129 pages 4 hours read

Alexandre Dumas

The Count of Monte Cristo

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1844

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Introduction

The Count of Monte Cristo

  • Genre: Fiction; classic adventure
  • Originally Published: 1844
  • Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 1080L; college/adult
  • Structure/Length: 73 chapters; approx. 544 pages; approx. 47 hours on audio
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: In this long and twisting adventure, Edmond Dantès is unfairly imprisoned and yearns for revenge against the men who betrayed him. After escaping from prison, he uncovers a treasure on the island of Monte Cristo and assumes the identity of a wealthy count. His new fortune enables him to plan and execute an elaborate plan to reward his friends and punish his enemies.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Suicide and suicidal ideation; murder; ableist language and attitudes; drug use; racial tropes; enslavement

Alexandre Dumas, Author

  • Bio: 1802-1870; was one of France’s most prolific 19th-century writers; wrote plays, histories, and travelogs, as well as romance and adventure novels; enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle and wrote quickly to earn money to pay his bills; published The Count of Monte Cristo first in serial form; his fantasy story The Nutcracker was later scored for ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  • Other Works: Captain Pamphile (1839); The Conspirators (1843); The Nutcracker (1844); The Three Musketeers (1844); The Prince of Thieves (published posthumously in 1872)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

  • Vengeance
  • The Byronic Hero
  • Rebirth and Reinvention

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