Bienvenue à Marseille | 2025 The Count of Monte Christo, read-a-long

Such a tense chapter! I was convinced the rescue was going to arrive too late

• Morrel decides he's going to kill himself. He even tells his son, Maximillian, about this plan. Max agrees it's a good idea (whaa?)

TBF, that's a bit unfair on Max! 😀

It's actually a very moving conversation.

Ooh, can’t wait to see what Edmond does next! It will be darker though I think …

Chapter 30 Summary

The Fifth of September

• This is a great chapter.
• Nearly three months have gone by, but Morrel still hasn't been able to come up with the money. He's totally distraught, and he doesn't know what to do. Where can he find the money? He can't. His name and his reputation are in ruins.
• Morrel decides he's going to kill himself. He even tells his son, Maximillian, about this plan. Max agrees it's a good idea (whaa?).
• But just before he's about to take his own life, Julie receives a letter from Sinbad the Sailor (drumroll please). She does everything Sinbad tells her to do, and, as a result, she finds the little red purse that Morrel had once given to Edmond's dad (Dantès Sr.) when he was on his deathbed. The little red purse is filled with documents that explain that Morrel's debts have been forgiven. AND it contains a big diamond that is specifically for Julie and her marriage to Emmanuel. Sweet.
• And if that wasn't enough, a brand spanking new ship sails into the harbor – it's the new Pharaon.
• Can you hear the shrieks of joy and the triumphant soundtrack getting louder and louder as the camera focuses on the happy scene in Morrel's home and then zooms out to the Marseille harbor and then zooms out even more, until Marseille is just a little dot on the horizon?
• This is to say, our protagonist, Edmond is leaving Marseille.

Yes, indeed!

There wasn't much to say about chapter 29 as it was a bit dry and just a set up for what happened next. Todays was so tense although on the face of it very simply written - a lot of it was people listening to other people walking up and down stairs and closing and opening doors! Good stuff!

Yes @lifeturnsonadime I think it's a turning point in the story.
All the emotions were engaged in this chapter. And such a nice touch how it was done (reluctant to say too much for anyone who has yet to read it!)

Yes it was @FuzzyCaoraDhubh, my favourite yet.

Very well set up for the next part too.

Today's chapter (30) was excellent.

Chapter 29 Summary

The House of Morrel & Son

• Still pretending to be an English investment dude, Edmond visits Morrel.
• Morrel is bad. His business is about to collapse: his one remaining ship should be coming in any day now, and if it doesn't, Morrel is up a creek without a paddle. Without this shipment, he won't be able to pay his investors, and he will find himself in heavy duty debt.
• Morrel only has two guys working for him at this point, one of whom is named Emmanuel Herbault. Emmanuel is in love with Julie, Morrel's daughter.
• Remember that Edmond-disguised-as-English-investor just bought out the largest of Morrel's investors, and so, now, Edmond is the investor. Edmond-disguised-as-English-investor gives Morrel a three-month extension to find his ship, get his goods in order, and pay him back.
• On his way out the door, Edmond pulls Julie aside and tells her cryptically to follow any orders she receives in the mail from a man named "Sinbad the Sailor." Dum-dee-dum-dum-DUM.

I have been out of synch with reading and the thread for a few days but finally caught up on both.

Edmond has surprised me both with his venal streak in respect of the treasure and his capacity for deception. Also loving the fact that he can pass as an Englishman and the stereotyping.

I've switched to a morning read today. As much as I'm looking forward to the baddies getting their comeuppance it's definitely nice to see Edmond helping those who supported him, and M Morrell is an absolute sweetheart.

Exciting chapter (or two) today. I like that Edmond prioritising helping his friends before starting his revenge !

I enjoyed the description of Edmond as someone between 30 and 32. It's definitely all coming together in this info gathering, pre revenging, pages!

Excellent news @Orland0 👏
Yes! I'm also wondering what guise Edmond will turn up in next.
I don't remember being told his name as a priest (Abbé Busoni) but maybe I missed it in the text.

That's interesting about Dumas's accomplice, Auguste Maquet, that cassandre mentioned. I wonder how that worked out and who did what.

Thank you all 😅 I’m thankfully back on the grid. Sunday evening after I’d listened to the Count for a bit, I switched to reading a physical book, under a pile of blankets with a torch propped up behind me 😂 Yesterday morning I was so cold I decamped to a family member’s house for the day for some hot drinks, food, and phone & tablet charging. So my plans for yesterday went out of the window, but I’m sorted now.

The chapter summaries aren’t vital, I know, though for me consistency and the humour in the Shmoop set-up help me keep on track. Also, I think once we get in to February, it might get confusing (for me at least) to know what chapter we’re on, especially if I have a busy few days at work.

As for Edmond, I feel like Dumas could of had some fun taking the reader with him on a shopping trip where he buys all sorts of hats, cloaks, wigs, false beards and moustaches… I think my imagination is getting carried away! 😆

Another enjoyable chapter and thanks @Orland0, another one who hopes your electricity is soon sorted.

Thinking of you @Orland0 and hoping your electricity will be restored very soon.
Thank you for posting the summaries!

Thank you @Orland0 for posting the summaries, which sounds like a heroic feat given your current circumstances!

Edmond is certainly acquiring all the information he needs with remarkable ease.

@Orland0 Re: no electricity. That was us in October (we did have gas though). It was fun for about 30 minutes but not days! Hope it gets sorted soon!

Smiling as an Englishman does with his teeth clenched made me smile.

Hilarious how brilliantly good Edmond is at doing the perfect impersonation of an Englishman!

Chapter 28 Summary

The Prison Register

• It's Halloween up in here. Edmond is getting the hang of identity swapping, and he now disguises himself as an agent from Thomas and French, an English investment firm, of course.
• Edmond pays a visit to the Marseilles mayor, who he has heard has invested in a big part of Morrel's shipping business. But the mayor tells him to go see the inspector of prisons who has an even bigger share.
• The inspector of prisons? How convenient! Edmond-disguised-as-an-investment-dude meets up with the inspector and buys out his share of Morrel's business. Then Edmond sneakily asks to see the prison records, explaining that Abbé Faria was his teacher once upon a time.
• While scanning the prison records, Edmond looks up his own record and steals the incriminating letter that Fernand and Danglers forged so many years before. He also notices that Villefort indeed sentenced him to life-in-prison (he didn't really get a trial, and he never really got to find out what his prison sentence was).

I think we are definitely going to hear more from them. I think Caderousse isn't active,y bad, but will always look after himself and I wouldn't be surprised if he plays both sides off against each other, with the active encouragement of his wife.

I enjoyed the chapter too, even though I agree that Caderousse seemed at times to be implausibly omniscient as a narrator, ha.

My impression is that his wife is so ill, poor and worn down that she's lost all faith in the potential goodness of human beings.

Btw I read that Dumas co-wrote this novel (and others) with a much less famous author (Auguste Maquet) helping out behind the scenes. It must have been hard work, churning the pages out at the rate they did!

I enjoyed that longer than average chapter. Didn't think much of Caderousse's wife and her suspicions about the diamond.