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

984 replies

AgualusasLover · 15/11/2024 13:18

Following the success of the continuing Dickensalongs, Fallen Women and various other classics, please join The Count of Monte Christo read-a-long, kicking off on 1 January 2025.

The ultimate tale of revenge, with swashbuckling, chicanery and bare faced lies - The Count of Monte Christo has it all.

Editions: most important point is an unabridged version, coming in at just over 1,200 pages. This thread discusses the various translations – the Penguin Classics, trans by Robin Buss is very popular and the one I am reading but what you have already is likely fine and the nuances of translation are always fun to discuss.

What’s the best translation of The Count of Monte Cristo? • We Love Translations

I’ve been thinking about the best way to read-a-long. There have been red-alongs by the day, in chunks and every which way.

I think we have two options:

There are 118 chapter and my proposal is we do one a day, starting on 1 January, 2025. (W&P and all the Fallen Women books worked well this way)

We could also convene weekly e.g. no spoilers until Sunday and read it as it was released, in 18 parts c.65 pages per week. (I remember The Woman in White worked well this way and so do the Dickensalongs)

For now, I have assumed a chapter a day as it has served us well so far, if the majority strongly object, I have put placeholders in my copy breaking it down and can update in readiness for January.

Schmoop very handily has chapter by chapter breakdowns. Here is the Intro https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/count-of-monte-cristo/

MN meet up in Marseille 2025!

Bienvenue à Marseille | 2025 The Count of Monte Christo, read-a-long
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Original poster
AgualusasLover · 11/01/2025 14:33

I am definitely looking into a small overnight to Marseille for me.

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FuzzyCaoraDhubh · 11/01/2025 14:12

Welcome @Ginsmything !
What a brilliant photo! Thanks for sharing. Did you like Marseille?

Ginsmything · 11/01/2025 14:07

I am so glad I found this post. I started reading TCOMC as we had visited Marseille in September.
I am a bit further on but gave up as I was getting so confused with all the different characters.
i have read all your comments and will do so until you catch up to where I am and then I will continue with the book again
And thank you @AgualusasLover for the schmoop summary which really clarifies each chapter.
Photo from open top bus tour of the Chateau d’If

Bienvenue à Marseille | 2025 The Count of Monte Christo, read-a-long
cassandre · 11/01/2025 14:05

I still can't get over the extent of Villefort's perfidy. The fact that he's the representative of the law and is willing to sacrifice an innocent man to preserve his own standing. It all seems to be working out really well for him so far!

And the portrait of the king is amusing. I would argue that the ability to cite Horace in Latin doesn't necessarily make one an intellectual though! In this context, it makes him look like a wanker 😂and someone out of touch with reality.

@MotherOfCatBoy thanks for mentioning the Plage des Catalans; I've actually been to that beach, but hadn't made the connection! Weirdly enough, I'm currently reading Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner, which was on last year's Booker Prize shortlist (or more accurately, rereading it for book group purposes) and part of that story is also set on the Plage des Catalans. It's depicted as a kind of working-class people's beach, with the police waiting around in vans ready to swoop down and manhandle people if any 'trouble' occurs. Anyway I'm enjoying the Marseilles setting in the Dumas novel.

@Orland0 thanks for explaining why Villefort tells the marquis to liquidate his government stock; I hadn't understood that at all.

I now have the Penguin Classics Robin Buss translation and it's loads better than the original one I had. It also matches my French text, which is nice. Speaking of the French, I keep forgetting that 'batiment' in this novel means ship instead of building, even though I encountered that word on page 1!

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AgualusasLover · 11/01/2025 11:42

Chapter 11
The Corsican Ogre

  • As you might expect, the Minister of Police has some bad news: Napoleon landed in France two days earlier, and is most likely making his way toward Paris.
  • Convinced that the threat is real, the king thanks Villefort, and asks him for more advice.
  • Villefort tells him that they could raise support against Napoleon in Provence and Languedoc, but that in some areas the people will almost certainly join up with the former emperor.
  • At this point the King is pretty mad at his Minister of Police. He can't believe that all of his government agents have been scooped by a deputy crown prosecutor.
  • Villefort is careful not to overplay his hand, though: he's still scared that the conspiracy might be traced back to his father.
  • Conveniently enough, Blacas brings up another matter with King, "the matter of the Rue Saint-Jacques!" Villefort nearly jumps out of his chair, but somehow manages to keep his cool.
  • The death of a certain General Quesnel – who was seen visiting the Rue Saint-Jacques – seems to have been less than accidental. They've even got a description of a potential murder suspect – one that sounds surprisingly similar…to Villefort's father. (Are you really that surprised?)
  • The king makes it very clear that the man in question must be found…and then turns to Villefort: You're staying with your dad, he says, right? (like it's the most natural thing in the world).
  • Villefort tells him that he's staying in a hotel.
  • The king gives Villefort the cross of the Legion of Honour – he unpins it from his own coat, no less – as a reward, then tells him that he's free to go back to Marseille.
  • After getting to his hotel and settling down for dinner, when his valet comes in and tells him a visitor has arrived…a visitor who fits the description of the murder suspect.
  • Sure enough, Villefort's father has come to pay him a visit.
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Original poster
AgualusasLover · 11/01/2025 11:36

