The Count of Monte Cristo

2008/9 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Novels

The Count of Monte Cristo
‎ Penguin (Robin Buss Translation)
Author	Alexandre Dumas, père
Country	France
Language	French
Genre(s)	Historical, Adventure
Publisher	Chapman and Hall
Publication date	1844-1846
Media type	Print ( Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	2 vol.
ISBN	NA

The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, père. It is often considered, along with The Three Musketeers, as Dumas' best work, and is frequently included on lists of the best novels of all time. The writing of the work was completed in 1844. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from the plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet.

The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from just before the Hundred Days through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). It is primarily concerned with themes of justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness, and is told in the style of an adventure story.

Dumas got the idea for The Count of Monte Cristo from a true story, which he found in a memoir written by a man named Jacques Peuchet. Peuchet related the story of a shoemaker named Pierre Picaud, who was living in Paris in 1807. Picaud was engaged to marry a rich woman, but four jealous friends falsely accused him of being a spy for England. He was imprisoned for seven years. During his imprisonment a dying fellow prisoner bequeathed him a treasure hidden in Milan. When Picaud was released in 1814, he took possession of the treasure, returned under another name to Paris and spent ten years plotting his successful revenge against his former friends.

Plot summary

Template:Spoiler Edmond Dantès, a 19-year-old sailor aboard the ship Pharaon, returns home to Marseille. He is excited to be reunited with his family and friends, and eager to marry his fiancée, the Catalan beauty Mercédès. He is also proud of his recent promotion to captain. At the same time, he is saddened by the recent death of his friend Captain Leclère, his predecessor.

Captain Leclére, a supporter of the now exiled Napoléon, had charged Dantès on his deathbed to deliver a package to former Grand Marshal Maréchal Bertrand, who had been exiled to the isle of Elba. During the Pharaon's stop at Elba, Dantès spoke to Napoléon himself, who asked the sailor to deliver a confidential letter to a man in Paris.

Edmond's good fortune inspires jealousy in those close to him. His promotion to captain offends the ship's purser, Danglars; his windfall stuns his neighbour, the impoverished tailor Caderousse; his relationship with Mercédès inspires the jealousy of her cousin Fernand Mondego, who wants Mercédès for his own. Danglars writes an anonymous letter to the crown prosecutor accusing Dantès of being a Bonapartist, that is, a traitor to the Royalists who are in power. Inflaming his jealousy, he instigates Fernand to send the letter, while Caderousse looks on in a drunken stupor.

Villefort, the deputy crown prosecutor in Marseille, assumes the duty of investigating the matter on Dantès' wedding day and on the day of his own betrothal to Renee de Saint-Meran; he indeed finds an incriminating letter. Dantès knows nothing of its contents, only that he was asked to deliver it. Although at first sympathetic to Dantès' case, when Villefort questions Dantes as to where and to whom the letter was to be delivered, he discovers to his horror that it is addressed to his own father, Noirtier de Villefort.

Due to the political climate created by the restoration of King Louis XVIII, Villefort wants to distance himself from his Bonapartist father. The deputy crown prosecutor burns the letter, which has the potential to fatally hinder his success. Although Villefort would rather not imprison an innocent man, he ultimately chooses to save his political career rather than properly exercise justice and condemns Dantès to life imprisonment in the island prison of the Château d'If, using his knowledge of the letter's contents to advance himself and his career at the court of Louis XVIII.

Escape to riches

While in prison, Dantès slowly sinks into despair and finally looks to God for salvation. After years of solitary confinement in a small, fetid dungeon, Dantès loses all hope and contemplates suicide by means of starving himself. His will to live is restored, however, by faint sounds of digging. Dantès soon begins his own tunnel to reach that of his fellow prisoner, the Abbé Faria, an Italian priest whose escape tunnel has strayed in the wrong direction. The two prisoners eventually connect and quickly become inseparable friends.

The old man, a gifted scholar as well as a priest, provides Edmond with a comprehensive education in subjects including languages, history, economics, philosophy, and mathematics. Edmond also learns the manners of polite society, growing in confidence and sophistication. Aside from the lessons, the two discuss Edmond's betrayal and piece together the events that placed the young man in his brutal predicament.

Both men continue to work assiduously on their tunnel, but the elderly and infirm Faria does not survive to see its completion. Knowing that he would soon die, Faria confides in Dantès the location of a great cache of treasure on the Italian islet of Monte Cristo.

