The Count of Monte Cristo (Barnes & Noble Signature Editions)

By Alexandre Dumas and Robert Hanks

The future could hardly look brighter for Edmond Dantès. Only nineteen years old, but already an experienced seaman, he is about to be named captain of the merchant vessel Pharaon. His deep and passionate love for the beautiful Mercedes is returned in every respect; they will be married in a few short weeks. Everyone who knows this handsome, modest young man wishes him the best—that is, almost everyone. Edmond is unaware that three men he knows well envy him and are conspiring to bring him down.

     The joy of Edmond and Mercedes’ betrothal dinner is shattered when soldiers march in and arrest Edmond as a Bonapartist traitor. Thrown into prison without a trial and with no hope of release, Edmond receives unexpected help from a fellow prisoner in discovering the identities of those who have done this to him. He spends long hours imagining how to punish them, should he ever escape. If revenge is a dish best served cold, Edmond Dantès is learning to be a very patient and ruthless chef.

     Set in the years following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, The Count of Monte Cristo held Europe in thrall when it was first serialized in 1844. Even at that late date, Bonaparte’s ghost—which looms over this romantic adventure—still haunted the entire continent.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Nov 1, 2012
• ISBN: 9781435141063

Alexandre Dumas

Frequently imitated but rarely surpassed, Dumas is one of the best known French writers and a master of ripping yarns full of fearless heroes, poisonous ladies and swashbuckling adventurers. his other novels include The Three Musketeers and The Man in the Iron Mask, which have sold millions of copies and been made into countless TV and film adaptions.

Reviews for The Count of Monte Cristo (Barnes & Noble Signature Editions)

[llboatman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my most favorite books! Edmond Dantes, a young sailor from Marseilles is betrayed by his "friend" Fernand Mondego and is incarcerated (with his under handed help) in Chateau d'If, a cruel prison not fit for animals. While there, Edmond makes friends with Abbe Farrira who mentors him, teaches him and helps him thrive against the harshness of the prison. It is a story that makes one see survival is possible against the harshest of circumstances. His prison friend Abbe dies in prison, but before his death, he tells Edmond where to find a vast treasure. Edmond makes a successful daring escape, recovers the treasure and sets on a course of revenge only to realize in the end what is most important.

[hamburgerclan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Count of Monte Cristo is the tale of Edmond Dantès, a young man facing a bright future. Even though he is barely twenty, the young sailor is looking forward to rapid promotion in his job and a joyous marriage to the love of his life. Unfortunately Edmond has rivals for each and these men conspire to get him out of the way. Through their actions, Edmond is falsely accused of conspiracy and imprisoned. Years pass and life passes Edmond by. Eventually people assume that he is dead. The truth however, is that Edmond eventually escapes imprisonment and finds the means in which to prepare an elaborate revenge. Upon a second reading, it occurred to me that this really is a big, fat, honkin' melodrama that really doesn't offer deep insights into the human condition. But, oh, what fun! I truly enjoyed the story, though it was a bit disillusioning to discover that Batman, the Shadow and Captain Christopher Pike weren't quite as original as I thought. --J.

[trinibaby9 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book because it is a great example of how a good person can be changed by certain events in their life. The progression of the counts life being taken over by the need for revenge is spellbinding. A true classic

