On My Shelves: The Count of Monte-Cristo

[Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)]

There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by it.

The basis of the story is simple: young Edmond Dantes is a sailor with a
bright future – soon to be made Captain of a profitable merchantman,
engaged to Mercedes, a Catalan girl noted for her beauty, having just
completed an extremely profitable trading voyage for his employer,
Morrel. It seems that he has already reached his happy ending, in the
first few pages of the novel.

But there are those jealous of his success, most especially Fernand, who
wants Mercedes for himself, and Danglars, another officer of the ship
who wanted the command of the vessel that will go to Dantes. The two
conspire to write an anonymous letter denouncing Dantes as a supporter
of Bonaparte (at the time a serious charge), and Dantes is seized and
arrested on the very eve of his wedding. Worse, the prosecutor
Villefort, while originally sympathetic to Dantes' plight, discovers
that a letter Dantes was carrying from Elba (location of Bonaparte's
exile) is addressed to Villefort's father. Villefort therefore allows
Dantes to be convicted and sentenced to the terrible prison of the
Chateau d'if.

But in prison, Dantes discovers a secret which could change everything
for him – the location of a fabulous treasure – as well as gaining an
education from the Abbe Faria, a fellow prisoner who held this secret.
When Dantes finally manages his escape, he locates the treasure… and
swears vengeance upon those who took away everything from him in a
single day.

Dumas' writing is old-fashioned, but still powerfully gripping. Edmond's
anguish and confusion at what has happened to him are heartrending, even
more so when he has a moment of hope in the presence of Villefort, only
to have it dashed to pieces due to something utterly beyond his control.
Too, there is a moment of black despair suddenly turned to brilliant
hope in one of my favorite literary Moments of Awesome, when Dantes
cries out to God that he is near despair, and a voice replies, seemingly
from the stones themselves, "Who speaks of God and despair at the same
time?"; this is the point at which Dantes first meets Abbe Faria.

One of the most impressive things about The Count of Monte-Cristo is the
careful attention to detail in Edmond Dantes' plans for revenge – and
the fact that he chooses, first, to follow the path of mercy and reward
to the innocent, before he embarks on the mission of the destroyer.
Dantes has not wholly lost his humanity – although there are several
times at which one may have just cause to wonder how far he is willing
to go. Eventually, however, he himself realizes there are limits beyond
which revenge must not go, or it becomes of itself an evil far worse
than that done to the avenger.

I have read The Count of Monte-Cristo many times, and always found
myself struck anew by some detail of the setting or the events therein –
the new methods of speedy communication just emerging into common use,
the way in which the fate of many in the book (and in the real world)
was affected by the swiftly-changing political realities in France, the
at once cosmopolitan and yet very insular discussion of lands and
customs distant from France proper.

Dantes himself is always an interesting study as a person – he tries to
make himself a passionless arbiter of justice as "The Count of
Monte-Cristo", but cannot, quite, erase the kindly, innocent boy that he
was before he ever saw the black gate of the Chateau d'if. One of those
present at the letter-writing, Caderousse, who could easily have
prevented his being jailed, is given not one but two chances to change
the course of his life, when Dantes could easily have justified it to
himself to include Caderousse in his campaign of revenge.

Indeed, as the Count he seems more prone to allowing people to test
themselves to destruction, passing judgment upon themselves by their own
actions, than he is to direct vengeance; he plays an almost
Mephistopholean role in tempting his adversaries and those around them
with opportunities to do wrong, and only bringing down vengeance upon
them when they avail themselves of these opportunities – showing that
they did not betray him in a single moment of weakness, but were acting
according to their true natures.

Ultimately, and surprisingly, The Count of Monte-Cristo turns out not to
be a story of pure dark vengeance but of despair and redemption, of
choices made, and of letting go of the past. Edmond Dantes spares lives
he could have taken, saves others that had been forfeit, and in the end
allows himself to let go of the love and hate of the past and find a new
love where he had never thought to find it.

It is little wonder that this is one of my favorite old novels… or that
it is one of the great and enduring classics of Western literature.





--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Website: http://www.grandcentralarena.com Blog:
http://seawasp.livejournal.com

[Louann Miller]

"Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote in news:lj5i37
$hnq$1...@dont-email.me:

> There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
> in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
> encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by it.
>

I had to take notes on who betrayed him and what their names were in the
first part of the novel so I could link them up again in the revenge
section. It didn't help that several of them changed names in the interim,
say from M. X to Lord Y.