After his mentor dies, Dantès uses the opportunity to escape. He moves Faria's body into his own cell and then slips into Faria's body bag. To Dantès surprise, instead of carrying him to the burial ground, as he had expected, the prison guards attach a cannonball to Edmond's feet and throw him into the sea. Edmond plummets, fearfully, from the cliff side, crashing into the cold Mediterranean Sea.

Remarkably, and with the help of a sailor's training, Dantès frees himself and swims toward a nearby island. A great storm rages, and Edmond is nearly drowned. The next day, Edmond discovers a shipwreck from the previous evening's storm. Cleverly, Dantès flags down a passing ship and pretends to be its sole survivor. He boards the new vessel and quickly realizes that his comrades are actually a group of smugglers. After months of gaining their trust and respect, Edmond suggests the isle of Monte Cristo as an ideal location to trade smuggled goods. Once on the islet, Edmond feigns an injury, asking to be left behind until the crew can return to pick him up. Although reluctant to leave Edmond, the crew departs. Dantès, alone on the island, is free to search for his hidden treasure.

Edmond's sufferings have had a profound effect on him and even changed his physical appearance--to the extent that even his closest friends and former associates would not recognize him. Intellectually, his studies with the Abbé give him a much greater depth and breadth of knowledge, and his wealth grants him access to the highest levels of society. Perhaps the greatest change to Dantès is psychological. His betrayal by men whom he had trusted removes the naiveté of his idealistic youth and replaces it with the cynicism of bitter experience.

Revenge

Ten years after his return to Marseilles, Dantès puts into action his plan for revenge. He reinvents himself as the Count of Monte Cristo, a mysterious, fabulously rich aristocrat. He surfaces first in Rome, where he becomes acquainted with Franz d'Epinay, a young aristocrat, and Albert de Morcerf, Mercédès's and Mondego's son. He subsequently moves to Paris, where he becomes the sensation of the city. Due to his knowledge and rhetorical power, even his enemies find him charming, and because of his status, they all want to be his friend.

Travelling in disguise under the alias of the Abbe Busoni, Monte Cristo first meets Caderousse, living in poverty, supposedly being punished by God for his jealousy and cowardice in not acting to save Dantes. Playing on Caderousse's greed, Monte Cristo learns about what has happened since his arrest, and how his other enemies have all become wealthy and prosperous. Since Caderousse has already been punished somewhat, Monte Cristo gives him a diamond that can be either a chance to redeem himself, or a trap that will lead his greed to ruin him. Caderousse's greed leads him into murder, until Monte Cristo frees him and gives him another chance at redemption. He does not take it, and becomes a career criminal. Caderousse's greed is the death of him when he is murdered by a confederate while trying to rob Monte Cristo's house.

He meets Danglars, now a banker, dazzles him with his seemingly endless wealth, eventually persuades him to extend him six million francs credit, and withdraws nine hundred thousand. The Count manipulates the bond market and quickly destroys a large portion of Danglars' fortune. After a few months, all Danglars is left with is a good reputation and five million francs he is about to repay to a hospital. The Count asks for the five million to fulfill their credit agreement. Danglars' reputation is ruined. He must either default to the Count or default to the hospital. He chooses the latter, giving the Count the five million francs in exchange for a note for six million francs. Danglars flees to Rome to redeem the note for cash and live in anonymous prosperity. But he is intercepted by the Count's agent, the celebrated bandit Luigi Vampa, and starved into giving up all but 50,000 francs. Dantés confronts Danglars, leaving him shattered but alive.

Monte Cristo owns a Greek slave, Haydée. Her noble father, Ali Pasha, the ruler of Janina, had implicitly trusted Fernand, only to be betrayed by him in a war. After his death, she and her mother were sold into slavery. 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. Haydée testifies against him, and Fernand is disgraced.

Mercédès had married Fernand and borne him a son, Albert. She alone recognizes Monte Cristo. When Albert blames Monte Cristo for his father's downfall and publically challenges him to a duel, she goes secretly to Monte Cristo and begs him to spare her son. During this interview, she learns the entire truth about why Edmond Dantes had been arrested and imprisoned, and later to save both Monte Cristo and Albert reveals the truth to Albert, which causes Albert to make a public apology to Monte Cristo. Albert and Mercédès disown Fernand, who subsequently commits suicide. The mother and son depart to build a new life free of disgrace, he to Africa as a soldier to rebuild his life and honour under a new family name given to him by his mother and she to a solitary life back in Marseilles.

