When I joined the Classics Club in 2012 and put together the list of books I wanted to read, I decided that, whichever order I read the others in, I would save my re-read of The Count of Monte Cristo until last. It’s one of my favourite books (I had already read it twice) and I thought it would be something to look forward to, even if some of the other classics on my list turned out to be disappointing.
Picking it up to start reading for the third time, I did have a few doubts – there’s always a chance that a book you once loved might have lost its magic – but of course I needn’t have worried. The opening line (“On the 24th of February 1815, the lookout at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the arrival of the three-master Pharaon, coming from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples”) is hardly the most scintillating or memorable in literature but reading it, knowing what is to come, gives me the same feeling as when I re-read the first line of other favourite books, such as Rebecca (“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”), Jane Eyre (“There was no possibility of taking a walk that day”) or Watership Down (“The primroses were over”).
Anyway, back to The Count of Monte Cristo! Our hero, or anti-hero (he can be considered to be both), is Edmond Dantès, a young sailor who, at the beginning of the novel, feels that he is the luckiest man in the world. Not only is his marriage to the beautiful Mercédès approaching, but following the death of his captain, he is also about to be given a ship to command. Things couldn’t be better…until the day of his wedding, when he is arrested on suspicion of conspiring against the king with the exiled Napoleon Bonaparte. Of course, Edmond has done nothing of the sort – it is all part of a plot by his jealous shipmate, Danglars, and his rival for Mercédès’ love, Fernand Mondego.
A third man, Villefort, has reasons of his own for wanting Dantès imprisoned and safely out of the way, so with these three enemies ranged against him, Edmond is thrown into a dungeon in the Château d’If where he remains for the next fourteen years. Although he does eventually find a way to escape, his life has been ruined: all of his hopes and dreams have been destroyed, Mercédès is lost to him and he can never get back the years of his youth that have been stolen from him. Vowing to punish his enemies for what they have done, Edmond transforms himself into the Count of Monte Cristo and launches an intricate and carefully planned system of revenge.
The events I have described above take up only a relatively small section of the novel; most of the book is devoted to following the Count as he sets his plans into action. It takes a long time before he begins to see results, but if there is one thing he has learned in prison it is how to be patient – and so he is prepared to spend years devising the perfect methods of revenge. This means the reader is faced with a series of seemingly unrelated subplots and a huge cast of characters; it can be quite overwhelming on a first read, but when you’re reading for the second or third time you can appreciate how things that appear to be irrelevant actually have great significance. This time round, without the same urgency to turn the pages to ‘see what happens next’, I was able to read at a slower pace and enjoy some of the episodes I had previously seen as unnecessarily long digressions, such as Franz and Albert’s adventures in Rome, La Carconte and the diamond ring, and the story of the bandit Luigi Vampa.
Does the Count achieve his aims – and is he happy with the final outcome? I’m not going to tell you (and if you haven’t read the book I’m sure you don’t want me to) but I will say that he does have some doubts along the way, particularly when he discovers that innocent people he never intended to hurt have also become caught up in his web of revenge. “What a fool I was,” said he, “not to tear my heart out on the day I resolved to avenge myself”. I always find it sad to see how he has changed as a result of his imprisonment – when we first meet him again after his escape from the Château d’If, the lively, optimistic young man has disappeared, to be replaced by someone much more cynical and bitter – but towards the end of the book there are signs that the old Edmond is still there, beneath the surface. Most people think of this as a revenge novel, which it certainly is, but we should remember that the Count also takes care to help and reward the friends who stayed loyal to him throughout everything.
Although The Count of Monte Cristo was published around the same time as Dumas’ d’Artagnan series, I think this is a much more mature novel, dealing with serious issues and raising some thought-provoking questions. There are moments of reflection and philosophy like this:
“The friends that we have lost do not repose in the bosom of the earth, but are buried deep in our hearts, and it has been thus ordained that we may always be accompanied by them.”
And this:
“It is the way of weakened minds to see everything through a black cloud. The soul forms its own horizons; your soul is darkened, and consequently the sky of the future appears stormy and unpromising.”
And this:
“Joy to hearts which have suffered long is like the dew on the ground after a long drought; both the heart and the ground absorb that beneficent moisture falling on them, and nothing is outwardly apparent.”
The novel takes the reader through a range of emotions, from anger to pity to frustration to sadness (some of Edmond’s scenes with a certain other character always bring tears to my eyes, thinking of everything he has lost and can never regain). As always with Dumas, though, you can expect an exciting and entertaining read, so there are also murders, poisonings, court cases and duels, thefts, anonymous letters, illegitimate children and searches for buried treasure. Not everything that happens feels entirely realistic and you do need to suspend disbelief now and then, but I don’t mind that when a book is so enjoyable to read.
I haven’t said very much about the other characters in the book (and apart from Edmond Dantès himself, whom I have always found fascinating and complex), I have to admit that most of them don’t have a lot of depth. There are two, however, that I do particularly love. The first is the Abbé Faria, a fellow prisoner of Edmond’s in the Château d’If, an extraordinary man who acts as inspiration, adviser and teacher to Edmond and without whom he would have lost the will to live. The other is Monsieur Noirtier, an elderly man who has been left unable to walk and talk, but who devises an unusual form of communication and forms a special bond with his granddaughter, Valentine.
There is so much more I would like to say about this wonderful book, but I would have to give spoiler warnings, and I think this post is long enough now anyway! I will leave you to read The Count of Monte Cristo for yourself, if you haven’t already. I know the length of the book can seem off-putting, but I wouldn’t recommend reading an abridged edition as the story is so complex I think you would be missing out on a lot.
