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!

Also thank you @AwardGiselePelicotTheNobelPeacePrize for your explanation and recommendation. I will watch that later.

What an education this thread is. I'm quite enjoying myself.

Caderousse is turning out to be more of a friend to Dantes than he appeared in yesterday’s chapter. Danglars is playing a clever game. The chapter summary suggest Danglars wants to be captain (instead of Dantes) but I am not sure as an accountant that he is qualified to be.

Caderousse came across as cartoonish in today's chapter, but I agree that he might be a friend to Dantès in the future.
He doesn't bear him any ill will unlike Danglars who really has it in for him.

I was also wondering how an accountant could hope to become the captain of a ship?

I was pleased in a nerdy way to see Murat mentioned in relation to Napoleon. He featured prominently in 'War and Peace'.

He might be like Claudius out of "I, Claudius" in that he is pretending to be the fool/cartoonist.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh I do feel I am gradually getting closer to needing some Napoleon biography at some point.

Caderousse came across as cartoonish in today's chapter, but I agree that he might be a friend to Dantès in the future

Funnily enough I was thinking that they way the scene is described is almost more like a stage direction than just description. It's very easy to visualise the scene and in some way it feels quite similar to reading a bande dessinée book like Astérix.

The Napoleon stuff is mostly background tbh, no need to be a massive expert

Were you on the W+P readalong or did you join in for 'Anna Karenina'? :)* *

There is a series of three books set from the view point of his wife, Josephine, written by Sandra Holland that you might like.

Reply to @AgualusasLover

Gulland not Holland.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh I was there for W&P too. I’d read it couple of years before as well and found myself loving the war stuff and all the Napoleon worship. He cropped up in anything I did in European history (obviously I suppose now). My very first European history lecture, the lecturer walked in and asked the class what he was supposed to talk about, then he went ‘ah yes, Napoleon…’ and spoke for 90 whole minutes with no notes and seemingly no prep. He was not a historian of France or of Napoleon and I was hocked both academically and developed a crush from that day. I have a view of some background, but I’d love to know more.

Yes I remembered that you were on it @AgualusasLover and Desdamona led it by doing the Shmoop summaries. I didn't think I would like it as much as I did. It was a fascinating read, the whole thing. I think the way that Tolstoy used historical figures as well as fictional characters gave it a sense of authenticity.
Similarly to these chapters in 'The Count' where name-dropping Napoleon and Murat puts it into context.

@LuckyMauveReader no question is stupid, I know I've been heavily googling (did the same when I read W&P) because I don't know this period of European history at all.

And agree, doing a readalong for these historical novels is definitely an education.

I definitely think, you can read for plot alone and enjoy, you can read for sense of place and enjoy, you can read and enjoy the historical context and probably a myriad of other ways.

I always find on the read-a-longs that people ask, share opinions, knowledge etc that has never occurred to me. 3/5 readalongs I have read the book before, this one included but I recall very little, just how much I loved it and used to go to a little cafe that did these roast dinners in boxes at lunch time and devour it. It had been recommended by my cousin after I loved The Three Musketeers and she said this was even better.

This is completely irrelevant to TCOMC or W&P for that matter, but it still makes us laugh.

When DS was about 12 he asked me about W&P, so I showed him where my copy was. A few weeks later we were watching University Challenge and one of the questions was 'What was Tolstoy's first name?'

'Ooh, I know this, it's Napoleon!' pipes up DS.

When we had finished laughing we asked 'Where on earth did you get that from?' 'It's here in this book!' flourishing the copy of W&P.

The blurb on the back reads " In Russia's struggle with Napoleon Tolstoy saw a tragedy that involved all mankind..."

DS was right, there should have been a comma, but we've never allowed him to forget it.

That's so funny 😅
Love that story @TonTonMacoute!

For those reading a French version which copy are you using and did you order in the UK. I think my French may be up for giving this a go!

I got mine on Kindle. It only says 'French edition'. Screenshot of the cover below.
Also the last page of today's chapter.
I'm finding it very readable.