Last to feel Monte Cristo's vengeance is Villefort. Villefort's family is divided. Valentine, his daughter by his first wife, stands to inherit the entire fortune of her grandfather and of her mother's parents (the Saint-Mérans), while his second wife, Heloise, seeks the fortune for her son Edward. Monte Cristo is aware of Heloise's intentions, and "innocently" introduces her to the technique of poison. Heloise fatally poisons the Saint-Mérans, so that Valentine gets their inheritance. Then she attempts to murder Valentine's grandfather, Nortier, but his servant accidentally drinks the poisonous draught and dies. Nortier is coincidentally saved from a second attempt when he disinherits Valentine as a ploy to stop Villefort from forcing Valentine to marry Franz d'Epinay. Heloise then targets Valentine, so that Edward would get her fortune.

Meanwhile, Monte Cristo haunts Villefort with his past affair with Danglars' wife and the son they had. Years before, Mme. Danglars bore a child by Villefort, at a house in Auteuil. Villefort had buried the child, thinking it was stillborn. However, the boy was rescued from his grave and raised by Bertuccio, an enemy of Villefort who attempted to kill the judge on the night of his child's birth. Monte Cristo, whose servant Bertuccio now is, and who now owns the house in Auteuil, is able to use them against Villefort. As a grown man, the son enters Paris in disguise as Prince Andrea Cavalcanti (hiddenly sponsored by the Count), and cons Danglers into betrothing his daughter. Caderousse blackmails Andrea, threatening to reveal his past, and Andrea murders Caderousse. Andrea is arrested, and about to be prosecuted by Villefort.

After Monte Cristo learns that a dear friend of his is in love with Valentine, he saves her by making it appear as though Heloise's plan to poison Valentine has succeeded and that Valentine is dead (although actually in a drugged sleep caused by a mixture of hashish and opium prepared by Monte Cristo). Villefort learns from Noirtier that Heloise is a murderer. Villefort confronts Heloise, giving her the choice of a public execution or suicide. Then he goes off to Andrea's trial. There, Andrea reveals that he is Villefort's son, and rescued after Villefort buried him alive. Villefort flees the court, feels he is as guilty as his wife, and rushes home to stop her suicide. He finds she has poisoned herself and "taken her son with her." Dantés confronts Villefort. Villefort shows Dantés his dead wife and son, and becomes insane. Dantés tries to resuscitate Edward, fails, and is remorseful that his revenge has gone too far.

Redemption

Matters, however, are more complicated than Dantès had anticipated. His efforts to destroy his enemies and reward the few who had stood by him become horribly intertwined. This problem reaches its zenith when Edmond learns that Maximilien Morrel, the son of one of his steadfast friends, is in love with Valentine de Villefort, and soon thereafter that the child Edward de Villefort has been poisoned by his mother. These tragic complications, especially the latter, cause Dantès to question his role as an agent of a vengeful God. This temporarily deters him from his course of action. During this period of doubt, he comes to terms with his own humanity and is finally able to forgive both his enemies and himself. It is only when he is sure that his cause is just and his conscience is clear, that he can fulfill his plan.

Maximillien Morrel is distraught because he believes his true love, Valentine, to be dead. He contemplates suicide after witnessing her funeral. Monte Cristo reveals himself to be the person who rescued Mr. Morrel from suicide years earlier. Maximillien is grateful and is persuaded by Monte Cristo to delay his suicide for a month. A month later, on the island of Monte Cristo, the count presents Valentine to Maximillien and reveals that he saved her from the poison attempt. Monte Cristo then leaves the island and sends Jacopo to deliver a letter to them which reveals that he has bequeathed much of his treasure to Maximillien. Haydée offers Edmond a new love and life. The two leave together, seemingly to begin anew.

Characters

There are a large number of characters in this book, and the importance of many of the characters is not immediately obvious. Furthermore, the characters' fates are often so inter-woven that their stories overlap significantly.

Edmond Dantès and his aliases

Edmond Dantès — Dantès is ruggedly handsome and initially an experienced, generally well-liked sailor who seems to have everything going for him, including a beautiful fiancée (Mercédès) and an impending promotion to ship's captain. After transforming into the Count of Monte Cristo, his original name is only revealed to each of his main enemies as each revenge is completed, often driving his already weakened victims into despair.

