The Count of Monte Cristo (Qualitas Classics)

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Qualitas Publishing, 2012 - Fiction - 1150 pages
The Count of Monte Cristo was written by Alexandre Dumas and first published in book form in 1844-45. It is a novel set firmly in history, with many key plot points based on external political events. The key figure in French politics during the first quarter of the nineteenth century was Napoleon Bonaparte, who, though he does not appear directly in the novel, plays such a significant role that he can almost be counted as one of the major characters. The story follows handsome Edmond Dantès as he escapes from Chateau d'If after being imprisoned for 14 years. With the knowledge he gained in prison, Dantès locates an immense treasure, recreates himself as a dashing count, and vows to reward those who were kind to him and to punish those who conspired to imprison him. A tale full of wit, revenge and hope, this publication of The Count of Monte Cristo is part of the Qualitas Classics Fireside Series, where pure, ageless classics are presented in clean, easy to read reprints. For a complete list of titles, see: http: //www.qualitaspublishing.com

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About the author (2012)

After an idle youth, Alexandre Dumas went to Paris and spent some years writing. A volume of short stories and some farces were his only productions until 1927, when his play Henri III (1829) became a success and made him famous. It was as a storyteller rather than a playwright, however, that Dumas gained enduring success. Perhaps the most broadly popular of French romantic novelists, Dumas published some 1,200 volumes during his lifetime. These were not all written by him, however, but were the works of a body of collaborators known as "Dumas & Co." Some of his best works were plagiarized. For example, The Three Musketeers (1844) was taken from the Memoirs of Artagnan by an eighteenth-century writer, and The Count of Monte Cristo (1845) from Penchet's A Diamond and a Vengeance. At the end of his life, drained of money and sapped by his work, Dumas left Paris and went to live at his son's villa, where he remained until his death.

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