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!

Hello, I'm jumping in belatedly! Thanks @AgualusasLover for setting up this lovely read-along and posting the summaries. I wasn't sure at first whether I was up for reading Dumas, because swash-buckling adventure isn't my usual genre, but I'm enjoying the book so far. It's more readable than I expected.

@lifeturnsonadime about French editions, I have the two-volume Folio classique edition, with cover photos of the recent French film. To my surprise, my local bookshop had it in stock (they have a small selection of literature in French). Otherwise I would have ordered it from French Amazon or UK Amazon:
Volume 1 here

I'm annoyed with myself though because I bought the Oxford World Classics translation instead of the Robin Buss Penguin one. There are lots of minor discrepancies between the World Classics translation and the French edition I'm reading, and I worked out it's because it's partly based on the early serialised version of the novel (thanks to @AwardGiselePelicotTheNobelPeacePrize for mentioning that). But also, it's not a recent translation; it's based on an 1846 translation, 'revised' by David Coward. So I'm thinking of ditching it and buying the Robin Buss translation instead (it's only a tenner). That said, the French is easier to read than I expected, so I'm consulting the English translation much less than I thought I would anyway. It's nowhere near as challenging as Flaubert was!

I think the portrait of Villefort is very well done. The aristocrats come across as quite self-centred!

I9th c. French history is not my speciality, so I was intrigued by what seemed to be an opposition in these chapters between the monarchist aristocrats and the more revolutionary Napoleon (although I think he turned out to be more of an imperialist than a revolutionary!). So I did some googling to try to find out whether Dumas was a supporter of Napoleon. What I found was a lot of info about Dumas Senior, who was a general under Napoleon but who was treated very badly by him; he was imprisoned apparently and Napoleon didn't try to get him released. So, given this family history, I don't think Dumas Junior would have been an unequivocal Napoleon supporter by any means.

I love this book. I won’t be reading along as I have read it several ties. I am interested in the comment though. For some strange reason it makes me happy to hear of others enjoying it.

Even when we read the same book. DH never wants to talk about it. My DD is the one I share with.

I agree it’s a joy to share rictas!

I thought today’s chapter was great after yesterday’s prepared the ground, we keep changing our mind about whether Villefort is to be trusted or not. I didn’t notice at the time but the way the name Noirtier was introduced yesterday to be used today with such impact was brilliant.

Does anyone’s edition have a character list that they would be happy to share please? Mine doesn’t and it’s looking like it’s going to get hard to keep track very soon!

https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/count-of-monte-cristo/characters.html

this might help @CornishLizard

This character list and its brief description of their roles in the book have many spoilers. I was scrolling through for a reminder and it has given me an insight as to where the plot is going.

I have never read The Count before so I quickly exited the page. For those who have read the book and would like a refresher, it is ideal.

Apologies @AgualusasLover if my post came across as snippy. It wasn't intended. 💐

No no, I was just copying and pasting on the move so didn’t read it at all.

@AgualusasLover Phew! I was making dinner and started second-guessing myself.

I have just finished watching a 4 part documentary about Napolean so I now understand the historical context of the book.

I'm becoming quite invested in the book but more so reading this thread every day.

Enjoyed that chapter, the tension is really building now.

My feeling is that Villefort doesn't want to unfairly incriminate Dantés and at this point his only aim is to protect himself. By destroying that one piece of evidence he believes he has done enough, that his boss will share his conviction of Dantés innocence and all will be well.

@lifeturnsonadime @cassandre
I have the same two volume Folio edition with the new film cover - I got them from Librarie La Page, a bookshop in South Kensigton, which delivers. They’re on bookshop.org.uk and also have their own website.

Thanks for the link Agualusa and the spoiler warning LuckyMauveReader!

Villefort seems to have an idea in his head about how the destroyed letter can make his fortune. I can't work out what that idea might be but the ending of the chapter suggests that Dantes is far from being in the clear.

I enjoyed this chapter.

I love the tie ins in the plot between Villefort and Dantes especially that the letter is addressed to Villefort's father and that the letter could damage both of them, both getting married etc.

Thanks for the information on the French versions @cassandre and @MotherOfCatBoy

Great chapter as it initially seemed (to me, at least, based on the conversation with Morrels) that Villefort might make an example of Dantes. Then Villefort looks as if he will be lenient based on his conversation with Dantes and his desire to please Renee and finally it’s all up in air as self-preservation becomes the priority.

