Written 180 years ago we step back in time through the pages of the classic novel The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. This is such a hefty book and contains so much we wanted to talk about we decided to break it up into two parts. We are really enjoying our Penguin Classics version of the book that features the A Storm with Smuggler's Landing on the cover. The artwork was done by Philip James de Loutherbourg (1740-1812) 

In part one we try to give an overview of the story and lay the foundation by introducing characters and historical happenings. Our discussion covers the background on Alexandre Dumas and his struggles as a mixed race author. Dumas was inspired to pen The Count of Monte Cristo by a true story of an innocent man who was imprisoned unjustly.

The story begins in 1815 and takes place in France, islands in the Mediterranean and Italy. Chapter one is the day that Napoleon left his first island of exile, starting the hundred days period when Bonaparte returned to power. Dumas expertly tied the plot of the story to actual events in history.

The main character is Edmond Dantès, the wide-eyed, hard working, honest, handsome, naïve sailor who is unjustly imprisoned in the The Château d'If which is the equivalent of Alcatraz in the United States.

The story follows Edmonds journey through insurmountable joy, confusion, devastating grief, harrowing loneliness, the life giving light of hope and the hardening of revenge. 

The Count of Monte Cristo is our first French novel to read. We like to watch videos on Course Hero to help us learn how to properly pronounce the names in the book.

Here is the podcast episode we mentioned from Politics By Faith with Mike Slater. 

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