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CAB - Costa's Audio Book end of the year feature
Alexandre Dumas "The Count of Monte Cristo"
Plot outline by Auguste Maquet
Early 19th-century Europe, France.
Dantès the protagonist, a young sailor, is cruelly betrayed and wrongfully imprisoned.
Finally breaking free, he uses a hard-earned treasure to accelerate his plans for vengeance.
Re-entering Paris, he dazzles society with wealth and charm.
Weaving subtle schemes, he tests the morals of those around him.
New allies and rivals emerge, shaping the path of his journey.
Volume III Chapter 48-73
00:30 48 Villefort thanks Monte Cristo for saving his family; they debate civilized versus natural justice. Villefort then discloses that his father, Noirtier, a once-powerful Jacobin and senator, now lives paralyzed after a devastating stroke.
49 Monte Cristo visits Haydée in her lavish rooms, offers her freedom, but she vows loyalty; he reminds her of youth, urging independence, and only asks she conceal her true parentage in Paris.
50 Monte Cristo visits Maximilian, Julie, and Emmanuel, admiring their blissful home. They recall their benefactor through relics; Monte Cristo suggests Lord Wilmore, while Maximilian’s father insists it was Edmond Dantès’s spirit.
1:02:03 51 Maximilian meets Valentine, who feels unloved and trapped in an arranged marriage. They vow not to give up hope, but Monte Cristo’s arrival forces Valentine to leave.
52 Monte Cristo reminds Madame de Villefort of their past meeting in Italy, discusses poisons and antidotes, and offers her a deadly potion disguised as medicine, subtly fueling her dangerous curiosity.
2:11:42 53 Monte Cristo and Haydée attend the opera, drawing great attention. From her seat, Haydée recognizes Fernand as the man who betrayed her father, Ali Pacha, and sold her into slavery.
54 Albert and Debray visit the Count. They discuss Albert’s unwanted engagement to Eugénie. Debray reveals Madame Danglars gambles with stock money. Albert jokes about false news. Count suspects Debray leaks secrets.
3:14:21 55 Major Cavalcanti visits Monte Cristo, guided by Abbe Busoni’s instructions, to reunite with his long-lost son. He reveals his late wife Olivia and a retroactive marriage making their son Andrea legitimate and heir.
56 Monte Cristo instructs the younger man to pose as Andrea Cavalcanti, the Major’s long-lost son. He provides both men with forged papers, fine clothes, and invites them to his Saturday dinner.
57 Valentine and Maximilien meet secretly, lamenting her forced marriage and family greed. Eugénie wishes for artistic freedom. Valentine distrusts Monte Cristo despite Maximilien’s faith, urging secrecy in their forbidden love.
4:30:14 58 Villefort informs paralyzed Noirtier of Valentine’s arranged marriage to Franz d’Epinay, son of his old enemy. Enraged, Noirtier signals for a notary, hinting at a plan to help Valentine escape the union.
59 Noirtier dictates a will through blinks, leaving his fortune to Valentine only if she refuses to marry Franz d’Epinay. Should she wed him, her inheritance goes to charity. Villefort furiously insists otherwise.
60 The Count visits the Villeforts, gives his country house address, discusses Valentine’s marriage, notes family and political tensions, Madame de Villefort’s anger, coming inheritance, and departs to inspect a telegraph station.
5:32:59 61 Monte Cristo visits a telegraph office, bribing the gardener-operator to send a false message to the ministry, causing Debray to mislead Madame Danglars. Her husband sells Spanish bonds at a loss.
62 Count's Auteuil house, transformed under Bertuccio’s design, receives nine guests. Danglars, sour from financial loss, probes the wealthy Cavalcantis. Bertuccio recognizes Mme Danglars, Villefort, and Andrea as Benedetto.
63 At dinner, Monte Cristo describes a murder in his house’s old bedroom, terrifying Villefort and Madame Danglars. He shows them the garden, revealing a buried infant’s remains, forcing the guilty pair into panic and secrecy.
6:31:07 64 Caderousse, escaped from prison, stops Andrea's departing carriage. He threatens to reveal Andrea’s true identity as Benedetto unless paid 200 francs monthly. Reluctantly, Andrea agrees, securing the beggar’s silence.
65 Danglars confronts Madame Danglars about losing 700,000 francs from false bond tips, linking her and Debray’s roles, demands repayment, and reveals he knows her first husband’s suicide secret, shocking her.
66 Danglars reports Manfredi’s bankruptcy to the Count, discusses Cavalcanti’s wealth, hints at Andrea marrying Eugénie, expresses reservations about Albert de Morcerf, and alludes to Morcerf’s Greek past and Janina inquiry.