Number 34 — When a new governor arrives at the Château d'If early in Dantès's, he does not feel it worth his time to learn the names of all the prisoners, instead choosing to refer to them by the numbers of their cells. Thus, Dantès is called Number 34 during his imprisonment.

Count of Monte Cristo — The persona that Edmond assumes when he escapes from his incarceration and while he carries out his dreadful vengeance. This persona is marked by a pale countenance and a smile which can be diabolical or angelic. Educated and mysterious, this alias is trusted in Paris and fascinates the people.

Lord Wilmore — The English persona in which Dantès performs seemingly random acts of generosity. The Englishman is eccentric and refuses to speak French. This eccentric man, in his kindness, is almost the opposite of the Count of Monte Cristo and accordingly the two are supposed to be enemies.

Sinbad the Sailor — The persona that Edmond assumes when he saves the vicount Albert de Morcerf (son of his biggest enemy who married his love Mercedes) in Rome. (Sinbad the sailor is the common English translation of the original French Simbad le marin.)

Abbé Busoni — The persona that Edmond puts forth when he needs deep trust from others because the name itself demands respect via religious authority.

Dantès's allies

Abbé Faria — Italian priest and sage; befriends Edmond while both are prisoners in the Chateau d'If, and reveals the secret of the island of Monte Cristo to Edmond. Becomes the surrogate father of Edmond, while imprisoned, digging a tunnel to freedom he educates Edmond in languages, and all the current sciences (including chemistry which comes to his aid greatly during his revenge plan) and is the figurative father of the Count of Monte Cristo.
Bertuccio — The Count of Monte Cristo's steward and very loyal servant; in the count's own words, Bertuccio "knows no impossibility" and is sure of never being dismissed from the count's service because, as the count states, the count will "never find anyone better." He had declared vendetta against Monsieur de Villefort, for refusal to avenge Bertuccio's brother's murder. Before ever meeting Edmond, he stabs Villefort, believing him to be dead, but becomes involved in Villefort's personal life by rescuing his illegitimate newborn, later named Benedetto by Bertuccio.
Luigi Vampa — Italian bandit and fugitive; owes much to the Count of Monte Cristo, and is instrumental in many of the Count's plans.
Haydée — Daughter of Ali Pasha is eventually bought by the Count of Monte Cristo from a Sultan. Even though she was purchased as a slave, Monte Cristo treats her with the utmost respect. She lives in seclusion by her own choice, but is usually very aware of everything that is happening outside. She usually goes to local operas accompanied by the Count. At the trial of Fernand Mondego, she provides the key evidence required to convict Fernand of treason. She is deeply in love with the Count of Monte Cristo, and although he feels he is too old for her, he eventually reciprocates.
Ali — Monte Cristo's Nubian slave, a mute (his tongue had been cut out as part of his punishment for intruding into the harem of the Bey of Tunis; his hand and head had also been scheduled to be cut off, but the count bargained with the Bey for Ali's life). He is completely loyal and utterly devoted to the count and is trusted by him completely. Ali is also a master of horses.
Baptistin — Monte Cristo's valet-de-chambre. Although only in Monte Cristo's service for little more than a year, he has become the number three man in the count's household and seems to have proven himself completely trustworthy and loyal.

Morcerf family

Mercédès — (née: Herrera) The fiancée of Edmond Dantès at the beginning of the story, she marries Fernand Mondego while Dantès is imprisoned. It must be noted this is not out of her love for Fernand, but for her desire to have companionship. So, Dantes actually remains her true love. After marrying Mondego she is presumably rejected by Dantès. This complicates matters as her love for him is evident. But, at the end of the story, Monte Cristo comes to realize, that it is Haydee he loves. He has a respect for Mercedes, but leaves her to live her life in Marseille, where he bought the house in which he lived as a young man.
Fernand Mondego — Later known as the Count de Morcerf. He is also in love with Mercédès and will do anything to get her. He is overall a representation of evil, as he lies and betrays throughout his life for his own personal gain. But, when confronted by his nefarious acts, disgraced in public and abandoned by his wife and son, he commits suicide.
Albert de Morcerf — Son of Mercédès and the Count de Morcerf. Befriends Monte Cristo in Rome; viewed by Monte Cristo as the son that should have been his with Mercédès. At the end, he realizes his father's faults and, along with his mother, Mercédès, abandons him and his name.