[rebeccaann_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't even know where to start on this review. The book was huge in weight and scope that I don't think any puny little review could possibly do it justice. But I'll do my best. I doubt I need to do a summary. Monte Cristo is famous as the ultimate novel of revenge, and rightly so. The reader is given a front row seat to the transformation of a kind, generous spirit into one who wants only vengeance on those who have done him wrong. We see Edmund Dantes wrongfully imprisoned for fourteen years. We see his betrothed stolen from him and we are witness to the horrible, painful death of his father. We see those who hurt him rise to power and fortune while he rots in a cell and attempts to starve himself to escape his pain. The beginning is chilling and sad.And then it drags. It drags for a fairly hefty portion of the book. We are introduced to new characters and shown enough of them to get a feel for their personality. We see the vast wealth of the new Count of Monte Cristo (of whom the reader but not the characters of the book know the real identity). And boy is he wealthy. The immensity of it all is pounded into our heads until we are sick of it. The many and frequent descriptions of his exotic Oriental property, food, and slaves also starts to get old after awhile. We all know he's plotting something, especially when he begins to get close to those responsible for his imprisonment, but we don't know what. There's a lot of set up that leaves the reader wondering "Well, when he is going to get on with ruining their lives?"And then, approximately two thirds of the way through the book, he "gets on" with it and the books becomes a page turner you cannot put down. It devours your life and leaves you with an aching wrist from holding up this nose breaker of a book but still wanting more.What I most enjoyed was Dantes's transformation. He's a lovely, generous character in the beginning but when he returns as the count, he is despicable. Believing to be acting as God's emissary, he excuses his actions through religion. He's cold and ruthless, ruining his enemy's honor, destroying their fortunes, and driving away their families before doing away with them. Even knowing what he's been through, at times it was hard to sympathize with Dantes. But at the same time, it was even harder to sympathize with his enemies. Most of the time, I pitied the innocent family members of Dantes's enemies. They were the ones unjustly punished.Eventually, Dantes has a paradigm shift after one of his schemes leads to the death of an innocent boy and he realizes how his need for vengeance has been controling him. It's a tear-inducing moment when he forgives Danglars, the chief instigator of his own ruin, and allows himself to love and be loved again. This book is beautiful. Yes, it's long and at times even tedious. The characters are not always likeable and sometimes, you hate them all. I would recommend having other books on hand to break this one up when you start to feel a bit overloaded. But it's all more than worth it in the end. Upon finishing this book, I immediately went back and reread favorite moments. This will be a book I keep by my bedside so that the tragic, yet always hopeful, life of Edmund Dantes is never far from reach.5 stars!

[theboylatham_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Eight out of ten.

Edmond Dantès, is betrayed by his enemies and thrown into a secret dungeon in the Château d'If—doomed to spend his life in a dank prison cell. The story of his long, intolerable years in captivity, his miraculous escape, and his carefully wrought revenge.

[thedivineoomba · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I so was not expecting this book to so... fun. It is a near perfect book for what it is - drama, love, action, revenge, kindness, absurdity. You should totally read this book.Don't be afraid of the label of classic! Or that it is about a man in prison who escapes and gets revenge on those who put him there. Its not a dark story at all. It reminds me an Errol Flynn movie - where everybody is exactly what they seem, the good guys win, the bad guys get punished, and everybody lives the life they deserve at the end.But, the book isn't perfect - there is some aspects that are quite a stretch to believe. For example, Dante become an educated man by talking to a priest in the next cell over. Or how a ship was completely recreated, cargo and all. Or how the Count has a seemingly unending supply of money. There are a few ethical issues that will cause modern audiences some trepidation. The Count has a few slaves, even though slavery is illegal in France. Or his treatment of Mercedes - was she really suppose to wait for him for all the years he was gone?

[danielstj · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A flawed yet still worthwhile masterpiece that shows the prowess of Dumas in creating a character that seems, and feels, real.

[karenduff · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Finally finished this, really good read much better than the three musketeers.

[doingdewey · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic story of betrayal and revenge. Edmond Dantes has it all: a father he loves, a pending promotion, and a beautiful fiance. Unfortunately, others envy him his good fortune and conspire to have him sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. When a fellow prisoner informs him of a treasure located on the Isle of Monte Cristo, he determines to escape and use that treasure to enact his revenge.

From the great introduction to this book, I learned that Dumas wrote this to be published in sections in newspapers and was paid by the line. Reading The Count of Monte Cristo with it’s convoluted plot and inclusion of mundane conversations, that incentive is clear. However unnecessarily complicated the count’s revenge may be, it was still a lot of fun to read about. While some sections dragged a little, there was always some part of the plot which made me want to read quickly because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. The events could be cliched at times, but I enjoy cliches and to be fair to the author, he may be the originator of some of these now-cliched plot devices.

