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!

Caderousse is just a weak bloke. He doesn't mind making mischief, and winding up Dantes to bring him down a peg, but he's dead against this plot of Danglars.

However, he's just far too scared to act. He doesn't know for certain if Dantes is guilty or innocent and he doesn't want to end up in prison himself which, as Dumas points out, is a real possibility.

I got a version of this on the kindle which is not very good I don't think so.have just bought the audible book and will catch up.later

Ah yes @TonTonMacoute 'just a weak bloke' - that makes sense.

😂I had the 2 conflated in my mind too!

Enjoying reading along. Struck by how dangerous it is to be thought to be on the wrong side and how high the stakes are.

Danglars is like the evil puppet master, pulling everyone’s strings! And in one paragraph, Dumas made a big point of how strikingly handsome Dantes looks in his wedding attire. My eyes, I’m afraid they did rolleth 🙄. So far it’s the Angel vs the Devil - am I wrong to hope that as things unfold, there’s a bit more depth and complexity brought to these characters? One small thing that seemed odd to me was that of the ‘friends’ that were gathered to eat together, Danglars is sat next to Dantes - when Dantes has said that he doesn’t like the man. You’d have thought Danglars would be the last person he’d want sitting next to him.

Those of you who’ve mentioned it being like a play, I very much agree: each scene is something that would be easy to adapt to a stage I think. I have no idea if Dumas had that in mind while he was writing it.

Aside: my autocorrect wants me to write Danglers! 😳

Danglars holds a relatively senior role, so I assume that’s why he is seated with him. They will also continue to work together as Dantes owned that the trouble was personal and not with his ability to fulfil and be a good super cargo. Good relations all round would be no bad thing.

I find the characters strangely rounded, which is weird, because actually Dumas has not given much to create that. These first few chapters have jumped immediately to action and to good/bad. I do though have the ability conjure all sorts from very few words - like if you said, there is a castle then I can see it and describe it in detail. I have a friend who cannot see image at all when reading. I suspect we all sit somewhere between those two extremes. So, my rounded characters are actually more drawn by me than Dumas.

Wikipedia says Dumas did a theatrical version of TCOMC:

Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet wrote a set of four plays that collectively told the story of The Count of Monte Cristo: Monte Cristo Part I (1848); Monte Cristo Part II (1848); Le Comte de Morcerf (1851) and Villefort (1851). The first two plays were first performed at Dumas' own Théâtre Historique in February 1848, with the performance spread over two nights, each with a long duration (the first evening ran from 18:00 until 00:00).

I think after todays chapter the points about Caderousse being a weak man, rather than a bad one, to be true.

So much happens in each short chapter! I wonder if the pace stays like this throughout.

I just can't understand why Fernand would want to marry a woman who is besotted with someone else. Why would you want to know you were second choice?

That's probably a modern viewpoint, but it wouldn't work for me!

Lots of action. I had hopes Caderousse was going to turn out to be a better man than the previous chapters indicated but not the case and agree he is weak.

Does Fernand think Mercedes will forget Dantes? Unlikely! Or that he can support her and so she will come to love him? Remote possibility I suppose which becomes more likely if Dantes turns out to be a Bonapartist.

Danglars is definitely the puppet master at the moment.

A new character!!

The Deputy Crown Prosecutor
• As it happens, there's a very different kind of betrothal feast going down on the other side of town.
• Monsieur de Villefort, Marseille's Deputy Crown Prosecutor – think of him as an assistant district attorney – is getting married to the very wealthy, very aristocratic Mademoiselle de Saint-Méran. The mademoiselle's parents, persecuted under the rule of Bonaparte, are, shall we say, quite happy to have the monarchy restored, and a lot of the conversation at the party revolves around Napoleon and the tumultuous politics of the time.
• De Villefort is the life of the party, verbally jousting with the fiery, feisty Madame de Saint Méran. It comes out that de Villefort's father was a Girondin during the Revolution – which is to say, he was a radical, a revolutionary – but the Saint Mérans haven't blamed him for the "sins" of his father.
• Mademoiselle de Saint-Méran asks them all to move on from the touchy subject of her fiancée's past, and they do. Instead, they discuss the imminent removal of Napoléon from Elba to the far more distant St. Helena – a tiny little island thousands of miles from France.
• They get to talking to about de Villefort's job as a prosecutor. He assures them that it's serious business, a matter of life and death; his work is a kind of duel against the defendant, and his words are his weapons.
• At some point the Comte de Salvieux interjects that the King himself has approved of the match between de Villefort and Mademoiselle de Saint-Méran. Villefort is, of course, flattered.
• Just then, de Villefort is interrupted by a messenger. He returns to the room quickly bearing a letter – the denunciation of Edmond written by Danglars and delivered by Fernand. Since the Crown Prosecutor is out of town, de Villefort is obliged to deal with the case.
• He gives his fiancée a loving look, then takes his leave.

This was an interesting chapter with lots of historical background. I appreciated the footnotes in the English edition today.

The Marquise is the last person I would like to sit next to at a wedding!!

I’ve just listened to today’s chapter… well. When I stop having flashbacks to my A Level history classes, I might cobble some thoughts together 😮

I am totally fascinated by Napoleon. I’ll def be getting some non fiction in some point this year.

I think that in the course of this chapter he conveys quite well how febrile the political situation must have been at the time.

The Terror was only 20 years in the past, after which Napoleon had been the dominant figure across the whole of Europe, the threat of him making a come back was taken very seriously - and with good reason!

