[img]http://i42.tinypic.com/25pioa8.png[/img] [b]Genre:[/b] Historical, Adventure, Romance Introduction: The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, p�re. The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Levant during the historical events of 1815�1838 (from just before the Hundred Days through to the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. It is primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, forgiveness and death, and is told in the style of an adventure story. [b]Plot Summary:[/b] [b]Edmond Dant�s[/b] [spoiler]Edmond Dant�s, a young and successful merchant sailor recently granted his own command by his dying captain Lecl�re, returns to Marseille to marry his fianc�e Merc�d�s. Lecl�re, a supporter of the exiled Napol�on I, charges Dant�s on his deathbed to deliver two objects: a package to Mar�chal Bertrand (who had been exiled with Napoleon Bonaparte to the isle of Elba), and a letter from Elba to an unknown man in Paris. Subsequently, an anonymous letter accuses Dant�s of being a Bonapartist traitor. The letter is later revealed to have been written by Merc�d�s' cousin Fernand Mondego and Danglars, Dant�s' ship's supercargo. Villefort, the deputy crown prosecutor in Marseille, assumes the duty of investigating the matter. Villefort is normally considered a just man, but on discovering that the recipient of the letter from Elba is his Bonapartist father, he ultimately chooses to save his political career and condemns Dant�s without trial to life imprisonment and protects his father by destroying the incriminating letter. During his fourteen years imprisonment in the Ch�teau d'If, Edmond is visited in his cell by the Abb� Faria, a priest and fellow prisoner trying to tunnel his way to freedom. Faria had been imprisoned for proposing a united Italy. In the Chateau d'If, he was known as "The Mad Priest", claiming to be in possession of a massive treasure, and offering to reward the guards handsomely, should they release him. Faria provides Dant�s with education in subjects including languages, history, economics, philosophy, mathematics, chemistry and the manners of political society. The priest, ill from a form of catalepsy and knowing that he will soon die, confides in Dant�s the location of a treasure hoard on the Italian islet of Monte Cristo. After Faria's death the following year, Dant�s escapes and is rescued by a smuggling ship. After several months of working with the smugglers, he gets the opportunity to go to Monte Cristo for a goods exchange. Dant�s fakes an injury and convinces the smugglers to temporarily leave him on Monte Cristo. He then makes his way to the hiding place of the treasure. He returns to Marseilles, where he learns that his father has died in poverty. He buys himself a yacht and hides the rest of the treasure on board. With his new found wealth and education, Dant�s buys the island of Monte Cristo and the title of Count from the Tuscan Government. Returning to Marseille, Dant�s puts into action his plans for revenge. Traveling in disguise as the Abb� Busoni, Edmond first meets Caderousse, whose intervention might have saved Dant�s from imprisonment. Now living in poverty, Caderousse believes his current state is punishment by God for his jealousy and cowardice. Dant�s learns from Caderousse how his other enemies have all become wealthy and prosperous since Dant�s' betrayal. Edmond gives Caderousse a diamond that can be either a chance to redeem himself, or a trap that will lead to his ruin. Caderousse murders the jeweler to whom he sold the diamond and is sentenced to life in the prison galleys. Dant�s (using another disguise, this time as the English Lord Wilmore) frees Caderousse and gives him another chance at redemption. Caderousse does not take it, and becomes a career criminal. Learning that his old employer Morrel is on the verge of bankruptcy and disgrace after his ships have been lost at sea, Dant�s (in the guise of a senior clerk of the banking firm of Thomson and French of Rome) buys all of Morrel's outstanding debts and gives Morrel an extension of three months to fulfill his obligations. At the end of the three months and with no way to repay his debts, Morrel is about to commit suicide when he learns that all of his debts have been mysteriously paid and that one of his ships has returned with a full cargo (the ship had been secretly rebuilt and laden by Dant�s).[/spoiler] [b]The Count of Monte Cristo[/b] [spoiler]The story then moves forward nine years. Dant�s debuts in public as the Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious and fabulously rich aristocrat. He surfaces first in Rome, where he becomes acquainted with the Baron Franz d'Epinay, a young aristocrat, and Viscount Albert de Morcerf, Merc�d�s's and Fernand's son. He later rescues Albert from Italian bandits. Dant�s subsequently moves to Paris, and with Albert de Morcerf's introduction, becomes the sensation of the city. Due to his knowledge and rhetorical power, even his enemies - who do not recognize him as Edmond Dant�s - find him charming, and because of his status they all desire his friendship. Monte Cristo meets Danglars, who has become a wealthy banker. Monte Cristo dazzles the crass Danglars with his seemingly endless wealth, eventually persuading him to extend him a 6,000,000 francs credit, and withdraws nine hundred thousand. Under the terms of the arrangement, Monte Cristo can demand access to the remainder at any time. The Count manipulates the bond market, through a false telegraph signal, and quickly destroys a large portion of Danglars' fortune, and the rest of it begins to rapidly disappear through mysterious bankruptcies, suspensions of payment, and more bad luck on the Stock Exchange. Monte Cristo threatens Villefort with knowledge of his past affair with Mme Danglars, which produced a son. Believing the child to be stillborn, Villefort had buried the child. The boy was rescued and