopped till eleven at night'. The hero is Edmond Dantés, a young sailor who, falsely accused of treason, is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned in the island fortress of Château d'If. After staging a dramatic escape he sets out to discover the fabulous treasure of Monte Cristo and catch up with his enemies. A novel of enormous tension and excitement, Monte Cristo is also a tale of obsession and revenge, with Dantés, believing himself to be an `Angel of Providence', pursuing his vengeance to the bitter end before realizing that he himself is a victim of fate. This new edition uses the classic, anonymous translation that has been in print since the nineteenth century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1959 in Books
• Published on: 1997-11-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 928 pages

Synopsis
This title includes an introduction and notes by Keith Wren, University of Kent at Canterbury. The story of Edmund Dantes, self-styled Count of Monte Cristo, is told with consummate skill. The victim of a miscarriage of justice, Dantes is fired by a desire for retribution and empowered by a stroke of providence. In his campaign of vengeance, he becomes an anonymous agent of fate. The sensational narrative of intrigue, betrayal, escape, and triumphant revenge moves at a cracking pace. Dumas' novel presents a powerful conflict between good and evil embodied in an epic saga of rich diversity that is complicated by the hero's ultimate discomfort with the hubristic implication of his own actions.

Customer Reviews

Absolutely blown away by this book!
When our Book Club chose CoMC, I sighed inside thinking oh no not another achingly dull 'classic'.

How wrong was I - I can't put the thing down and am busy devouring it at every opportunity! It's got a bit of everything - double crossing dirty dealers, treasure hunting, starcrossed lovers, wrongful imprisonment - any one of these would make a fantastic film plot by itself but here you have them all in one book. It is in reasonably straightforward language which means you don't have to think 'too hard' whilst you're reading it, so you can relax and enjoy it.

I would agree that some of the chapters don't immediately seem to bear any relevance to the tale - but then as you read on you see that actually Dumas is busy setting the scene so all of a sudden you'll get an 'aahhh NOW it makes sense' moment!

Thoroughly enjoyable, unputdownable - this is the only book you'll need on holiday this year!

One of the greatest literary works
An entralling book of magnificent scale. The way dumas ties the many different links of the story togther is genius. I didn't find one moment of this story boring. It is a long novel and, as such, it is something of a commitment, but it is well worth it. A story that is primarly about the morality of vengeance, I wished at times that I could be transported back to france under the bonapartist revolution. I strongly recommend the penguin unabridge version.

Wow!
Going through some of the classic novels, and not being a great reader, I was not sure what to expect from this. But all I can say is what a novel.

Originally the huge size of the full version of the novel put me off somewhat, but ultimately it is one of the easiest novels to read and one you don't want to end or put down. I would agree with other reviews, make sure the unabridged version is bought.

It does lag a little when the Count is in Rome, but readers should preserve. Some could argue that there are some flaws with the development of the characters, I particularly thought that there needed to be more regret in Dantes' actions.

But really, go and buy this novel and read one of the greatest stories ever written.