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!

Thanks for the heads up about The Promise, I'll definitely get a head start on that!

Yes I think TCOMC is being very harsh on Mercedes.

As a character he is unrecognisable to the young man in the opening chapter to me. All edges with little empathy for anyone bar himself.

I'm going to read 'The Promise' over two days, unless I find it so good that I'll read it in one go :)

I liked the chapter where Villefort went a-visiting. Very clever, very funny.

For me, the best part of the book was early on; Edmond's arrest, his imprisonment, meeting Abbé Faria and his escape. That was so good. Still, it's an enjoyable tale in spite of being a bit slow in parts.

'The Promise' was an exciting chapter and didn't drag at all.

I've got one chapter and I am all caught up.

I need a character list. I think I will need it open on my laptop while I read my kindle. I have completely forgotten Mercedes family name, who is marrying who, Fernand cropped up again recently and I can't remember him!

I can't decide if I'm a bit thick, if this was the style back then and everyone just followed it, or if it's too confusing and he's not actually a great author? It's an action packed storyline I need to know the end of, but I feel like I should have kept notes....

I read quite a lot of classics but I am finding this one really confusing! Glad I am not the only one. I work up at 3am and read it a bit on my Kindle under the duvet and really wanted to get up and get my character list out! I am finding Danglars family particularly difficult at the moment. I think partly the problem is that the early characters have come up in the world so much that my brain is finding it difficult to reconcile these pillars with society with the losers we met in the first few chapters.

I’m keeping up with who’s who and I’m a bit ahead as I’m in another readalong on Instagram as well and that group is sticking to a chapter a day, so I’m a week ahead I think.

I agree though that the characters are so different after all this time. I think this is one of the themes - that people don’t really change, that appearances can be deceptive, that Dantès’ revenge is slow and implacable, what does it cost him, etc. It is certainly hard to relate the Comte de Morcef with the useless, jealous Fernand we met back in Marseille…

I am quite enjoying all the young people though who are “innocent” of what happened a generation ago. Rooting for them too!

This is where I compiled the Excel upthread from - I don’t think there are any spoilers left now Danglars/Villefort affair is out there.

I also just think people reading at the time weren’t so consumed with so much like we are, so could remember from week to week, or reread the paper as presumably it would still be knocking about. We consumed so much information all day, every day and aren’t waiting in anticipation in the same way.

Ooh I think there is one more spoiler in there! Just don’t look at it too closely for a bit…

I had forgotten Villefort's name is Gérard!

Impressive chart! Thank you Agua.

Oh damn, though it took me ages to notice it - yes don’t look everyone and I can repost the list with mme Danglars added.

The chart is a great help @AgualusasLover

This week I read ahead but have missed out on following the conversation on here. Although The few chapters that I am in front pose a couple of interesting questions, I am anxious to hear what everyone else's thoughts are. I now have to wait until Thursday

I’m all caught up and enjoying the story! Morrell’s threat of suicide doesn’t sit well with me though - I know it’s of its time and would have been seen as the honourable thing, but it’s so emotionally manipulative! Poor Valentine.

Agree about the suicide threat, especially as he had been so horrified when his own father threatened suicide.

I'm not so sure that it would have been seen as honourable in these circumstances. It tended to be honourable in order to avoid disgrace - like the bankruptcy his father feared. I suppose it might have seemed romantic at the time or writing though.

I'd completely forgotten about Morrell threatening suicide.

Yes it's emotionally manipulative not romantic!

Completely agree with the above and it also sounds like he is very immature.

I like how Noirtier is back in the frame and is the centre of attention. Wondering how he can help the lovebirds however!

Isn't it to do with his control over the inheritance?

I agree that the suicide threat is cringey. However, I suspect that Valentine (because she is portrayed as conforming to the traditional stereotype of the selfless, self-sacrificing woman) can't allow herself to stand up for her own desires in love. Woman pursuing her own sexual desire = a bad thing. So Morrell threatening suicide is a way out for her: a roundabout way for her to realise her own desire. She HAS to marry him, to save his life! It's not for her but for him! It's not selfish, it's an act of mercy! Sigh. But at least the two of them decide to be together.

Yes that definitely makes sense Cassandre, it was the only way for her to get what she wanted without becoming the wrong kind of woman! And the fact that she does love Morrell is at least a mitigating factor in his threat I suppose!

Agree @cassandre that by the standards of the time that was probably the subtext, and would probably be seen as impossibly romantic. But to us - ugh, stop it already, what is wrong with you?

High drama today with Noirtier pulling the signed documents (some very detailed minutes of that meeting!) out of the secret drawer. Very exciting stuff and I enjoyed the back story. He certainly threw a spanner in the works with regard to the marriage between Valentine and Franz.
I'm surprised Valentine didn't swoon away! I wouldn't have been surprised if Franz had swooned away as well! Poor Franz.

It would be interesting to know if it's a reference to Goethe's Sorrows or Young Werther, which was hugely popular nearly 100 years previously. The plot was basically young man suffers unrequited love, commits suicide. It was a bit more masculine than just wasting away which is what the girls had to resort to.

A bit later (I've read ahead a bit) he makes a reference to someone being dressed in black like a hero of Goethe, so maybe it was having a bit of a revival when this was written.

Having dropped off again as I was so behind I think I am back on track again. Enjoying the Valentine/Morel/Franz shenanigans but not Morel's emotional blackmail with his suicide threat.

Backtracking slightly but is the Count really such a master of disguise that no-one recognises him in his other personas?

Hoping to try and get back into a chapter a day. Let's see if I manage.

@TonTonMacoute that's an interesting idea about the link to Sorrows of Young Werther! Napoleon loved that novel apparently. And Romanticism and melodrama do have some traits in common.

But I agree with others that 'Marry me or I'll kill myself' is a highly problematic courtship strategy!

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh I also loved the Noirtier chapter. I've become so used to the Count being the puppet master behind events, pulling the strings of the plot (even if it's unclear exactly how and why), but am I right in thinking that for once, the Count doesn't really have anything to do with the way this particular subplot has unfolded? Noirtier, Valentine and Morrel have managed to foil Villefort all on their own, which is interesting.

I think TonTon suggested earlier that Noirtier would have nothing to lose by revealing his involvement in Franz' father's death, and now he's done exactly that. Though now we know it was a duel not a murder, which makes it less criminal apparently 🙄

Exactly @cassandre I had the same thought, that the Count had nothing to do with this episode...as far as we know!
I thought it made a refreshing change in the story for him to be on the side-lines for once. He hasn't ever met Noirtier either, I don't think, in the past or in the present. It was a powerful moment, looking up the dictionary and spelling out 'Moi'.