Alexandre Dumas' epic tale of suffering and revenge inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment, the Penguin Classics edition of The Count of Monte Cristo is translated with an introduction by Robin Buss.
Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed Edmond Dant s spends fourteen bitter years imprisoned in the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsive for his incarceration. No longer the naive sailor who disappeared into the dungeon all those years ago, he reinvents himself as the charming, mysterious and powerful Count of Monte Cristo. A huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s, The Count of Monte Cristo has been a fixture of western literature ever since, and the subject of countless film and TV adaptations.
Robin Buss' lively translation is complete and unabridged, and remains faithful to the style of Dumas' original. This edition also includes an introduction, explanatory notes, a new chronology and updated suggestions for further reading.
Alexandre Dumas (1802-70) was a pioneer of Romantic theatre in France, but in 1839 he turned his attention to writing the novels for which he is best known today, pften using collaborators such as Auguste Maquet to suggest plots or historical background. His most famous works include The Three Musketeers (1844), The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-5) and The Man in the Iron Mask (1847).
If you enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo you might enjoy Robert Louis Stevenson's Kidnapped, also available in Penguin Classics.
'What makes The Count Of Monte Cristo such a superior story is that revenge is not the only emotion driving the plot ... it is an almost perfect story - also in the mix are love, friendship, jealousy, faith, education, snobbery and class'
Sunday Express
'The greatest of escape stories'
Guardian
Industry Reviews
We think we know the story of The Count of Monte Cristo, but in truth, until we have read Robin Buss’ new translation, published by Penguin Classics, we know nothing. All previous popular editions in English were reprints of a poorly translated and abridged nineteenth century edition which reduced the great work to the level of a common pot-boiler. These second-rate editions were then translated into film. In short, The Count of Monte Cristo we have always known is an impostor!
The new translation brings a greater depth and subtlety to the story from the outset, setting the scene thoroughly, introducing us to Edmond Dantes and his fiancé Mercédès, drawing both their characters deftly, revealing their youth, innocence, and promise, and in so doing, we feel the blow of the unjust act which follows more deeply. We, too, yearn for revenge.
The Count of Monte Cristo was always a story of extremes, of murder and vengeance, of great wealth and ambition, of love and intense hate, but now, with Dumas’ descriptive capacity restored, with his imagination untethered by dull witted opportunistic hack translators, with his canvas cleaned of impurities, the reader’s involvement is increased, the ride becomes real and the lessons, though harder to learn, once learnt, are unforgettable.
