The Count of Monte Cristo

“On the 24th of February, 1815, the watch-tower of Notre-Dame de la Garde signaled the three-master, the Pharaon, from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.

As usual, a pilot put off immediately, and, rounding the Château d’If, got on board the vessel between Cape Morgion and the Isle of Rion. Immediately, and as usual, the platform of Fort Saint Jean was covered with lookers-on; it is always a great event at Marseilles for a ship to come into port, especially when this ship, like the Pharaon, had been built, rigged, and laden on the stocks of the old Phocœa, and belonged to an owner of the city.

The ship drew on; she had safely passed the strait which some volcanic shock has made between the Isle of Calasareigne and the Isle of Jaros; had doubled Pomègue, and approached the harbor under topsails, jib, and foresail, but so slowly, and in so cheerless a manner, that the idlers, with that instinct which foresees misfortune, asked one another what accident could have happened on board.”

Life is smiling on young officer Edmond Dantès; a promotion to captain means he can marry his fiancée, the beautiful Mercédès, and help his aging father. But his dreams of a bright future are brutally destroyed by the vile scheme of a few jealous “friends”: on his wedding day he is arrested on a false accusation of treason and thrown into the dungeon of the Château d'If, where he will remain locked up for fourteen years.

He is saved from despair by the friendship of another prisoner, Father Faria, who bequeaths him not only an education but also a hidden treasure... When he escapes at last he vows to use his new fortune to seek revenge on those who wronged him.

An immense saga of betrayal and revenge, inspired by a true story, The Count of Monte Cristo is one of Dumas' best-known novels. First published in serial form from 1844, this translation was published in 1888. This carefully prepared edition contains the complete texte of all five volumes.