Absolutely didn’t foresee the addressee of the letter but recognised the name immediately and had to flick back to check it was who I thought it was.

Can’t wait for tomorrow’s chapter but also mystified as to how Villefort can capitalise on this.

Well that was exciting. I don't trust Villefort. Is he going to have Edmund locked up anyway to keep him out of the way in case he reveals who the letter is to and harms Villefort? If Villefort's superior had been there the issue might have been cleared up immediately because he wouldn't have been motivated to cover up the letter. Might have to read the next chaptera few minutes early!

I really enjoyed this chapter, it's all hotting up now. I kind of went back and forth on Villefort, he's clearly status obsessed, but some of that may come from the instability created by his father's politics, and he clearly wants to be a fair judge, but I suspect that will fly out of the window if he needs to save his own skin.

Well, I think we can agree, this has escalated!

1 The Chateau d'If
• Edmond is quickly moved from Villefort's chambers into a small, clean jail cell.
• After waiting around for a few hours, Edmond is paid a visit by a couple of soldiers. He's taken to a waiting carriage with barred windows. After a short ride, he's let out at a military encampment, led down to the beach, and put into a small boat, along with four soldiers.
• He asks the soldiers to tell him where he's being taken, but they won't tell him. Still convinced that Villefort is on his side, he makes no attempt to resist…until the soldiers unfurl the sail, and the boat heads out toward the open sea.
• At this point, he demands, again, to know where he's headed. The soldier tells him it should be obvious to him at this point…and it is. Up ahead, the Chateau d'If, the huge island fortress/prison – think Alcatraz – looms in the distance.
• Now Edmond tries to make an escape, but the soldiers stop him from jumping overboard. He stops resisting, and, soon enough, they arrive at their destination. The soldiers bring him inside, to another temporary cell – this one much darker and dirtier than the one he'd been in before. His jailer leaves him some bread and water, then closes the door behind him.
• Edmond is left alone in the darkness. The dawn comes, and the jailer has still not received orders, not that it makes a difference to Edmond – he's spent the night in a sleepless stupor.
• Edmond demands to see the jail's governor, but when his request is denied he bursts into tears. If only I had tried to escape, he thinks, he could have lived a happy life. Instead, now, he would go mad in prison.
• When the jailer returns the next day, Edmond is still agitated; he only wants to see the governor, nothing more – not even food or water. The jailer warns Edmond that this kind of obsession will drive him mad – he tells him of another prisoner, an abbé who was driven mad in that way – but Edmond doesn't listen.
• Edmond threatens to kill the jailer, swinging his stool around menacingly. The jailer immediately goes and gets a bunch of soldiers and tells them to take Edmond down to the dungeons.
• Edmond does not resist as they take him down; he is, indeed, very close to madness.

That's got to be one of the fastest ever literary rise and falls from fortune.

Poor Dantes.

No wonder he feels like he's going mad.

It has gone from bad to worse!

Very gripping chapter even though nothing much really happens. It's very cinematically written as Dantés grows ever more confused about what is happening.

I dug out our old English translation as I wanted to know what an 'exempt' was, only to find they had translated it as 'exempt'! The language is very flowery and old fashioned, and actually harder to read than the original IMO! I'm sure the newer translations are far better.

I was also wondering what 'l'exempt' was TonTon and the English edition (Penguin) suggests 'officer'.
I looked up Chateau If. It's a visitor attraction! A day trip from Marseille.

@FuzzyCaoraDhubh

just looked up exempt in my old French dictionary (1908) and it is short for exempt de police, meaning a police officer or constable.

We watched this video in my French class about the Chateau d'If

In my version Chateau D'If has a note next to it which reads: The Island fortress, made famous by Dumas' novel had in reality only one notorious prisoner, the Comte de Mirebeau, who was sent there under the Royalist Regime for debt.

I think that this is interesting as Dumas was clearly intrigued by the idea of the chateau as a prison and made it famous by the novel. I hadn't realised it's now a tourist attraction!

Thanks for that @TonTonMacoute and for the video!

Did you notice the word for stool ('escabeau')? Apparently that means stepladder in modern French. The word for stool in Italian is 'sgabello'. You can see the similarity there.