Danglars family

Baron Danglars — Initially the purser on the same ship on which Dantès served as first mate, he longs to be wealthy and powerful and becomes jealous of Dantès for his favour with M. Morrel. He also developed a grudge against Dantes who, having Morrel's trust, told the shipowner about Danglars' dishonest accounting. The source of his wealth is not clear but is possibly due to unscrupulous financial dealings. His intelligence is only evident where money is concerned; otherwise he is a member of the nouveau riche with only superficial good taste (he cannot even tell the difference between original paintings and copies) and no true family feelings.
Madame Danglars — Was independently wealthy before marrying Danglars. With help from her close friend (and presumed lover) Lucien Debray, Madame Danglars invests the money of Danglars and is able to amass over a million francs for her own disposal.
Eugénie Danglars — The daughter of Danglars engaged to Albert de Morcerf but who would rather stay unwed. She is presented as a lesbian and the connotations at this and her running away with another girl were considered scandalous.

Villefort family

Gérard de Villefort — A royal prosecutor who has even denounced his own father (Noirtier) in order to protect his own career. He is responsible for imprisoning Edmond Dantès to save his aspirations for his career.
Valentine de Villefort — The daughter of Gérard de Villefort, the crown prosecutor and enemy of Edmond. She falls in love with Maximilien Morrel, is engaged to Baron Franz d'Epinay, is almost poisoned by her step-mother, saved once by her grandfather, Noirtier, and is finally saved by Dantès. Valentine is the quintessential (French, nineteenth century) female: beautiful, docile, and loving. The only person she feels that she can confide in is her invalid grandfather.
Noirtier de Villefort — The father of Gérard de Villefort and grandfather of Valentine. After suffering an apoplectic stroke, Noirtier becomes mute and a quadriplegic, but can communicate with Valentine and his servant Barrois through use of his eyelids and eyes. Although utterly dependent on others, he saves Valentine from the poison of her step-mother and her undesired marriage to Baron Franz d'Epinay. Throughout his life he was a Bonapartist – an ardent French Revolutionary. Gérard de Villefort had realized that Edmond intended to fulfill his dying captain's last wish by conveying a letter from the imprisoned Napoleon to Noirtier, and therefore imprisoned Edmond in order to hide that fact, which might have hindered Gérard's advancement.
Héloïse de Villefort — The murderous second wife of Villefort who is motivated to protect and nurture her only son and his inheritance.
Édouard de Villefort — the only (legitimate) son of Villefort who is unfortunately swept up in his mother's greed. (His name is sometimes translated as Edward de Villefort.)
Benedetto — Illegitimate son of de Villefort and Hermine de Nargonne (now Baroness Hermine Danglars); raised by Bertuccio (Monte Cristo's servant) and his sister-in-law, Assunta. Murderer and thief. Returns to Paris as Andrea Cavalcanti.