My kindle version has a footnote to suggest that, yes.

Will get the schmoop summary shortly.

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BiscuitsBooks · 11/01/2025 11:17

Louis is being depicted as an intellectual, with his reading of Horace and his use of Latin phrases. Is this to show us that he is less interested in politics, and that he relies on others to protect his position?

MamaNewtNewt · 10/01/2025 23:41

I'm the same. I barely restrained myself from carrying on. I don't know much about this period of French history so that's keeping thinks exciting for me!

DuPainDuVinDuFromage · 10/01/2025 20:24

MotherOfCatBoy · 10/01/2025 18:55

I really enjoyed today’s chapter and it was such a cliff hanger I did read a little bit of the next one! It’s so good!

Same! I managed to stop myself after a couple of paragraphs 😄

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AgualusasLover · 10/01/2025 20:17

JaninaDuszejko · 09/01/2025 23:06

This is all very exciting, I could tell the dreadful Villefort was not to be trusted.

I was wondering about the original serialisation and where the divisions between the 18 sections were and found this List of original publication dates. You can see there were one or two of the chapters published every day which is why there are so many cliff hangers. And thefinal chapter came out two weeks after the penulitimate chapter, can you imagine the wait!

@JaninaDuszejko thank you for this. Really useful context.

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MotherOfCatBoy · 10/01/2025 18:55

I really enjoyed today’s chapter and it was such a cliff hanger I did read a little bit of the next one! It’s so good!

TonTonMacoute · 10/01/2025 17:49

It's surprisingly gripping bearing in mind that a) there's a lot of talking and b) we pretty much know what's going to happen next!

FuzzyCaoraDhubh · 10/01/2025 10:10

I like the fact that Louis the 18th is a character in the book! I hadn't known that he had been exiled to Hartwell.

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AgualusasLover · 10/01/2025 10:01

10 The Little Cabinet in the Tuileries
• Over in Paris, the King and his advisors are chilling at the Palais des Tuileries.
• King Louis XVIII is doing his best to ignore one of his ministers and read some Horace; despite being the king, he's not really into politics.
• The Duke of Blacas is attempting to warn the king that there's some trouble brewing in southern France – that's in the direction of Marseille; Bonaparte, or at least his followers, may be getting up to no good. In fact, he tells the king, there's a visitor from the South carrying with him some very bad news.
• After a brief argument between Blacas and the Minister of Police, the king finally allows Villefort – whose name Louis XVIII actually remembers – to enter the room.
• Villefort informs the king and his ministers that he has it on good authority that Napoleon has left Elba – and may already be in France.
• When the king asks him where he got his information, he says it came from "an interrogation," and that the man he interrogated has been put into prison.
• The king does not seem particularly fazed by Villefort's information – but then the Minister of Police enters the room, looking shaken

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JaninaDuszejko · 09/01/2025 23:06

This is all very exciting, I could tell the dreadful Villefort was not to be trusted.

I was wondering about the original serialisation and where the divisions between the 18 sections were and found this List of original publication dates. You can see there were one or two of the chapters published every day which is why there are so many cliff hangers. And thefinal chapter came out two weeks after the penulitimate chapter, can you imagine the wait!

Count of Monte Cristo Serialization Dates

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vTixvtNawbjfrflAiBf1LBxzVMHUmLdED8cHIJKOYColJ_XjvGY361HhtJc_NQ5Tbk5hp83J8ekxV1r/pub

MamaNewtNewt · 09/01/2025 21:48

You could understand Villefort's initial panic, but the fact that he has clearly decided to condemn an innocent man, not to save himself, but to further his career is appalling. I hope he hasn't managed to fully smother that ember of his conscience, and what what he had done haunts him.

