The Count of Monte Cristo I

Prison breaks, thwarted love affairs, buried treasure—"The Count of Monte Cristo" has it all. ​If you love Dumas' "The Three Musketeers", this is your next must-read adventure.

In Volume I, we meet Frenchman Edmond Dantes. His future looks bright: a new job as a ship’s captain and marriage to the beautiful Mercedes. But a trio of jealous men are plotting his downfall. And on the day of his wedding, they have him arrested on false charges of treason. Locked away on an island prison in the Mediterranean Sea, all hope seems lost. But Edmond never gives up his dreams of escape and exacting his revenge.

Hugely popular in its day, "The Count of Monte Cristo" is still a page-turner. No wonder it’s been made into dozens of movies, including a 2002 version starring Guy Pearce. Alexandre Dumas (1802 - 1870) was a hugely popular 19th Century French writer. Born of mixed French and Haitian heritage, Dumas first rose to prominence in Paris as a playwright, but later gained international fame with his historical fiction. Often co-authored with other writers, these stories wove together swashbuckling adventure, romance, and real events from France’s past. Among the best known are "The Three Musketeers", and its sequels "Twenty Years After", and "Le Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later". Set across four decades, this trilogy follows the rise of the dashing D’Artagnan—from hot-headed soldier to trusted captain under Louis XIV. Dumas’ other novels include "The Count of Monte Cristo" and "The Black Tulip". His works have been adapted into more than 200 movies, including The Man in the Iron Mask starring Leonardo DiCaprio.