Sunday, January 24, 2021

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 DolomieuThe 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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9 comments:

  1. Oh my! I was just saying the other day that I'd love to read this again. However I have so many other reads going on I don't think I can do it. However, let me see ..... In any case, all the best with this read-along. It's an absolutely wonderful book!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! Even if you don't read it, would love your input on the story as we go along.

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  2. Your read along challenge sounds like fun. I may join you :D Are the discussions here on your blog?

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    Replies
    1. Yes, I'll post the discussion question on Sundays and can talk about it in the comments.

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    2. I'm so excited. I purchased my copy today :D

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  3. PS the link to the Penguin Classics paperback version is not working.

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  4. I have not yet read The Count of Monte Cristo. It is on my list of books to read though! Sounds like a good breakdown of the book and a manageable number of chapters to read each week.

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Thank you for your kind comments.