BW4: Alexandre Dumas and The Count of Monte Cristo Readalong

“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, 

be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is 

what you do when that storm comes.”

― Alexandre Dumas

Next week we begin our read of the adventure novel  The Count of Monte Cristo written by Alexandre Dumas. 

Book Synopsis:  "Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration."

Written in serialized format in 1844 -1845, the story is inspired by real life events which took place between 1815-1838 and real life people, among whom is Alexandre's father Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie, who was the highest ranking black officer during the Napoleonic wars, and thrown in prison,  along with fellow sailor and scientist Déodat de Dolomieu.  The story behind the story  is taken from the life of shoemaker Pierre Picaud, who was engaged to a rich woman, and falsely accused by three very jealous friends of spying for England, and is thrown in prison for a period of time, and uses his exploits during and after. 

We're going to take it slowly with plenty of time built in to talk about the story. The Count of Monte Cristo is composed of 117 chapters and we'll read three chapters a week, (approximately thirty pages give or take a few) and get to know the characters, dig into the themes presented, and allow us to explore rabbit trails. The page numbers are based on the Penguin Classics paperback version, translated by Robin Buss.

  

 

Chapters	Pages
01 – 03	07 - 32
04 – 06	33 - 61
07 – 09	62 - 88
10 – 12	89 -111
13 – 15	112 – 147
16 – 18	148 – 186
19 – 21	187 - 211
22 – 24	212 – 235
25 – 27	236 - 266
28 – 30	267 - 299
31 – 33	300 – 358
34 – 36	359 – 412
37 – 39	413 – 435
40 – 42	456 -484
43 – 45	485 – 524
46 – 48	525 – 557
49 – 51	558 – 581
52 – 54	582 – 620
55 – 57	621 - 652
58 – 60	653 - 677
61 – 63	678 – 704
64 – 66	705 – 732
67 – 69	733 - 760
70 – 72	761 – 773
73 – 75	774 - 820
76 – 78	821 - 860
79 – 80	861 - 895
81 – 83	896 – 931
84 – 86	932 – 962
87 – 89	963 - 986
90 – 92	987 - 1012
93 – 95	1013 – 1039
96 – 98	1040 – 1056
99 – 101	1069 - 1090
102 – 104	1091 - 1115
105 – 107	1116 – 1150
108 – 110	1151 – 1173
111 – 113	1174 – 1206
114 - 116	1207 – 1229
117	1230 – 1243

Alexandre Dumas was a prolific writer and if you've already read The Count of Monte Cristo, and don't want to reread it,  dive in to any one of his stories. If you have a hard time deciding, Molli of Discover Walks Blog suggests 5 Best Books Written by Dumas.   Bill Morris of the Millions explores Seven Reasons Why Alexandre Dumas Will Never Die.   

The story is available to read online through multiple resources including Gutenberg and the Literature Network  as well as in audio format.  

Do you have any preconceived notions about the story?  Have you watched the movie with either Richard Chamberlain or  Jim Caviezel?   

Please join me in reading The Count of Monte Cristo. 

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