Louann

[lal_truckee]

On 4/22/14 3:59 AM, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>
> It is little wonder that this is one of my favorite old novels…

Sounds like a ripoff of Alfred Bester's famed novel, reset (by Disney I
presume) before the Pirates of the Caribbean, in the hopes of
establishing a new franchise.

[Dorothy J Heydt]

In article <i8qdnYKJVY7UH8vO...@giganews.com>,

Everybody knows that Bester's _The Stars My Destination_ is a
calque on _CoMC_, right?

--
Dorothy J. Heydt
Vallejo, California
djheydt at gmail dot com
Should you wish to email me, you'd better use the gmail edress.
Kithrup's all spammy and hotmail's been hacked.

[James Silverton]

On 4/22/2014 11:10 AM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:
> In article <i8qdnYKJVY7UH8vO...@giganews.com>,
> Louann Miller <loua...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote in news:lj5i37
>> $hnq$1...@dont-email.me:
>>
>>> There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
>>> in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
>>> encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by it.
>>>
>>
>> I had to take notes on who betrayed him and what their names were in the
>> first part of the novel so I could link them up again in the revenge
>> section. It didn't help that several of them changed names in the interim,
>> say from M. X to Lord Y.
>
> Everybody knows that Bester's _The Stars My Destination_ is a
> calque on _CoMC_, right?
>

I wonder how many other novels require notes to track massive lists of
characters? David Weber's books might be candidates as might Tolstoy's
"War and Peace". My copy of that last even came with a much needed
bookmark listing French and Russian names of the characters.

--
Jim Silverton (Potomac, MD)

Extraneous "not." in Reply To.

[Ted Nolan <tednolan>]

In article <lj62gi$953$1...@dont-email.me>,

I believe that Weber & Turtledove often do come with dramatis personae
backpages.

However, I find it generally doesn't matter in those cases. Just note
that the scene is about a spear-carrier for one side or the other and
that's all you need to know.
--
------
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

[David DeLaney]

On 2014-04-22, James Silverton <not.jim....@verizon.net> wrote:
> On 4/22/2014 11:10 AM, Dorothy J Heydt wrote:

>> Louann Miller <loua...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> I had to take notes on who betrayed him and what their names were in the
>>> first part of the novel so I could link them up again in the revenge
>>> section. It didn't help that several of them changed names in the interim,
>>> say from M. X to Lord Y.
>>
>> Everybody knows that Bester's _The Stars My Destination_ is a
>> calque on _CoMC_, right?

Many do. Some don't, and of course many have never even heard of Bester at all.
I know it, but only because I've been told it here - tCoMC hasn't made it onto
my IHaveReadThis list yet.

> I wonder how many other novels require notes to track massive lists of
> characters? David Weber's books might be candidates as might Tolstoy's
> "War and Peace". My copy of that last even came with a much needed
> bookmark listing French and Russian names of the characters.

A good many of the brick-size epic fantasy novels these days do; the Wheel of
Time most definitely, Sagara's various Jewel-world series (especially the Sun
Sword hexalogy), various Tad Williams works, Zelazny's Amber novels, Brust's
Vlad and Vlad-prequel novels... On the other hand, romance and paranormal
romance novels these days generally don't, being more tightly focussed on The
Heroine, Her One Twoo Wuv, and usually a small band of cow-orkers or pack
members or family members.

Dave
--
\/David DeLaney posting thru EarthLink - "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.

[David Duffy]

Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
> In article <i8qdnYKJVY7UH8vO...@giganews.com>,
> Louann Miller <loua...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>"Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote in news:lj5i37
>>$hnq$1...@dont-email.me:
>>
>>> There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
>>> in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
>>> encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by it.
>>>
>>
>>I had to take notes on who betrayed him and what their names were in the
>>first part of the novel so I could link them up again in the revenge
>>section. It didn't help that several of them changed names in the interim,
>>say from M. X to Lord Y.
>
> Everybody knows that Bester's _The Stars My Destination_ is a
> calque on _CoMC_, right?
>

Not to mention Gwyneth Jones _Spirit: Or, The Princess Of Bois Dormant_

[Ahasuerus]

On Tuesday, April 22, 2014 6:59:51 AM UTC-4, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
wrote:

> There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
> in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
> encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by it.