7:32:39 67 Villefort confides to Madame Danglars that Monte Cristo’s discovery terrifies him; he buried their newborn thinking it dead, was stabbed, and later found the box gone. He suspects Monte Cristo’s deliberate revenge plot.
68 Albert returns from the seaside and invites Monte Cristo to his parents’ ball. He says his mother is eager to see him and admits dreading marriage to Eugénie, relieved by Monte Cristo’s hint otherwise.
69 Villefort investigates Monte Cristo, meeting Abbé Busoni and Lord Wilmore (both his disguises). Each gives a cover story about his origin and Auteuil house, leaving Villefort reassured the count poses no immediate threat.
8:33:37 70 At the Morcerfs’ Saturday ball, Monte Cristo is the focus; Madame de Morcerf notes he refuses food, opens the garden doors, and invites him to accompany her there.
71 In the greenhouse, Madame de Morcerf offers the Count fruit; he declines. They discuss friendship and lost love before Albert interrupts, announcing Villefort has come for Valentine’s grandfather, Saint-Méran, died en route.
72 Villefort stays home; the marchioness falls ill and fears death, insisting Valentine marry Franz. She finalizes her will, claims a ghost visited, and Valentine informs the doctor before walking in the garden.
9:30:09 73 Maximilien plans to elope with Valentine after her grandmother’s death, but finds her weeping. Meeting Noirtier, he explains their plan; the grandfather insists Maximilien wait, promising a better strategy.
Main Characters of Volume III
Edmond Dantès / Count of Monte Cristo – Orchestrates the central schemes of justice and revenge, observing and manipulating events in Paris.
Baron Danglars – His proud obsession with wealth leads to his downfall as his greed is being manipulated, exposing his moral emptiness.
Madame Danglars – Humiliated as her secret affair with Villefort resurfaces, tarnishing her social ambitions.
Gérard de Villefort – Ambitious royal prosecutor whose household intrigues and past actions against Dantès drive the main conflict in this volume.
Valentine de Villefort – Villefort’s virtuous daughter, central to the household subplot and the target of scheming characters.
Heloïse de Villefort – Villefort’s ruthless second wife, scheming to advance her own family’s interests and create tension in the household.
Maximilien Morrel – Loyal suitor to Valentine, representing virtue and directly involved in protecting her and supporting the emotional core of the subplot.
Albert de Morcerf – Present in Paris, socially prominent, manipulated by Monte Cristo, and part of key social observations and schemes.
Bertuccio – Monte Cristo’s agent, whose knowledge of Villefort’s hidden crimes and investigative work enables parts of the revenge plot.
Costa's Wordbook
Protestation n an emphatic declaration in response to doubt or accusation; an objection or protest (Prot test taytion)
Irremediable adj impossible to cure or put right (ir re Me dia ble)
Billet n a short note or letter (fr meaning)
Tetanus n a serious disease caused by bacteria entering the human body through small cuts, causing the muscles, especially around the mouth, to become tight and stop working (Tet tin nis)
Excitation n the action of exciting or the state of being excited, excitement (exit Tay tion)
errare humanum est - latin, To err is human
Strychnine n a bitter and highly poisonous compound obtained from nux vomica and related plants. An alkaloid, it has occasionally been used as a stimulant. (strick neen)
Correggio - Antonio Allegri da Correggio, was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sensuous works of the sixteenth century.
Cabriolet n a light two-wheeled carriage with a hood, drawn by one horse; a car with a roof that folds down (Cab brio lay)
Hark v arch. Listen
Interrogative adj having the force of a question (inter Rog get tive)
Jupiter - In ancient Roman religion and mythology, also known as Jove, is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods.
Docility adj willingness to accept control or instruction, submissiveness (doe Cil lity)
Complete Features
Songs of Dead Dreamer, Last Unicorn, Brothers Karamazov, Fellowship of the Ring, Winnie the Pooh, Jane Eyre, Angels & Demons, Perfume, Great Gatsby, Jekyll & Hyde, Maigret, 1984, Metamorphosis, Dracula, Don Quixote, Dorian Gray, Anne Frank, Lord of the Flies, Liar's Poker, Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, Great Expectations
CAB Milestone
2021: 0 Full soundtrack, no editing, wife commentary, summary outline, irregular release
2022: 2.0 DaVinci editing, wordbook, book intro, AI host + illustration, chapter summary, scheduled release
2023: 2.1 Descript, CapCut, Suno score, character intro, weekly release
2024: 2.2 Standard condenser mic, Audacity, ChatGPT annotation + illustration, timestamp, 1-hour content
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