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The Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre Dumas Collection
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Count of Monte Cristo, The: Week 1 - Part 1: Chapters 1-20
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Captain Sir Roddy, R.N. (Ret.), Founder
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Jan 15, 2011 11:36PM
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I decided to listen to rather than read a paper (or ereader) copy of this. Only 2.5 chapters in so far, but I'm really enjoying it, much more than expected in fact, especially as I am a reluctant audiobook user. I also have a copy on my Nook that I might use to supplement the listening if I'm in a situation where reading might be more convenient.
Loretta wrote: "I decided to listen to rather than read a paper (or ereader) copy of this. Only 2.5 chapters in so far, but I'm really enjoying it, much more than expected in fact, especially as I am a reluctant a..."Me, too, Loretta. I'm listening to it and have a copy on my Kindle for reference. It's a perfect read-aloud book. I read this week's chapters in a couple of days and am having some trouble not getting too far ahead.
Which audio version are you listening to? More importantly, how's the narrator?
Richard Matthews narration. I think he's very good. The dialogue is especially engaging in his reading.
Kate Mc. wrote: "Which audio version are you listening to? More importantly, how's the narrator?"Mine is narrated by John Lee, and he is very good.
So what are your first impressions folks?
MadgeUK wrote: "So what are your first impressions folks?"Great story! I especially like the ingenuity of the Abbé Faria in the dungeon.
POSSIBLE SPOILER. Yes, he is the linchpin of the story, isn't he. He was based on a real life Abbe, who is known as 'the father of hypnotism':-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abb%C3%A...
Strangely though, Dumas makes no mention in TCMC of the hypnotism for which he was so famous.
This is a telling paragraph about the Abbe in chapter 14, which could equally apply to our own times:-
'It has always been against the policy of despotic governments to suffer the victims of their persecutions to reappear. As the Inquisition rarely allowed its victims to be seen with their limbs distorted and their flesh lacerated by torture, so madness is always concealed in its cell, from whence, should it depart, it is conveyed to some gloomy hospital, where the doctor has no thought for man or mind in the mutilated being the jailer delivers to him. The very madness of the Abbe Faria, gone mad in prison, condemned him to perpetual captivity.'
This paragraph reminded me of the saying 'Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.'
I started reading the book last night and could not put the book down. I found the three characters, fernado, Danglars,and caderousse most intriguing in that they all take revengue on dante. You know why Fernado and Danglare want revengue. I don't know what Caderousse's reason only that he is drunk.
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I agree. I am a slow reader, and I am just zippin' through this book. I wondered what Mercedes did. I didn't know whether she just decided to marry Ferdinand because she was gettin' kind of old or what. I also wondered if Danglars ended up being captain instead. It's a very interesting book and has surprised me several times already.
Beware of spoilers folks! Remember we are only discussing Chapters 1-20 here:).
MadgeUK wrote: "Beware of spoilers folks! Remember we are only discussing Chapters 1-20 here:)."I didn't think I went to far did I? I wondered as he was in prison. I didn't spoil anything I don't think:).
Did mercedes marry ferdinand? Sometimes I wander off and forget what I'm reading, or it was a spoiler...
It would be a spoiler to tell, Esther!Sssssh folks!!!
i just asked if it happened in the first twenty chapters.
LOL. Same thing! Dantes is in prison for most of these chapters, so we and he do not know what is happening on the outside.
Connor wrote: I didn't spoil anything I don't think:). No, but if we answered your questions that would reveal a lot of the subsequent plot.
Has anyone found any 'cliffhangers' in 1-20 - the ends of chapters which Dumas wrote for the serialised version?Or any bits which you find completely OTT - Dumas was renowned for his melodrama and grandiliquent phrases.
Madge, I've only finished the first 5 chapters so far, but I have to say that the over-the-top nature of it is part of its charm (for me at least). As I mentioned above, I've been listening to it rather than reading it, which I think has helped to both bring out the melodramatic flair of the dialogue and to make that flair enjoyable. I haven't noticed any cliffhangers yet really, mostly because I go straight from one chapter to the next, but I've definitely gotten a real kick out of the "everything is of life or death importance!" nature of some of the dialogue.
What are your thoughts?
Yes, the melodrama is part of the charm for me too and illustrative of the period in which it was written. Just as Dickens' melodrama is. I liken this sort of Victorian melodrama to grand opera. This short summary of the novel amused me: 'Telling others that this novel is your favourite can reveal a malevolent side of your personality. Genius plot writer, Alexander Dumas, constructed a story so evil, so clever, and so violent that future reads will just be boring.' :). The end of chapter 20 is clearly a cliffhanger:
'Dantes had been flung into the sea, and was dragged into its depths by a thirty-six pound shot tied to his feet. The sea is the cemetery of the Chateau d'If.' .........!!