One small problem I had with this book was the dislikable nature of our protagonist. As time goes by he gets more and more arrogant, convinced that his revenge is the hand of God! Fortunately for us, a pair of young lovers shows up for us to root for instead, so I never found myself without a character to relate to. Overall, this was far from the best classic I’ve read. It gave little insight into human nature and wasn’t especially well written. Fortunately, these flaws didn’t stop if from being an amusing swashbuckling adventure which was a lot of fun to read. Given it’s success as a light adventure story, I might recommend searching for a well done abridged versions. While the idea of missing parts of a story makes me nervous, I don’t think anyone is going to want to pick up a 1000 page book for light entertainment.

This review first published on Doing Dewey.

[petergward_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Beware the Collector's Library version of this book. It is an abridged version which is so badly abridged that I spotted that large chunks were missing as I read it. This was bad enough that I felt almost sure I had actually skipped parts of the book without realising it, even though I knew I hadn't. I got the unabridged Penguin classics version from the library and read that afterwards, because otherwise it's a great story.

[fwendy_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

First read this when a college freshman during winter break. Was so mesmerized with the diverse characters and so eager to learn how the darker ones get their comeuppence that I read all through the night, several nights to finish. It has always been my favorite adventure/romance. I unknowingly re-read an abridged version more than a decade later. It was flat, the sub-plots less detailed, and an overall dissapointment. Not many novels can be compared with the original.

[myhi_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of my family's classical novels; mom used to read us from it, during the long, winter evenings...Great story, very well written.

[mwalls3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This classic tale of the life, seemingly death, and life again of Edmond Dantes. The book beautifully illustrates the story of the betrayal of Dantes by his best friend, Dantes' struggle through years in prision, and then his decisions to choose either revenge or love. Dumas created real characters who experience the highest forms of love, pain, struggle, and forgiveness. A timeless story for anyone looking to experience an adventure that will stay with them for a long time.

[krazy4katz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am not sure I can add anything to the other 5-star reviews, but I will give my opinion anyway. This is a long book, but it is exciting at every step. The chapters are short and each one has a theme and a drama. Love, death, loss, vengeance, redemption -- these themes are all here. A true page-turner. I am so glad I read it!

[p_s_patrick · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A masterpiece of revenge, adventure and destiny; if it were to be compared to a painting it would be sort that despite filling a whole wall managed to contain as much detail per inch as a good painting of ordinary dimensions. The eleven hundred plus pages that make up this novel are not superfluous, and like the expansive fresco it is difficult to appreciate the brilliance of the whole and the individual brush stroke equally and at the same time, the problem being that if one is engrossed in each page as it comes, it becomes easy to lose track of the pages left behind, and due to character names changing, diligence must be applied to appreciate the significance of events that play out decades after their cause.I have read novels recently, and over the years, that despite being excellent otherwise, simply do not satisfy, I am left wondering why things were not resolved, not put right, and questioning the point of any of it, but here I could not help but feeling almost complete satisfaction. The wrongdoers are made to regret their actions, those wronged return to happiness, justice and noble sentiments abound. Aside from that, the novel contains plenty of the things that make a story exciting: smugglers, ships, duels, murders, betrayal, buried treasure, poison, plots, love, and hatred – all the classic ingredients.

[anitatally · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it - I can imagine myself as a 19th century reader rushing to the news stand to purchase the next installment. This book is full of life.

[bookwyrmm_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a highly complex novel of revenge and I understand why it is a classic. It is, though, just too damn long.

