The Count of Monte Cristo (Wordsworth Classics)

There's only one thing better than opening up a good new book, and that's re-opening an old favourite, like this sweeping great 19th century drama, especially when it's long enough and gripping enough to make good holiday reading. The story might look simple: young man, victim of a malicious prank that goes wrong, is imprisoned for years, and on his escape takes his revenge. Wronged by three people he thought were friends, and a lawyer who should have protected him, he devises that revenge in ways uniquely fitting to each man, and does it in such a way that each man blindly embraces the course that brings downfall upon himself. The man in love with money swallows every false whiff of easy profit, the man whose dubious army career brought him great honours is disgraced before the House of Peers he values so highly, and the incorruptible magistrate with a secret loses his whole family through his devotion to the legal code he once set aside for his own protection, while the fourth man is so self-centred that he cannot see the web he is winding around himself. A thousand pages of mystery and adventure keep up the tension before the hero's vengeance is satisfied and he turns to self-judgement. Like all good stories, though, there's more to it than that: Dumas doesn't just know how to paint a vivid picture. Beneath all the adventures there lies a profound philosophy which only slowly dawns on the wronged hero: when his vengeance begins to touch on the lives of the innocent children of his four targets, he realises that he is no longer – that he never was – the agent of divine retribution, and he becomes a greater, and lonelier, person in the chapters that bring the book and the adventures to a gentler coda. Amazingly, this action-packed, complex drama is based on real events, and not just based on them: The Count of Monte Cristo follows, episode for episode, a sequence of crimes that unravelled in Paris at just about the period that Dumas chose for his masterpiece. The true story is all there in the archives of the Paris police - or it would be if they hadn't been destroyed in the 1870 Prussian siege of the city. For good or ill, the story survived only in a florid re-telling by a contemporary sensationalist hack, providing unwitting evidence of how a great novelist can fashion a diamond from a lump of carbon. (Review originally published in the Chesil Magazine, Dorset)

The Count Of Monte Cristo has to be one of the biggest surprises for me this year. I really had doubts about reading it as I didn't really know much about it and it is quite a chunky book; but I absolutely fell in love with this book! Edmund Dantes is easily one of my new all time favourite characters. And I now have two all time favourite classics. I was considering if The Count Of Monte Cristo had knocked Crime And Punishment off its perch, but no I think they are both equal. I thought the writing was really wonderful and so easy to read. I loved the characters, both the good and the bad and I thought the story was so well thought out and just so very enjoyable. Apparently I like a good revenge story! If I ever need to get revenge on someone I hope I can do it with as much cunning, class and flair as the Count Of Monte Cristo! I can now see how this is a lot of peoples all time favourite classic as it is so much more accessible than a lot of other classics due to the language used and the stories aren't always relatable in modern times. Revenge however is understood through the ages. Overall a really excellent book, one I'm so glad that we picked up as buddy readers as I may have missed out on this if not. I really look forward to picking this up again in the future, so I can re read Dantes adventures.

Fabulous. Love it.

Hard work but well worth it if you hang in there. 800+ pages of dense print (had an oldster like me reaching for the reading glasses!) and a busy story which stays realistic most of the time but veers into "Ahh Come ON!" territory every now and then. But hey, it was written in the 1840s. This was suggested to me by an 18 year old Parisian student who was here on our farm as a Help-X student as the "Best book ever written". I had vague memories of it from school (in the 60s !) but I suspect I must have been given a shortened version - I cannot imagine being patient enough to slog through this at that age. I liked the way that Edmond eventually picks off all his targets (fore vengeance) but I wish he might have ended up with the first lead-lady (Mercédes), rather than the slave-girl. Ah well.

A good stable literary story

My books always arrive fast with Amazon, so it’s my first choice as I’m ploughing through my 1001 book list to read before I depart this earth. Reading this book (The Count of Monte Cristo) was like reading the most eloquent poetry. The book is thick! But it is written so beautifully, described with such vision and executed with perfection. Yes, I have watched the film and it is one of my favourite films, but this book goes into so much more detail, and obviously has a different plot to the actual film; which makes it more enjoyable to be honest. I loved Dumas’ storytelling, and his passion for words. Very powerful indeed! It has left such an impact on my choice to read more of his books. My heart truly skipped for joy with the turn of every page. By far the best book I have ever read and I look forward to reading more of Alexandre Dumas’ stories. Highly recommend!

Is Dumas the world's greatest ever writer? He's certainly got a shout to be. This book is an absolute classic; a wonderful tale of intrigue, revenge, love and conspiracy amongst everything else. It's a long read but it's all consuming. Wonderful book just like all his other novels.

I read "The Three Musketeers" many years ago, but for some reason neglected "Monte Cristo". My interest was again aroused having read the true story featured in "Parisians", on which Dumas based the book back in 1844. A dark tale of injustice and revenge indeed. How would I react to a novel written over 160 years ago, after reading the likes of Ken Follett, Iain Pears, Louis de Bernieres, etc? Quite simply I couldn't put this extremely long book down for any considerable length of time, and am now very sad to have reached the conclusion, where Edmond Dantes sails off into the sunset with Haydée. What a great follow-up novel Dumas could have constructed. All right, a lot of the dialogue seems very "dated" and improbable, and the character and exploits of The Count of Monte Cristo are slightly unbelievable, looked at in the cold light of day, but what a magnificent, riveting tale. I shall be reading a lot more of Dumas' works in the near future!

Everyone should be reading this book

Increíble!!

Libro affascinante

I won't go over the story since I'm sure someone has done that, I will only be reviewing the condition and how it's organized. I am amazed that this was only $4! There seemed to be a couple of cover designs and I received the the blue cover. Arrived in good condition. It's 875 pages, with the language updated to be more current. Though I still want one with the original translation. The paper is actually good quality and text on the next page is not visible. Yes, the print is smaller than you'd expect, but easy to get used to and prob how it's only 875 pages. The best things I've found is an introduction written by Keith Wren from the University of Kent at Canterbury explaining how Dumas wrote the book and any known mistakes he made. Then there is the historical note that goes over the political climate of the day, notable people, societal norms and history, including how religion affected this time period. I highly recommend not skipping these two parts, but saving the introduction until after you finish as it's a summary and discusses character development. In the back there is a footnote section that has names, dates, vernacular of that time, and so much more. It's a window into early 19th century France. This would make a good edition for teachers/students to use as well as those people interested in the actual history so you can really understand what Dumas wanted to convey and how Dantes evolves from a happy go-lucky young man to one who is darker and bent on revenge, even to his own destruction. Buy it, you can't go wrong with this edition. I know I posted a lot of photos, but I know I would've liked to see these when looking at things like this. Enjoy! I have to add that I haven't read this, having just received it, so I cannot answer to any grammar/translation errors.

En fantastisk story och en av klassikerna i världshistorien. Kan varmt rekommenderas!