The end of chapter 10 seemed like another one:
'"Ah, here is M. Dandre!" cried de Blacas. At this instant the minister of police appeared at the door, pale, trembling, and as if ready to faint. Villefort was about to retire, but M. de Blacas, taking his hand, restrained him.'
There is another at the end of chapter 30 [which would be a Spoiler] so I am beginning to wonder if he wrote ten chapters for publication each month and put a cliffhanger at the end of each group of ten. What do you think?
Ten chapters each seems an awful lot for serialization. As part of another group, I've helped break down reading schedules for other 19th century novels, and have often used their serialization schedules as a source of inspiration. Of course, I'm sure it's not universal, but generally speaking each month's edition seems to be about 50 pages (of your standard-sized modern day trade paperback).
Of course, Dumas could have thrown that to the wind and just published incredibly lengthy parts each month.
I believe from what I've heard is Dumas published the Count of Monte Cristo and the Three Musketeers at the same time by writing a chapter of each and publishing the the chapters one by one. I don't really know much about that.
Mod
Wow! I can hardly imagine an author doing that today, i.e., keeping two completely separate plot-lines sorted out, and being prolific enough to generate material for serial publication. I wonder when the guy slept. I think Charles Dickens was much like this too, and one wonders about Anthony Trollope. Having said all of this, one can only look back at these great writers and simply marvel at how they embraced their craft!
He probably died of insanity or something.
Connor wrote: He probably died of insanity or something.Potted biography: 'Dumas lived as adventurously as the heroes of his books, and his way of life created a number of anecdotes. When he was asked to contribute 25 francs to bury a bailiff he gave 50 francs and said: "There you are - bury two of them." He took part in the revolution of July 1830 and became a captain in the National Guard, caught cholera during the epidemic of 1832, and traveled in Italy to recuperate. He married in 1840 his mistress Ida Ferrier, an actress, but he soon separated after having spent her entire dowry. With the money earned from his writings, he built the fantastic Château de Monte-Cristo on the outskirts of Paris.
In 1851 Dumas escaped his creditors and fled to Brussels. He spent two years in exile and then returned to Paris and founded a daily paper called Le Mousquetaire. In 1858 he traveled to Russia and in 1860 he went to Italy, where he supported Garibaldi and Italy's struggle for independence (1860-64). He then remained in Naples as a keeper of the museums for four years. On his return to France Dumas' debts continued to mount.
Being able to write 14 hours a day, Dumas produced a steady stream of plays, novels, and short stories. Before 1843 he had already created fifteen plays. Historical novels brought Dumas an enormous fortune, but he could spent money faster than he made it. He produced some 250 books with his 73 assistants, especially with the history teacher Auguste Maquet but he rewrote everything himself by hand.
Called "the king of Paris", Dumas earned fortunes and spent them right away on friends, art, and mistresses. He was professed to have had dozens of illegitimate children, but he acknowledged only three. According to a story, when Dumas once found his wife in bed with his good friend Roger de Beauvoir, he said: "It's cold night. Move over and make room for me." Dumas died of a stroke on December 5, 1870, at Puys, near Dieppe. It is claimed that his last words were: "I shall never know how it all comes out now," in which he referred to his unfinished book.
Loretta wrote: "Ten chapters each seems an awful lot for serialization. As part of another group, I've helped break down reading schedules for other 19th century novels, and have often used their serialization..."
Thanks for that insight Loretta.
Apparently, the CMC was published in the Journal des Debats between June 1844 and August 1845 in 18 instalments. There are 117 chapters so that is approx 6 chapters a month, written together with his assistant Maquet: 'Dumas was the writer, but Maquet, a professor, historian, and lesser litterateur, was the source. As for the central story, Dumas based it on a true incident he saw in a book by a police writer. Maquet took that kernel, drafted the vigorous, paranoid, thrashing plot of "The Count" (much of which rests on detailed knowledge of European history, culture and finance of the era), and also fleshed out the characters (Dantes, and four whole families, named Villefort, Danglars, Morrel and Morcerf), complete with background. It is vast, covering 23 years, verging within six years of the "present" moment of 1844. He relayed this masterpiece of wild fatalities to Dumas, who wrote the thing up.' At the same time they were writing The Three Musketeers sagas!
A reviewer of the 2009 Everyman edition wrote: 'I don't know how Dumas and Maquet did it, but, in this trundling, barreling, roaring production, which should be a right stinker, a potboiler of potboilers, they somehow stumble upon mighty questions of identity, God, and humanity, contradictions within the human spirit, and the mountainous challenge of forgiveness. This, a much darker creation than the merry Musketeers novels, manages to probe the ravaged territory of guilt, doubt, and desire. The telling stroke - and I sense, although I don't know, that it was Dumas' - is Dantès' belief that, in his many machinations, he is acting as the scourge of God. He's right in unexpected ways and wrong without suspecting why.'