It was written for a mass readership before formal education was obligatory so the language is pretty straightforward, though some of the vocab is now old fashioned or obsolete.

Now I'm looking up universal education in France. The revolution and subsequent wars both brought the school system under the control of the government (rather than charities and the church) and starved it of money (because the money was diverted to the Napoleonic Wars). But post Napoleon there was an increase in state schools for boys. However, universal education for girls wasn't proposed until the 1880s and the French people still had to pay for state education until the 1920s!

In the UK it varied with Scotland's first Education Act in the 15th century (but only universal education for the sons of the aristocracy) and England's in the 1870s.

I'm a bit confused by Caderousse, he definitely seemed up for causing problems for Dantes in the previous chapter, but maybe getting an innocent man sent to prison is a bit beyond what he was thinking.

I'm also confused by Caderousse. I think he's the type to take advantage of events should the opportunity arise but he's not as ruthless as Danglars.

Today's chapter is long but fast-paced!
Caderousse came across as weak in it, I thought.
Thank you for the interesting posts on education in France during that time.

1 The Betrothal
• Wedding time! We're back at the same inn where Danglars and Fernand hatched their plan, though this time things are going down in a big banquet room upstairs.
• A big crowd of Edmond's friends is there, including a bunch of sailors from the Pharaon, Danglars, Caderousse, and even M. Morrel.
• When everyone arrives, Danglars and Caderousse are sent out to find Edmond, Mercédès, and Edmond's father. They're all looking great. A particularly grumpy looking Fernand is also there, accompanying Mercédès. He's looking significantly less great.
• Edmond is so overwhelmed by the awesomeness of the day that he can't help but think he's a little too lucky. Everyone tells him to stop worrying.
• Now, Edmond lets everyone in on a little secret: he and Mercédès are getting married in half an hour thanks to a little monetary help from M. Morrel (a marriage license ain't free, after all). Everyone gasps, but Danglars and Fernand are totally shocked.
• Danglars can't believe it's all been arranged…but it has, and Edmond and Mercédès quickly set off for the Town Hall; Edmond has no time to lose, as he's supposed to leave for Paris the next day.
• Just as the happy couple are saying their goodbyes, the cops come through the door; they've got a warrant for Edmond's arrest.
• Everyone is shocked, again.
• Edmond asks why he's being taken in, but the cops don't even know.
• When the elder Dantès begs and pleads with the police commissioner, he's told it's probably not even that big a deal.
• Meanwhile, Caderousse realizes that this might have something to do with Fernand and Danglars's "joke." Danglars tells him to shut up.
• Edmond stays calm and tells everyone he'll be all right. The cops take him down to a carriage and they head toward Marseille. Edmond can hear Mercédès call his name as he rides off, and he gives her a last goodbye.
• Caderousse suspects that Fernand is responsible for the scene, and he tells Danglars as much. Danglars tells him to shut up again.
• Danglars himself tells everyone that he's probably just been taken in because of some smuggled goods.
• Morrel, who had accompanied Edmond down into Marseille, comes back with some bad news. Edmond, he tells the group, has been accused of being a Bonapartist.
• Now Caderousse is really suspicious; Danglars threatens him once again, and Caderousse finally decides that it's in his best interests to keep his mouth shut.
• After the party disperses, Morrel has a brief discussion with Danglars. Danglars assures Morrel that he told no one about Edmond's visit to Elba; he also assures him that he can and will take command of the ship when the time comes.
• After Morrel takes his leave, Caderousse and Danglars are once again left alone. Danglars reassures Caderousse that they are not responsible for what's happened; if anything, Fernand is guilty, and that they needn't worry about being implicated. As far as he's concerned, everything is going according to plan.

@lifeturnsonadime

Im finding it very straightforward reading, he uses quite a range of tenses sometimes but it doesn't get in the way.

I got this version, it's in two volumes, and this is the first page of today's chapter for reference.