[snip]

I thought that it wasn't as well-integrated as _The Three Musketeers_
or even _Twenty Years After_, but it was still tighter than many other
books produced by Dumas and Co.

[Lawrence Watt-Evans]

And _Dragon Weather_.



--
I'm serializing a new Ethshar novel!
The twenty-first chapter is online at:
http://www.ethshar.com/ishtascompanion21.html

[William December Starr]

In article <lj7ikj$oee$1...@dont-email.me>,

Lawrence Watt-Evans <l...@sff.net> said:

> On 2014-04-22 18:18:32 -0400, David Duffy said:
>
>> Not to mention Gwyneth Jones _Spirit: Or, The Princess Of Bois Dormant_
>
> And _Dragon Weather_.

No, I don't think that's by Jones...

-- wds

[Martin]

This chart may be helpful in keeping track of the characters: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/CountOfMonteCristoRelations.svg

Applause for the original post. I would have to agree that it's one of the greatest novels of Western literature, as well as being one of my favorites.

[Magewolf]

On 4/23/2014 1:21 AM, Lawrence Watt-Evans wrote:
> On 2014-04-22 18:18:32 -0400, David Duffy said:
>
>> Dorothy J Heydt <djh...@kithrup.com> wrote:
>>> In article <i8qdnYKJVY7UH8vO...@giganews.com>,
>>> Louann Miller <loua...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>> "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)" <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote in
>>>> news:lj5i37
>>>> $hnq$1...@dont-email.me:
>>>>
>>>>> There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
>>>>> in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
>>>>> encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by
>>>>> it.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> I had to take notes on who betrayed him and what their names were in
>>>> the
>>>> first part of the novel so I could link them up again in the revenge
>>>> section. It didn't help that several of them changed names in the
>>>> interim,
>>>> say from M. X to Lord Y.
>>>
>>> Everybody knows that Bester's _The Stars My Destination_ is a
>>> calque on _CoMC_, right?
>>
>> Not to mention Gwyneth Jones _Spirit: Or, The Princess Of Bois Dormant_
>
> And _Dragon Weather_.
>
>
>

And it was made into an quite good SF anime titled Gankutsuou: The Count
of Monte Cristo. The setting was changed to the far future (5053 I
think) and it has one of the most unique visual styles in any anime I
have seen.

[T Guy]

On Tuesday, April 22, 2014 11:59:51 AM UTC+1, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
> There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
>
> in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
> encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by it.
>

I am aware of its existence but had only the most vague desire to read it until this post, which has added it to my 'to do' list. Thank you, Ryk.
>


> When Dantes finally manages his escape, he locates the treasure... and

> swears vengeance upon those who took away everything from him in a
> single day.
>
>
> Dumas' writing is old-fashioned, but still powerfully gripping.

NTS: Look for modern translation.

> One of the most impressive things about The Count of Monte-Cristo is the

> careful attention to detail in Edmond Dantes' plans for revenge - and

> the fact that he chooses, first, to follow the path of mercy and reward
> to the innocent, before he embarks on the mission of the destroyer.

> Dantes has not wholly lost his humanity - although there are several

> times at which one may have just cause to wonder how far he is willing
> to go. Eventually, however, he himself realizes there are limits beyond
> which revenge must not go, or it becomes of itself an evil far worse
> than that done to the avenger.

This bit and associated items are what finally sold me.
>
>
> Dantes himself is always an interesting study as a person - he tries to

> make himself a passionless arbiter of justice as "The Count of
> Monte-Cristo", but cannot, quite, erase the kindly, innocent boy that he
> was before he ever saw the black gate of the Chateau d'if. One of those
> present at the letter-writing, Caderousse, who could easily have
> prevented his being jailed, is given not one but two chances to change
> the course of his life, when Dantes could easily have justified it to
> himself to include Caderousse in his campaign of revenge.
>
>
>
> Indeed, as the Count he seems more prone to allowing people to test
> themselves to destruction, passing judgment upon themselves by their own
> actions, than he is to direct vengeance; he plays an almost
> Mephistopholean role in tempting his adversaries and those around them
> with opportunities to do wrong, and only bringing down vengeance upon

> them when they avail themselves of these opportunities - showing that

> they did not betray him in a single moment of weakness, but were acting
> according to their true natures.
>
>
>
> Ultimately, and surprisingly, The Count of Monte-Cristo turns out not to
> be a story of pure dark vengeance but of despair and redemption, of
> choices made, and of letting go of the past. Edmond Dantes spares lives
> he could have taken, saves others that had been forfeit, and in the end
> allows himself to let go of the love and hate of the past and find a new
> love where he had never thought to find it.
>

> It is little wonder that this is one of my favorite old novels... or that

> it is one of the great and enduring classics of Western literature.