@AgualusasLover Napoleon is an absolutely fascinating person and I believe the Andrew Roberts biography is highly rated. I've been meaning to read it since I saw the visually fantastic, but highly odd and disappointing, film last year.

@IVFmumoftwo Ive read those! Agree they are very good - gripping and exciting, quite a good guide to the early days of the Revolution and the Terror. All from Joséphine’s pov.

Another one glad to see our old W&P buddy Napoléon!
The seriousness of Dantès’ position really becomes clear here - we know as historical fact that Napoléon escaped from Elba in 1815 (remember Dantès said to Morrel that he thought the Emperor/ « usurper » wanted to buy the Phaeron?) and led an army to retake the government and was only halted by the battle of Waterloo, after which the Allies (mentioned in this chapter) did deposit him on St Helena. This is the period just before that so whilst they don’t know what’s going to happen, they know Napoleon still has some support, that the recently restored monarchical government is s shaky, and everyone is jumpy.

Now - does Dantès really have a letter from Napoleon? And if he does, how could he be so naïve as to trot off to Paris with it? And tell everyone?

It occurs to me that we have not yet had a first person point of view from properly inside Dantès head that would explain « what was he thinking? » We know what Danglars and Caderrouse are thinking - what is Dantes thinking?

This felt like a bit of history lesson today. Fascinating of course, like the history in W&P.

Good point about not knowing Dantes thoughts yet. I have a feeling (from the 2002 film which DH tells me is a rubbish adaptation) that he's always a bit of man of mystery but lets see if I'm right.

Lovely Renee's favour seems to be a highly motivating force for Villefort in this chapter. She seems to be a rather delicate flower who gasps at the idea of heads being cut off (!) so is this hinting that perhaps Villefort will be lenient with (and we know who this is going to be) the next conspirator to be interrogated? Renee says that she wished Villefort were a physician. From then on, Villefort produces some amusingly impressive, is slightly contrived, physician analogies!

Equally, if Villefort is lenient, is he not in danger of being accused of having secret sympathies with Napolean? I got the impression that he is going to have to work extra hard to prove he isn’t a revolutionary because of his dad. Any sign of insufficient punishment handed out by him and people will be quicker to jump on him than if he didn’t have that family history.
Which means Dantès is at more risk - which hopefully can be balanced by Renee’s horror!

I really enjoyed the historical context here and the juxtaposition of the two betrothals, and the very different fates of the two betrothed men.

I was slightly disappointed to move onto a new set of characters and lots of political talk until the significance became clear.

The Interrogation
• After leaving the room, de Villefort puts on his game face, filled with love for his fiancée and the knowledge of his good fortune.
• After receiving a brief from the police commissioner, de Villefort heads down to his office. He is quickly intercepted by M. Morrel.
• Morrel assures M. de Villefort that Edmond is innocent and honest, but de Villefort isn't so easily convinced.
• De Villefort suspects Morrel of harboring pro-Napoleon sentiments, and he lets Morrel know, indirectly, that he should be careful about what he says, before reassuring him that he will do his best to make sure that justice is carried out.
• Villefort makes his way to his office, past a group of policeman and Edmond. Once settled, he calls for Edmond to be brought in.
• Villefort goes through the usual formalities, asking Edmond his name and age, but he is touched when he hears that Edmond, like himself, was interrupted on the day of his betrothal feast.
• As Edmond goes on about his personal history – nothing we haven't heard before – Villefort is struck by the kindness and innocence in Edmond's voice and look.
• Villefort asks Edmond if he has made any enemies; Edmond is surprised. I'm too young, he says, and too innocent to have made enemies. Villefort suggests that all his good fortune may have created some jealousy, but Edmond can't imagine that anyone would do him harm.
• Villefort takes out the denouncement, hands it to Edmond, and asks if he recognizes the handwriting. Edmond does not.
• At this point, Edmond takes a moment to thank Villefort – he can see, he thinks, that the prosecutor is a kind, honest man.
• At this point, Edmond tells Villefort the story – the whole story, everything from his visit to Elba and the letter from Captain Leclère, of his arrival in Marseille, up to his arrest during the betrothal feast.
• Satisfied with Edmond's explanation – if anything, Villefort says, he's guilty of following his Captain's orders and nothing more – the prosecutor asks for Leclère's letter.
• Edmond tells him that it's probably in the packet of letters in front of him.
• Villefort asks Edmond to tell him the name of the person the letter was addressed to.
• Monsieur Noirtier, Rue Coq-Héron, number 13, Edmond says. Villefort is dumbstruck. Villefort makes Edmond promise that he's shown the letter or mentioned the address to no one. He rifles through the papers, finds the letter, and reads it. This only makes him feel worse.
• Edmond asks if everything is OK; Villefort tells him to shut up. After making Edmond promise a second and third time that he has not read the letter or shown it to anyone else, he tells him that he, Villefort, can no longer set him free.
• Villefort goes on to tell him that the main charge against Edmond hinges upon the existence of the letter – which he quickly tears up and burns in the fire. Edmond takes this to mean that Villefort is his ally, but Villefort is really just covering his own you-know-what.
• Deny the existence of the letter, Villefort tells Edmond one last time, and you'll be fine. He calls in the police commissioner and has Edmond taken away.
• With Edmond gone, Villefort thanks his lucky stars that he was able to intercept the letter.
• Suddenly, he has an epiphany. The very thing that could have been his undoing, he realizes, could prove my lucky break.

Just when things were starting to look up...it's Dantès's word against Villefort.
He seems like a complete innocent but he's very young, poor Edmond.

Edit: that was a nice touch, the letter addressed to M. Noirtier.