The Count of Monte Cristo

Part 1: The Prisoner of Château d'If
Part 2: The Revenge

France in the 18th century: Young Edmond Dantès becomes entangled in a web of intrigue and is arrested on his wedding day. Years pass in the dungeon of Château d'If, where Edmond meets Abbé Faria. This highly intelligent man teaches him languages, sciences, religion, and much more. After the Abbé's death, Edmond manages to escape in his mentor's burial shroud. The Abbé had bequeathed him a map to the treasure of the island of Monte Cristo, and indeed, Edmond reaches it and finds his goal. Thus, he returns rich to the place of his life before imprisonment, plotting revenge against those who ensured his wrongful incarceration.

Author's Note
Alexandre Dumas the Elder (1802-70) grows up as the son of a Napoleonic general in the northern French province. Orphaned and poor at an early age, yet convinced of his talents, he moves to Paris at the age of nineteen, aspiring to become a playwright. His assets: beautiful handwriting, a few wild partridges, and an almost inexhaustible imagination. The plays he initially writes are now forgotten. However, twenty years later, in 1844, he becomes the king of literary feuilletons with 'The Count of Monte Cristo.' Dumas had struck a chord with the reading public. He offered a plot rich in intrigue, suspense, and illusion against a historical backdrop that was broadly familiar. He provided historical truth, imaginatively filled with fiction, and infused it with a fine touch of irony that makes his novels so enjoyable to read even today.