raised in Corsica by his enemy, Bertuccio (now Monte Cristo's servant), who gave the child the name "Benedetto". As an adult, Benedetto becomes a career criminal who is sentenced to the galleys with Caderousse, but after being freed by "Lord Wilmore", takes the identity of "Viscount Andrea Cavalcanti" (sponsored by the Count) and cons Danglars into betrothing his daughter Eug�nie to him. Caderousse blackmails Andrea, threatening to reveal his past. Cornered by "Abb� Busoni" while attempting to rob Monte Cristo's house, Caderousse begs to be given another chance, but Dant�s grimly notes that the last two times he did so, Caderousse did not change. He forces Caderousse to write a letter to Danglars exposing Viscount Cavalcanti as an impostor and allows Caderousse to leave the house, but the moment Caderousse leaves the estate, he is stabbed in the back by Andrea. Caderousse manages to dictate and sign a deathbed statement identifying his killer, and Monte Cristo reveals his true identity to Caderousse moments before Caderousse dies. Ali Pasha, the ruler of Yannina (in French, Janina), was betrayed to the Greeks by Fernand. After his death, his daughter Hayd�e and his wife Vasiliki were sold into slavery by Fernand; subsequently, Hayd�e was located and rescued by Dant�s and becomes the Count's guest in his residence. The Count manipulates Danglars into researching the event, which is published in a newspaper. As a result, Fernand is brought to trial for his crimes. Hayd�e testifies against him, and Fernand is disgraced. Merc�d�s, still as attractive as before, alone recognizes Monte Cristo as Dant�s. When Albert blames Monte Cristo for his father's downfall and publicly challenges him to a duel, Merc�d�s goes secretly to Monte Cristo and begs him to spare her son. During this interview, she learns the entire truth of his arrest and imprisonment. She later reveals the truth to Albert, which causes Albert to make a public apology to Monte Cristo. Albert and Merc�d�s disown Fernand, who is also confronted with Dant�s' true identity and subsequently commits suicide. The mother and son depart to build a new life free of disgrace. Albert enlists and goes to Africa as a soldier in order to rebuild his life and honor under a new name, and Merc�d�s begins a solitary life in Marseille. Villefort's daughter by his first wife, Valentine, stands to inherit the entire fortune of her grandfather (Noirtier) and of her mother's parents (the Saint-M�rans), while his second wife, H�lo�se, seeks the fortune for her small son �douard. Monte Cristo is aware of H�lo�se's intentions, and "innocently" introduces her to the technique of poison. H�lo�se fatally poisons the Saint-M�rans, so that Valentine gets their inheritance. However, Valentine is disinherited by Noirtier in an attempt to prevent Valentine's impending marriage with Franz d'Epinay. The marriage is cancelled when d'Epinay learns that his father was killed by Noirtier in a duel. Afterwards, Valentine is reinstated in Noirtier's will. H�lo�se then targets Valentine, so that �douard will finally get the fortune. After Monte Cristo learns that Morrel's son Maximilien is in love with Valentine de Villefort, he saves her by making it appear as though H�lo�se's plan to poison Valentine has succeeded and that Valentine is dead. Villefort learns that H�lo�se is a murderer and confronts her, giving her the choice of a public execution or committing suicide by her own poison. Fleeing after Caderousse's letter exposes him, Andrea gets as far as Compi�gne before he is arrested and brought back to Paris, where he is prosecuted by Villefort. Andrea reveals that he is Villefort's son and was rescued after Villefort buried him alive. Villefort admits his guilt and flees the court. He rushes home to stop his wife's suicide but he is too late; she has poisoned her son as well. Dant�s confronts Villefort, revealing his true identity, which drives Villefort insane. Dant�s tries to resuscitate �douard but fails, and despairs that his revenge has gone too far. It is only after he revisits his cell in the Ch�teau d'If that Dant�s is reassured that his cause is just and his conscience is clear, that he can fulfill his plan while being able to forgive both his enemies and himself. After the Count's manipulation of the bond market, all that Danglars is left with is a tarnished reputation and five million francs he has been holding in deposit for the hospitals. The Count demands this sum to fulfill their credit agreement, and Danglars embezzles the hospital fund. Abandoning his wife, Danglars flees to Italy with the Count's receipt, hoping to live in Vienna in anonymous prosperity. However, he is kidnapped by the Count's agent. Danglars is imprisoned the same way that Dant�s was. Forced to pay exorbitant prices for food, Danglars eventually signs away all but 50,000 francs of the stolen five million (which Dant�s anonymously returns to the hospitals). Nearly driven mad by his ordeal, Danglars finally repents his crimes. Dant�s forgives Danglars and allows him to leave with his freedom and the money he has left. Maximilien Morrel, believing Valentine to be dead, contemplates suicide after her funeral. Dant�s reveals his true identity and explains that he rescued Morrel's father from bankruptcy, disgrace and suicide years earlier. He persuades Maximilien to delay his suicide for a month. On the island of Monte Cristo a month later, Dant�s presents Valentine to Maximilien and reveals the true sequence of events. Having found peace, Dant�s leaves for an unknown destination to find comfort and possibly love with Hayd�e, who has declared her love for him.[/spoiler] Credits to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo for the summary. <">[b]Comment:[/b] Such an epic story. [b]File Type:[/b] PDF (Adobe) [b]Note:[/b] Content of Ebook actually came from the book. So expect quality reading experience.

Last edited by Ephemeral (2010-04-09 08:24:01)