Yes, all this too. It appears to go well beyond the elements borrowed from it in _Commando_ (the film starring Arnie, not the long-running comic).

i look forward to having the time to read it one day (I have seen copies, and they appear to be like unto a thing of those brick-like fantasy novels, as mentioned downthread from your OP. Apart from actaully having some philosophical content.

[Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)]

On 4/25/14 8:48 AM, T Guy wrote:
> On Tuesday, April 22, 2014 11:59:51 AM UTC+1, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>> There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
>>
>> in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
>> encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by it.
>>
> I am aware of its existence but had only the most vague desire to read it until this post, which has added it to my 'to do' list. Thank you, Ryk.
>>
>

Well, I hope you enjoy it. I'm unsure that getting a "modern
translation" will help; the style of conversation is what's really old
fashioned. I don't think simple rephrasing changes that much.

>> One of the most impressive things about The Count of Monte-Cristo is the
>> careful attention to detail in Edmond Dantes' plans for revenge - and
>> the fact that he chooses, first, to follow the path of mercy and reward
>> to the innocent, before he embarks on the mission of the destroyer.
>> Dantes has not wholly lost his humanity - although there are several
>> times at which one may have just cause to wonder how far he is willing
>> to go. Eventually, however, he himself realizes there are limits beyond
>> which revenge must not go, or it becomes of itself an evil far worse
>> than that done to the avenger.
>
> This bit and associated items are what finally sold me.

Yes, and it's what makes the book so much better than a simple revenge
story. At first you love Edmond, then you pity him, then you start to
get kinda scared of him even while he's being awesomely cool, and then
finally you see him finish growing up.

[David DeLaney]

On 2014-04-26, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
> On 4/25/14 8:48 AM, T Guy wrote:
>> On Tuesday, April 22, 2014 11:59:51 AM UTC+1, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>>> There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
>>> in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
>>> encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by it.
>>>
>> I am aware of its existence but had only the most vague desire to read it
>> until this post, which has added it to my 'to do' list. Thank you, Ryk.
>
> Well, I hope you enjoy it. I'm unsure that getting a "modern
> translation" will help; the style of conversation is what's really old
> fashioned. I don't think simple rephrasing changes that much.

Paarfi-like, maybe? Heyer-like?

[T Guy]

On Saturday, April 26, 2014 1:00:21 AM UTC+1, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
> On 4/25/14 8:48 AM, T Guy wrote:
>
> > On Tuesday, April 22, 2014 11:59:51 AM UTC+1, Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor) wrote:
>
> >> There is perhaps no more famous account of love, betrayal, and revenge
> >> in literature than The Count of Monte-Cristo by Dumas. I first
> >> encountered the story in my mid-teens and was instantly captured by it.
>
> > I am aware of its existence but had only the most vague desire to read it until this post, which has added it to my 'to do' list. Thank you, Ryk.

> Well, I hope you enjoy it. I'm unsure that getting a "modern
> translation" will help; the style of conversation is what's really old
> fashioned. I don't think simple rephrasing changes that much.
>

Having added it to my 'to do' list, I advanced last Friday into full-on ownership of a copy, and am currently up to Chapter X. We've just met the King, Louis XVIII, who is almost dragged from his Horace by news of a Bonapartist Conspiracy. Meanwhile, Edmond is still rotting in prison on the very brink of his sanity, I assume.

So far I am enjoying it. I am taking the approach of regarding it as a serial, as it was originally published, with each Chapter being an Episode. I'm reading one or two a day. There are 117... but I am in for the long haul and it has not felt like a chore so far (once everything was set up by the early paragraphs of Chapter II).

According to the translator, Robin Buss, in his introduction, the previous translations into English now read more old-fashionedly than the original would to a French person in 2014.

Plus, he has translated the original French text and retained the passages with lesbians, et cetera, therein.

[David E. Siegel]

LWE's _Dragon Weather_ (and sequels) is yet another version of this basic story, and one that is quite well handled, in my view.

-DES