This is book 100/100 read for the Classics Club, which means I have now completed my list! I’ll be posting a summary of my Classics Club experience soon.
She Reads Novels 
When I was a child I was given an LP (!) of a dramatisation of this – much abbreviated. I loved it and almost wore the record out. It was accompanied by excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s sixth symphony. To this day I can never hear that played but I am back with the Count and living through his adventures yet again.
What a lovely way to discover the Count. It sounds as though it still brings back happy memories too.
Are you going to make another list? Big congrats on finishing, Helen!! I have never read Count, but I intend to. ☺
Thank you! It’s a great book, so I’m glad you’re intending to read it. I will probably be posting a second list, after a short break. 🙂
Congratulations! I had never considered adding this book to my classics reading list but after reading your post I think I’ll have to read it soon. Thanks.
Thanks. I think you might enjoy this book, so I hope you do think about reading it. 🙂
Congratulations, Helen. Reading 100 classics in 5 years is truly amazing! I just finished my 50th and am already working on a second list. I read The Count of Monte Cristo over ten years ago and absolutely loved it… definitely time for a reread.
Thank you! This book stands up very well to a reread so I’m sure you’ll still love it, especially if it’s been a while since your first read. I noticed lots of little details and nuances I had missed the first time. And congratulations to you too – I am also thinking about a new list.
Congratulations on finishing your list, Helen! I admit this isn’t my favorite by Dumas, but I have been getting reacquainted with him the last couple years, and it’s a while since I’ve read this one.
Thanks! I will probably start a second list soon. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read by Dumas, although this one is my favourite.
I have my last review coming up for my first list, and I already announced my second list some time ago. I’ll be excited to start it.
First of all a big Congratulations on finishing your Classics Club Reading List! What an achievement…..Bravo!!! I love this book; it’s my favorite Dumas and I have lost count of how many times I have re-read this book. I know there is not a lot of depth in terms of characters and of course, sometimes, the artistic liberty goes beyond anything rational, but I still love it. While not being a meditative novel, I too always found many quotes to ponder over!! Love it everytime!
Thank you. 🙂 I’m glad you love this book too. I find that there are different things to discover every time I read it – it’s wonderful.
Great review, Helen, and congratulations on finishing your Classics reading list. I look forward to your thoughts on the overall experience.
Thank you, Carmen. My overall thoughts on the Classics Club should be coming soon. 🙂
This one is on my own private classics list. One of these days.
I’m pleased to hear that, Judy. It really is a great book!
I enjoyed reading your thoughts about this one (and I love the way you handled the plot so as to not spoil any aspect of it, while you are tempting folks). It’s one that I’ve heard good things about before, and I was just actually looking at the Dumas books on the library shelves yesterday wondering if they’d have a nice copy of this one (they didn’t, only a batttered paperback of Musketeers, its much-abused spine a sharp angle by now)!
Thanks – this was a difficult book to write about without giving too much away, but I did my best! It’s a shame your library didn’t have a copy. The Three Musketeers and its sequels are fun, but this book is Dumas’ masterpiece, in my opinion.
Wow! 100 books! Well done! And a great review to finish on – you’ve really made me want to give this monster a try – maybe on my next CC list. Talking of which, are you going to do another list? I hope so… 😀
Thank you! This is probably my all-time favourite classic, so I had been looking forward to re-reading it since making my list five years ago! And yes, I think it’s very likely that I’ll be doing another list – probably to start in the new year, if not before. 🙂
Congrats on your 100th Classic Club read! 🙂 Really enjoyed your review and the excerpts. I started Count a long time ago and for whatever reason did not finish it at the time. It’s still on my TBR shelf, and from what you say I think I’d get more out of it now!
Thanks, Marian. I hope you have better luck with The Count next time if you do give him another try! 🙂
Congratulations on completing your Classics Club challenge and this re-read sounds like the perfect way to round it all off. This is definitely on my wish list to read 🙂
Thanks, Jessica! Yes, this was the perfect book to finish my Classics Club list. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 🙂
Congratulations! You’ve convinced me to pick up a Dumas novel decades after I read my last one as a child. Methinks I’m in the mood for just such a 19C novel, full of derring-do but with just the right amount of introspection. Thank you!
Thank you. 🙂 Dumas’ novels have a lot to offer the adult reader and I think you would find this one interesting.
Congratulations, Helen, on completing the challenge. You’re inspiring me firstly to get on with my own (which is progressing, I just never get the reviews posted…), and secondly to consider this book. I’ve never been tempted – now I’m really keen. Maybe I’ll add to my second classics club list – an incentive to finish the first!
Thank you, Sandra – and good luck with your own list. There were times when I thought I’d never finish mine, but here I am at last…seven months past my deadline, though! The Count is one of my favourite books of all time, so I would love to see it on your second list. 🙂
This is one of my all-time favorites as well, and a reread for the Classics Club. Like you, I was wondered if it would be as good as I remembered, and like you, I was not disappointed.
Both hero and anti-hero…very good, hadn’t thought of it in those exact terms, but I think you are right. Great review.
Not all books stand up well to being re-read, but this one certainly does! There are times when I have a lot of sympathy and respect for Edmond and times when his actions are much less admirable, so I think it’s fair to describe him as both hero and anti-hero. I’m glad you agree.
Today I am reading The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Luis Zafon. The Count of Monte Cristo figures in the story, as you may know. I have not read that illustrious classic but I figured you probably had, so I came to your blog and searched. Thanks for your review which contains quite a few pointers on how to get the most out of the book. It looks like I am destined for another long read!
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my all-time favourite books – and I’ve read a lot of books! The length can make it seem daunting, but it’s worth the time it takes to read as it’s such an exciting and gripping story.