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

The goat was very funny. I bet Edmond crapped himself- oh, it’s a goat.

Agreed, Janina. Also, faking that kind of serious injury and deceiving the smugglers...hmm.

I enjoyed the suspense in today's chapter and was delighted for Edmond. I liked the line about comparing the treasure to all the stars in the sky. I'm guilty of skim reading the next chapter.

I may have accidentally read ahead 😳. Only one chapter mind.

I liked how worried Edmund was that there might be someone else on the island when he was looking for the treasure. And when the goat went over! I did wonder how easy it would have actually been to tell what had been done 400 years previously to hide the cave but I'm not thinking that realism is a theme in this book 😀.

And they are crooks! They have been sharing their ill gotten gains with him as well.

Chapter 24

The Secret Cave

• The dudes being gone and out of Edmond's hair, he begins to search the island for the Faria's treasure.
• Voila! Edmond discovers the treasure in a cave, and it is like whoa.
• Edmond thanks the heavens for this discovery and does a little dance – his luck seems really to be taking a turn for the best.

😂

I got the sense that not wanting to share the treasure was a big part of why Dantes did not want him there.

Is our hero as perfect as we thought?

I agree that Edmond was not covering himself in glory today, I'm hoping that pride is not going to come before a fall here. However I did think that his smile when Jocopo offered to stay with him meant he was touched, and will hopefully reward him with a big treasury present.

Yes, he’s really snobby about his crew mates, it’s disappointing. I suppose we would complain if he was too perfect though - maybe this is all part of his learning curve? Definitely think we’ll see Jacopo again soon, and I don’t have a clue how he’s going to get the treasure off the island! (Although I’ve read the book before, the only chapter so far that I actually remember reading previously is the one where he first meets Faria…I have no idea how the story is going to develop!)

I feel he didn't shine today. I didn't like his attitude towards his rescuers.

I'm assuming unless we know there's been a corpse that anyone could turn up again.

Edmund is being very devious even with the people who saved his life. I hope he gets redeemed somehow after getting his revenge on the baddies.

He might pop up in a minute from behind a rock! It's that kind of book @TonTonMacoute

I have a feeling we might see Jacobo again. He seems very devoted and Edmond is going to need help at some point.

The Island of Monte Cristo

A day after he makes the plan known, they find themselves docked off the island's coast.That night, they make landfall. Edmond asks Jacopo where they are going to sleep that night. When Jacopo tells him that they'll probably sleep on the ship, Edmond suggests that maybe they'd be better off sleeping in the caves.Jacopo has some bad news: he doesn't know of any caves on Monte Cristo. Still, Edmond doesn't lose hope. He knows the directions by heart, and he intends to follow them.The next day, Edmond takes a gun and goes off "hunting" on the island – which is populated by a bunch of wild goats. Jacopo insists on tagging along, but Edmond quickly dispatches of him by killing a goat and forcing Jacopo to carry it back to camp. Edmond spends the day searching the island with little success.
When dinnertime rolls around, the rest of the crew fires a shot to get Edmond's attention.
Edmond runs back toward the group, moving quickly, recklessly. He loses his footing, cries out, then falls out of sight.
Jacopo finds Edmond lying on the ground, covered in blood. Edmond claims to be badly injured and will not even let them carry him back to camp.An hour later, they return to find Edmond looking no better. The captain suggests that they delay their departure so that Edmond can recover, but he'll hear nothing of it. He asks to be left alone with a gun and a pickaxe, so that, you know, he can build a shelter. Though the captain warns Edmond that they won't be back near Monte Cristo for at least a week, he tells the captain not to worry. If they run into another boat headed in the right direction, he says, tell them to come my way; I'll pay them for their trouble.
Once again, he turns down Jacopo's offer of help, and, finally, they leave.
After watching the ship disappear over the horizon, Edmond hops up, filled with energy, and sets to work.

I was expecting Dantès to enlist Jacopo as a companion and as a helper. Or even the crew. He is going to need help as well as a boat to carry the haul. Has he thought things through?!

Yes, me too @MamaNewtNewt . In chapter 23 Dantes seems completely at ease with deceiving his colleagues, even Jacopo.

I was a bit said to see the change in Edmond, not physically but emotionally. Still it wouldn't do for him to be squeamish when he has so much revenging to do!

Me too. I was reading it on the tube thinking "hot"! I have been lagging a bit behind and while I was enjoying it I wasn't gripped by it. But then he got chucked over the parapet and suddenly I couldn't put it down.

Geniuses we are @cassandre 😉
Etsy is telling me that I can buy a Phyrgian cap, with or without a rosette 🤔

Great minds think alike @FuzzyCaoraDhubh , thanks for the photos!

Yup 😜

@JaninaDuszejko 😂A Phrygian cap would be kind of the right shape for that. Oh dear! 😜

A multifunctional Phyrgian red cap 😅

Maybe he used the red hat to preserve his modesty.