Does anyone have any comments about these big themes within the novel?
Madge, I don't know that I'm far enough in yet to comment on these huge themes; where I am in the novel, Dumas seems to be laying the groundwork still (though it's all incredibly captivating). Your calculation of approximately 6 chapters per publication seems about right. I would think that the first break was probably after chapter 5 (the arrest at the wedding party), which is definitely a cliffhanger of sorts.
It is fun trying to identify thos breaks.
One benefit of listening to this rather than reading it: I find myself eager to clean my apartment and work out, as those are the times when I listen to the novel, in addition to my commute of course. So I should hopefully be able to finish through Chapter 20 by Saturday and not fall behind. You may scold me if I do. :)
It sounds like his life was as adventurous as his books. Which was the unfinished book, Madge?
MadgeUK wrote: "Connor wrote: He probably died of insanity or something.Potted biography: 'Dumas lived as adventurously as the heroes of his books, and his way of life created a number of anecdotes. When he was..."
That is quite an adventurous life. If it weren't for all those affairs, he'd probably be my favorite author behind Tolkien.
MadgeUK wrote: A reviewer of the 2009 Everyman edition wrote: 'I don't know how Dumas and Maquet did it, but, in this trundling, barreling, roaring production, which should be a right stinker, a potboiler of potboilers, they somehow stumble upon mighty questions of identity, God, and humanity, contradictions within the human spirit, and the mountainous challenge of forgiveness. This, a much darker creation than the merry Musketeers novels, manages to probe the ravaged territory of guilt, doubt, and desire. The telling stroke - and I sense, although I don't know, that it was Dumas' - is Dantès' belief that, in his many machinations, he is acting as the scourge of God. He's right in unexpected ways and wrong without suspecting why.'
Does anyone have any comments about these big themes within the novel?
This is good! I posted on Facebook that I was reading this novel, and I got notes from people of many ages and educational levels and tastes saying that they have read it and love it. Dumas has something for everyone in his "potboiler," and yes, those themes are all there, though we will not be able to talk about most of them until we have read further. Dantès definitely is playing God as the story progresses. Whether that is a good idea we shall see.
Rochelle wrote: "It sounds like his life was as adventurous as his books. Which was the unfinished book, Madge?"It was thought to be a play, The Return of Thebes, until recently but in 2008 someone discovered another unfinished novel, which has now been published:-
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.u...
Mod
I think another theme of the novel might perhaps be (depending on how it plays out in later chapters) the legacy that parents (or parental-figures) leave for their children.We've seen some mirroring between the histories of Dantes and Villefort. Dantes has at least three father-figures: his biological father, Le Claire, and M. Morrel (excuse me if I'm misspelling names--as mentioned, I'm listening rather than reading for the most part). We don't know much about Dantes' father's influence on Edmond's life (and he dies fairly early on in the novel), but Le Claire had Dantes carry the letter that started the whole mess, and Morrel's advancement of his career helped lead to Danglars' jealousy. Villefort, on the other hand, alternately runs from and embraces his father's reputation, depending on who is in power in France. So they have both had their personal histories shaped to a great degree by actions their fathers (or father-figures) took.
This might perhaps be a minor point, but it played such a prominent role in the first part that we have read that I thought it was worth commenting on.
Interesting point Loretta - thanks:).
The ending of Chapter 20, which is the end of our first section, is one of literature's classic cliffhangers:-'Dantes felt that they took him, one by the head and the other by the heels, and swung him to and fro. "One!" said the grave-diggers, "two! three!" And at the same instant Dantes felt himself flung into the air like a wounded bird, falling, falling, with a rapidity that made his blood curdle. Although drawn downwards by the heavy weight which hastened his rapid descent, it seemed to him as if the fall lasted for a century.
At last, with a horrible splash, he darted like an arrow into the ice-cold water, and as he did so he uttered a shrill cry, stifled in a moment by his immersion beneath the waves.
Dantes had been flung into the sea, and was dragged into its depths by a thirty-six pound shot tied to his feet. The sea is the cemetery of the Chateau d'If.'
Imagine reading this in serial form - you would be desperate to read the next edition of the magazine!!! Does he survive and if so how? It is 2 miles from the Chateau d'If to the old port of Marseilles and there are treacherous jagged rocks surrounding the island and at the entrance to the port:-
http://i1.trekearth.com/photos/73355/...
http://image.shutterstock.com/display...
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3044/2...
Did you feel despair and then a mounting excitement as you read Chapter 20? I found it a very exciting chapter.
