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

[AgualusasLover]

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!

It was first developed and used in Halifax I think, but didn’t really take off in Britain.

The guillotine was developed as a more humane way for the state to kill people, since it killed people more quickly and efficiently than the alternatives.

It's mad to think of it that way, isn't it.

Sorry to be tedious, but what chapter is it today The Carnival? That's where I'm up to!

Yes @EineReiseDurchDieZeit
That's right (you're not being tedious!)
Carnival today. I liked this one, especially the description at the close of the chapter. Very colourful.

Thanks @FuzzyCaoraDhubh I'll get on it !

Whilst I am not sure of its relevance to the plot other than to continue to build the relationship between the Count and Franz/Albert I thought this was a wonderful chapter. Even Dumas says in the chapter that it is impossible to imagine if you have never been there. All that colour, the noise, the laughter. I loved all the candles twinkling like stars. ✨

Yes I liked it too - lots of fun and flirting! A very sharp contrast to the previous chapter, which I suppose is the point.

The carnival chapter made me want to go to carnival so I made a tentative arrangement with a friend to go before the end of March to see the carnival in Venice. (It’s not that far from us. I have been before but many years ago).

If you go @Buttalapasta please take some pictures and show us!
We were talking about la Carnavale in our Italian class last week as it's almost carnival season over there.

I'd fallen behind so used this weekend to catch-up. I agree that Edmond sounds pretty bitter these days, and I'm not getting why he's taking so long with getting his revenge. Also a bit confused about how the beautiful woman at the theatre fits in.

I'm now suspicious of everyone Franz and Albert come into contact with and assume they are all in the pay of Edmund!

Haha me too @JaninaDuszejko I even wondered if Edmond had hired an entire rent-a-crowd during the guillotine scene. It's making me feel paranoid! But I'm enjoying this masterclass in revenge.

I’ve now caught up, enjoying reading everyone’s comments. Edmond is piling debts of obligation onto Franz and Albert. We know he’s interested in Albert as Mercedes’ and Fernand’s son, is Franz simply a conduit to Albert or of interest in his own right? I wasn’t sure why the executions were so dwelt on - is it to emphasise Edmond’s current level of power and influence and his mindset of getting retribution in proportion to the wrongs done him or did he particularly have reason to see the death of the criminal who wasn’t pardoned?

Are we going to go back to a chapter a day? I've no idea where we are supposed to be now? i think I'm two chapters behind everyone else at this point! I'll read those in the morning, if I get to the end of the Carnival chapter am I on track?

I read 'The Catacombs of Saint Sebastian' today, chapter 37 @lifeturnsonadime I think it's a good idea to take breaks for catching up. No reason to race through it!

Thanks so I'll try to get to end of 38 tomorrow.

I think breaks are a good idea, I just got off track completely last week!

Ahem...I suggested Sundays off. Might be easier for everyone to catch up that way? (Anyway, I am on Chapter 44, waiting for you all to catch up...😂)

Oooh, hope you are enjoying the Italian class. Is it for work or pleasure?

Purely pleasure @Buttalapasta

I studied Italian for a year during my degree course and I always said I would go back to it. When I turned fifty I looked around for a class. I love it. It's an online class with occasional meet-ups and our teacher is fantastic. I'm in my second year now and things are going well. I can read a bit of The Count in Italian which is satisfying.

A chapter a day with Sundays off seems a good compromise, unless anyone has any better thoughts.

i loved the catacombs chapter. All that polite exchange was hilarious. We are beginning to see Edmond’s hatred for Albert coming through now.

When Luigi Vampa invites them back like he didn’t kidnap and ransom Albert!

I did think Albert played it pretty cool though!

These chapters are very different to the early part of the novel but they're great.

It's interesting that the count is now being presented from a completely external point of view, so we have no idea what's going on in his head - I mean, we have some idea, but on one level, he's as much as a mystery to us as he is to Franz.

@AgualusasLover it's interesting that you mention Edmond's hatred for Albert. Does he really hate him I wonder? I thought it was fascination rather than pure hatred, because Albert isn't just the son of his enemy but also the son of the woman Edmond loved.

The count does want power over Albert and Albert to be obligated to him, that's for certain. I can't work out how many of the plot events the count has been engineering from behind the scenes. When some of you suggested that he arranged for Franz to be taken to the isle of Monte Cristo in the first place, I wasn't sure, but now that idea seems quite convincing. Did he also arrange the kidnapping of Albert, I wonder, or was that pure coincidence?

I think Dumas is having a lot of fun depicting the colour and exoticism of Italy.

Albert's attitude of 'I'm a cool Frenchman and I never lose my sang-froid' is quite amusing. He does come across as enormously shallow and self-centred, but not in a villainous way, just in the oblivious way of a young rich privileged white male.

Up to date and enjoyed the Carnival and abduction chapters. What’s the significance of the Count’s shudder?