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!

I forgot that too! When was it mentioned?

It was when Madame de Villefort mentioned how grateful her husband would be to The Count after Ali had brought the runaway horses to a halt and saved their lives.

It was mentioned at some point that Villefort’s first wife died, not how or when though. I struggled a bit with today’s chapter tbh, the verbal jousting was a bit odd, and some of it went over my head. I might listen to it again tomorrow, I just wasn’t in the mood today. At no point did I think Villefort was actually dead, I wonder what Bertuccio will do when he finds out?

I’m so glad that I started this book with you all - I’m learning so much from you, it’s great 😊

Wait til Villefort finds out that the son he had/s is exceptionally troubled. Never mind Bertuccio! That'll be an interesting chapter. I think maybe Edmond will relish telling him all about his antics. Villeforts reputation will be in tatters.

@cassandre I read an interesting theory last year in “The Dawn of Everything” (David Graeber and someone else) that it was European contact with indigenous civilisations in the “new” world that drove discussions back in Europe about alternative methods of government, as not all groups there were absolute monarchies as Europe then was, but some were in effect cooperative democracies. This rather blew the minds of some “conquerors” and explorers and got all the intellectuals back home talking about it. The rather mad and pleasing theory is that these experiences led to debate in Europe that eventually fuelles movements like the French Revolution and therefore indirectly helped to bring about democracy here. Colonialism eats itself. (The book is a great read but long and heavy).
Kicked off by your mention of Montaigne and Brazilian tribes. It’s exactly this kind of trope that opened up discussion. I think there was a lot of self awareness in the “racism” of Europe and artists and writers played with the ideas, even as economically the continent matierially devoured other cultures.

Caroline Dodds (one of the only historians in the UK focussed on the Aztec Empire) has written about this idea, in On Savage Shores, it is in my TBR list but I saw her talk about it at a history festival. Precisely, about this concept of new ideas and especially what indigenous people made of Britain.

I would like to take a moment for this wonderful little sentence from when the Count visited the Danglars household.

‘[Danglars] had nothing but contempt for this charming little cubbyhole to which, in any case, he was usually admitted only on condition that brought someone with him to excuse his presence.’

Thanks everyone for the really interesting comments. I enjoyed that too Agualusa - clearly the Danglars aren’t in a bed of roses! I’m enjoying this section, being back with the Count.

@MotherOfCatBoy

I read a book about the history of French thought (!) and it also mentioned that there was a lot of talk about 'ideal' societies leading up to the Revolution. Everyone would be equal, everyone would work together and would have everything they needed provided for them. Very reminiscent of the 'You will have nothing but you will be happy' trope which may or may not be real.

Needless to say there were quite a few downsides to these ideal societies that didn't suit everyone!

Ah @FuzzyCaoraDhubh that's very cool that you saw an original copy of Montaigne's Essais! I wonder if it was actually the famous 'Bordeaux copy' that has loads of annotations in Montaigne's own hand. After Montaigne died, the Bordeaux copy was used to publish the third and final edition of the Essais. The whole text is available online in a digitised version and is a delight to Montaigne geeks, ha.

Thanks @MotherOfCatBoy for your insights from The Dawn of Everything; that's fascinating. It makes sense that Western encounters with other parts of the world pushed Europeans to think about how they might conduct their politics differently. At the time Dumas is writing, French politics had just gone through a lot of messy changes of regime, so even to French citizens themselves, the government must have seemed far from ideal.

@AgualusasLover I've come across Caroline Dodds Pennock's name and was vaguely aware of her as an important historian, but haven't yet read anything by her - thanks for the rec.

Ooh @cassandre no idea! It was carefully enclosed in a glass!
I'll try to put up a photo.

I've just seen from my photo that it isn't the Bordeaux copy. Still cool though :)

The writing has turned out to be illegible. Never mind!

@TonTonMacoute I reckon studying societies that have just been through a revolution, rather than just before, would be fascinating. Expectation v reality and all that. We could learn a lot… oh, wait, we never learn

Maybe Edmond's scepticism is the best option after all.

I've caught up! Phew!

Learning a lot here, many thanks to the historians on this thread. An awful lot of this would be going over my head. I'm needing this chat to interpret a lot of what is going on! And I am struggling a bit with the big cast.

Today’s chapter was nice - it seems the real Edmond is still somewhere inside the Count, deeply buried but with the potential to re-emerge!

You're not alone @RazorstormUnicorn I'm finding it a challenge and I'm behind again!

Agree @DuPainDuVinDuFromage , feels like we’re getting a sense of Edmond as a person again.

Yes, agreed! I think there's a hint that Edmond's good deed will become known at some stage. I liked the mention of Morel's last words. Aw...

Found it hard to believe Max hasn’t picked up the clues and figured it out…
(The letter was signed by Sinbad. Franz knows Sinbad is Monte Cristo. Franz told Albert. Max was at Albert’s breakfast for Monte Cristo and all Alber has done is blab on about pirates and bandits and riches!)

Exactly @MotherOfCatBoy people are slow at joining the dots!

Loved The Morrell family chapter!

Do we know who Haydée is? I recognise her from the theatre in Rome, but the Count asked her to keep her origins secret so wondering if there’s another connection?

That's a mystery!

Julie sounded more suspicious than Max. Dumas obviously thinks women are better at recognising people, Mercedes recognised Edmund as well. Has to be said, for a master of disguise, he's a bit rubbish at hiding his emotions 😂.

True on all points Janina!

I thought I would post this weeks Shmoop updates for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday

Haydée

• The Count has a beautiful Greek slave named Haydée who we met before in Rome (she was on his arm at the opera).
• This beautiful lady lives in luxurious rooms in the Count's house.
• The Count tells Haydée that she is now a free woman and can go and do whatever she wants to do.
• Haydée is all, "but I want to serve you; I don't ever want to leave."
• The Count tells encourages her to go explore the world and be a free woman, but he makes her promises never to tell anyone about her little secret, the secret of her birth (hmmmmm…).

The Morrel Family

• The Count pays a visit to Max Morrel (Mr. Morrel Sr.'s son).
• Max is currently staying at his sister, Julie's house. Remember that Julie and Emmanuel Herbault (one of Mr. Morrel Sr.'s former employees) are married.
• This is a very happy, cheery household. The Count is really moved by how much love and joy he finds there.
• Max and Julie discuss the anonymous benefactor who changed their father's life and who saved their family.
• The Count says that he thinks he knows who the benefactor was – he believes the benefactor was a man by the name of Lord Wilmore from England.
• Max says that his father believes that the unknown benefactor was that of Edmond Dantès, or perhaps the ghost or spirit of Edmond Dantès.
• The Count's feathers are ruffled by this; he's a bit overcome with emotion.
• He bows out of the happy scene quickly.

Pyramus and Thisbe

• Back at the Villefort's pad, Max and his sweetheart, Valentine de Villefort (Villefort's daughter from his first marriage), talk about how much they love each other and how they'll never get to be together.
• They are lovey-dovey.
• You see, Mr. Villefort Sr. hates the Morrel family, and he wants Valentine to marry Franz d'Epinay.
• Max is poor, and, so, he's not really a "catch" for Valentine.
• The Count arrives at the Villeforts' to pay a visit, and the lovers separate.