[jiraiya_5 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I am aware how this doorstop from the past is accessible in its peerless translation to me...I, who found many ancient books boring and obscure and inaccessible to my contemporary mind. I acknowledge how certain parts of the book are delectable to read. Should that have been enough? Am I wrong in wanting the impossible from a book overtaken by obsolescence? I must hasten to state that the prose is modern but some ideas are clunky and outdated. But I don't regret in reading Monte Christo, because I need to tread trodden paths to recognize the merit in books that are humble and promise little, only to deliver on all counts. The major problem of the book is that it requires us to be invested emotionally in all characters equally, without laying the foundation for us to care about the newer persons that appear in the book. The chapters dedicated to Abbe Faria are among the best I've read. This performance failed to reappear in the sometimes melodramatic meanderings of the middle and conclusive chapters. The more sentimental chapters remind me of an off form Dickens, or of a faithful Dickens, depending on your opinion. Regardless of the complaints I have against Monte Christo, it's surprisingly modern and there are no cultural shockers here. It's just that sometimes the book takes on the form of ancient and boring texts, such as aesop's tales, the arabian nights, or the Odyssey. Narrators' characters narrate in their turn. Newcomers adopt painstakingly detailed orations of what new information they bring. As someone who looks forward to sad turns of the phrase and poetic insights, I was left cold by the fate of Mercedes, and Albert. There's something wrong in preparing me for caring about these innocent characters, then treating them coolly and giving them no closure. They were the key to humanizing the Count's revenge. These people were spared, but their destiny was not given enough gravitas. This sat ill with me, who was looking forward to see how well the endless flow of words would conclude. I feel the book is average and I feel my rating of two stars reflects my reaction to the book. Others will no doubt have different views.

[stephxsu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Don’t be daunted by the bricklike appearance of this book. The writing is extremely engaging and the pages will fly by so fast you’ll wish it never ends.Edmond Dantes loves his father; has a beautiful, perfect, and loving fiancée; and is poised to become captain of a whole ship at the tender age of nineteen. Then, in a couple of hours, he loses everything, the victim of slander by some jealous and ambitious “friends.”Locked away in an underground dungeon on an island prison for 14 years, Edmond learns of a massive treasure buried on the island of Monte Cristo. When he finally manages to escape, Edmond is a changed man—for better or for worse—and vows to use the island’s treasure to exact complete revenge on the men who ruined his life.THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO reads easily and contains a myriad of characters you will get to know as well as the back of your hand. It is exciting and difficult to put down once you start. Get the Penguin edition translated by Robin Buss for the best read. I highly recommend that everyone read this book!

[takeitorleaveit_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

when I was younger I recall liking it. I wouldn't say 'loved' it. I did love 'The Three Muskateers'. this story was a little outlandish for me. OMG my roomate's last-night's-stand just woke up in his room. she makes good sex sounds. ive never seen her face. just heard her get off. strange.

[djhurley92 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found this book to be a really exciting piece to read. It kept me surprised after every chapter. The movie is nothing compared to this. Every page felt realistic. I could feel Edmond's hatred towards the one's that did him wrong. It really saddened me that he cared more about revenge than his loved ones. He was willing to lose it all just to fill his revenge's appetite. Even when he gets his revenge he has to leave, which really bothered me. He couldn't stay and still love Mercades? Not to mention spend time with the son he never knew until just recently? I would refer this book to anyone who wants to read about adventure, betrayal, and revenge, but do not refer it to anyone who would read it for revenge.

[gigiann · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is actually a re-read for me. This is my second go with this book, as I've decided that this is one of my favorites, if not my all time favorite. This book has it all .... love ..... betrayal ..... adventure ...... history ....... and of course revenge. I can't wait to finish it so I can read it a third time.

[rakerman_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Turns out to be very long and quite weird in places.

[flissp_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fantasticaly gripping! One of my all time favourites.

[tetchechury_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What more can be said about this? A true literary classic.

[lucifey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Revenge doesn't get any better.

[reverendmoon-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the rare instances where a movie MADE me read the book. The longest novel I have ever read. Amazing story line. Incredibly simply written. So easy to fall in love with the main character and his longing for revenge and justice. Classic!

[mumoftheanimals · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Don't be put off by the length. This is a fantastic book - deep, exciting and captivating. I would happily throw in a 'sickie' to stay in bed ansd finish reading it. Do think about the edition. The font size of my edition is off-putting - need lazer surgery to read it. There must be better ones about. Make sure you get the unabridged too.

[tadad_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is my favorite of Dumas, père's books.

[xuebi-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Though long, and clearly showing that Dumas was paid by the word, the story of the Count of Monte Cristo is the quintessential revenge plot, with a epic sweep of one's life and his all-consuming quest to avenge the wrongs done to him. Even at over 1,000 pages, the plot does move relatively swiftly and one soon finishes it.