Overview

The ultimate story of escape to riches, revenge and redemption by ‘the Napoleon of storytellers’.

Falsely accused of treason, Edmond Dantes is arrested on his wedding night and imprisoned in the grim island fortress of Chateau d’If. After staging a dramatic escape he sets out to discover the fabulous treasure on the island of Monte Cristo and uses it to exact revenge on those responsible for his incarceration.

Narrative and Themes

The sensational narrative of intrigue, betrayal, escape and triumphant revenge moves at a cracking pace. Dumas’ novels present a powerful conflict between good and evil embodied in an epic saga of rich diversity that is complicated by the hero’s ultimate discomfort with the hubristic implications of his own actions.

A novel of enormous tension and excitement, The Count of Monte Cristo is also a tale of obsession and revenge, with Dantes, believing himself to be an Angel of Providence, pursuing his vengeance to the bitter end before realising that he himself is a victim of fate.