Orland0 · 09/01/2025 18:42

TonTonMacoute · 09/01/2025 17:03

I think that when he destroyed the letter (yes it was addressed to his own father) he was prepared to hand Edmond over to his boss, who would almost certainly agree that he was 'just obeying orders' and release him - with the benefit that no one will know about his naughty dad.
He then comes up with a plan (we don't yet know what) that will give him a massive leg up in his career, but which involves sacrificing Edmond.

He is beginning to feel misgivings but is going to go ahead anyway.

Caderousse is completely hopeless, his little scene is actually quite funny.

Show quote history

Thank you, I’m glad to see I haven’t gone completely astray.

For anyone reading, sorry if my thoughts above seem spoiler-ish. I was a bit concerned I’d missed something big - my assumption of why Villefort is rushing off to Paris could be completely wrong. I haven’t read the book before, I’m just scraping the barrels of my brain for some memories of studying the French Revolution period 30+ years ago 😂 🫣

TonTonMacoute · 09/01/2025 17:03

Orland0 · 09/01/2025 14:01

I’m a little confused. Can I check a few things with you here please?

Did Villefort destroy the letter because it was addressed to his own father? Have I got that right? He destroyed it to save his father, but mostly his own reputation by association?

So now, Villefort is off to see the King - are we to assume he’s wanting to be the hero of the hour by warning of a Bonapartist plot? It was a SERIOUS letter in that case, and Dantes was naive to carry it, but ultimately was used.

A few guilty consciences in this chapter 🥺

I think that when he destroyed the letter (yes it was addressed to his own father) he was prepared to hand Edmond over to his boss, who would almost certainly agree that he was 'just obeying orders' and release him - with the benefit that no one will know about his naughty dad.
He then comes up with a plan (we don't yet know what) that will give him a massive leg up in his career, but which involves sacrificing Edmond.

He is beginning to feel misgivings but is going to go ahead anyway.

Caderousse is completely hopeless, his little scene is actually quite funny.

FuzzyCaoraDhubh · 09/01/2025 15:14

I liked the line where it said that Villefort felt judged by Mercédès. There is lovely descriptive writing about guilt and its effects on a person. I hope Villefort experiences it all!

I'm finding the historical details very interesting. I'd say Villefort would put away his own father too if it meant furthering his own interests and saving himself!

BiscuitsBooks · 09/01/2025 14:46

Are we seeing the first signs of guilt from Villefort? His legs give way and he slumps into a chair after his encounter with Mercedes. I'm intrigued to know if and how guilt might be developed as a theme.

Orland0 · 09/01/2025 14:08

TimeforaGandT · 09/01/2025 13:53

Villefort really is showing his self-interest here although intrigued how he plans to capitalise on his position and why it’s necessary to liquidate government stock. Pleased to see that his conscience is troubling him - long may it continue to do so.

Fernand is really weird - getting real stalkerish vibes from him.

The liquidation of Government stock would be so that Villefort’s future father-in-law does not lose all his money IF the Bonapartists succeed in overthrowing the Government. At least, I can’t see any other reason. He’s marrying into a very wealthy Aristocratic family and wants to make sure that wealth eventually gets to him.

Orland0 · 09/01/2025 14:01

I’m a little confused. Can I check a few things with you here please?

Did Villefort destroy the letter because it was addressed to his own father? Have I got that right? He destroyed it to save his father, but mostly his own reputation by association?

So now, Villefort is off to see the King - are we to assume he’s wanting to be the hero of the hour by warning of a Bonapartist plot? It was a SERIOUS letter in that case, and Dantes was naive to carry it, but ultimately was used.

A few guilty consciences in this chapter 🥺

TimeforaGandT · 09/01/2025 13:53

Villefort really is showing his self-interest here although intrigued how he plans to capitalise on his position and why it’s necessary to liquidate government stock. Pleased to see that his conscience is troubling him - long may it continue to do so.

Fernand is really weird - getting real stalkerish vibes from him.

Original poster
AgualusasLover · 09/01/2025 12:53

I absolutely agree, Villefort is the ultimate villain.

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DuPainDuVinDuFromage · 09/01/2025 12:47

Having not posted all week, dropping in to say what a twat Villefort is - all that stuff about wanting to be a nice guy and do the right thing gets dropped as soon as there’s a risk to him personally, and he’s happy to ruin another man’s life to protect himself. Danglars is obviously an unmitigated villain but Villefort is a slimy git who seems likely to sail through life getting what he wants and being unjustly respected for it!

There were so many opportunities for Dantès to be cleared of wrongdoing in this chapter and the last one, and each one was missed - excruciating, even though we know this has to happen for the plot (otherwise it would be a very short book! 😄)