Other important characters

Gaspard Caderousse — Originally a neighbour and friend of Dantès, he witnesses while drunk the writing by Danglars of the denunciation of Dantès. After Dantès is arrested, he is too cowardly to come forward with the truth. Caderousse is somewhat different from the other members of the conspiracy in that it is what he does not do, rather than what he actually plans, that leads to Dantès' arrest. He moves out of town, becomes an innkeeper, falls on hard times, and supplements his income by fencing stolen goods from Bertuccio. After his escape from prison, Dantès (and the reader) first hear the fates of many of the characters from Caderousse. Unlike the other members of the conspiracy, Monte Cristo offers Caderousse a chance to redeem himself, but the latter's greed proves his undoing.
M. Morrel — Edmond Dante's patron and owner of the major Marseille shipping firm of Morrell & Son. While a very honest and shrewd businessman, he is very fond of Edmond and eager to advance his interests. After Edmond is arrested, he tries his hardest to help Edmond and is hopeful of Edmond's release whan Napoleon is restored to power, but because of his sympathies for the Bonapartist cause is forced to back down and abandon all hope after the Hundred Days and second Restoration of the monarchy. Between 1825 and 1830, his firm undergoes critical financial reverses due to the loss of all of his ships at sea, and he is at the point of bankruptcy and suicide when Monte Cristo (in the guise of an English clerk from the financial firm of Thompson and French) sets events in motion which not only save M. Morrel's reputation and honour but also his life.
Maximilien Morrel — He is the son of Edmond's employer, M. Morrel, a captain in the Spahis regiment of the Army stationed in Algiers and an Officer of the Legion of Honour. After Edmond's escape and the Count of Monte Cristo's debut in Paris, Maximilien becomes a very good friend to the Count of Monte Cristo, yet still manages to force the Count to change many of his plans, partly by falling in love with Valentine de Villefort.
Julie Herbault — Daughter of Edmond's patron, M. Morrel, she marries Emmanuel Herbault.
Emmanuel Herbault — Julie Herbault's husband; he had previously worked in M. Morrell's shipping firm and is the brother-in-law of Maximilien Morrel and son-in-law of M. Morrel.
Baron Franz d'Epinay — A friend of Albert de Morcerf, he is the first fiancé of Valentine de Villefort. Franz's father was killed in a duel by Monsieur Noirtier de Villefort.
Lucien Debray — Secretary to the Minister of the Interior. A friend of Albert de Morcerf, and a close friend of Madame Danglars, to whom he funnels insider information regarding investments.
Beauchamp — A leading journalist and friend of Albert de Morcerf.
Le Baron de Château-Renaud — Another friend of Albert de Morcerf. Renaud's life was saved in Africa by Maximilien Morrel.

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Publication

The Count of Monte Cristo was originally published in the Journal des Débats in eighteen parts. Publication ran from August 28, 1844 through January, 1846. Complete versions of the novel in the original French were published throughout the nineteenth century.

The most common English translation was originally published in 1846 by Chapman and Hall. Most unabridged English editions of the novel, including the Modern Library and Oxford World's Classics editions, use this translation, although Penguin Classics published a new translation by Robin Buss in 1996. Buss' translation updated the language, is more accessible to modern readers, and restored content that was modified in the 1846 translation (due to Victorian English social restrictions (for example, references to Eugénie's lesbian traits and behaviour)) to Dumas' actual publication. Other English translations of the unabridged work exist, but are rarely seen in print and most borrow from the 1846 anonymous translation.

Various abridged translations of the novel are also in print.

Editions

ISBN 2-221-06457-7, French language edition
ISBN 0-19-283395-2, 1846 translation (Oxford World's Classics)
(no ISBN), Copyright 1946 by the McGraw-Hill Book Company (complete and unabridged; forward by André Maurois)
ISBN 0-14-044926-4, Robin Buss translation (Penguin Classics)
ISBN 1-85326-733-3, Wordsworth Classics (complete and unabridged)
ISBN 0-375-76030-X, Modern Library Classics (complete and unabridged, introduction by Lorenzo Carcaterra)

Homages and adaptations

See The Count of Monte Cristo (film) for a list of film adaptations

Alexandre Dumas wrote a set of the three plays that collectively told the story of The Count of Monte Cristo: Monte Cristo (1848), Le Comte de Morcerf (1851), and Villefort (1851).
Lew Wallace went on record that The Count of Monte Cristo was one of the chief inspirations for Ben-Hur.
Alfred Bester's classic science fiction novel The Stars My Destination (1956) is a retelling of much of the plot of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Jinyong's wuxia novel Requiem of Ling Sing (1963) is widely regarded as having a similar plot to The Count of Monte Cristo.
The episode of The Simpsons entitled " Revenge is a Dish Best Served Three Times" features a segment, "The Count of Monte Fatso", starring Homer in the title role.
Stephen Fry's novel The Stars' Tennis Balls, retitled Revenge in the American printing, is, by his own admission "a straight steal, virtually identical in all but period and style to Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo".
A Malayalam film inspired by this story, Padayottam, was Kerala's first 70 mm movie.
A critically acclaimed Venezuelan telenovela, La Dueña, is inspired by the novel.
Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo is an anime series, produced in 2004 by GONZO and directed by Mahiro Maeda.
Park Chan-wook's 2003 film, Oldboy, and the manga it is based on, Oldboy written by Garon Tsuchiya, pays partial homage to The Count of Monte Cristo story. For instance, the protagonist is jailed in a private cell for a long time period (15 years in the film; 10 in the manga). Upon release, the protagonist is given money and new clothes, and seeks vengeance upon his captors. A strong theme of vengeance and revenge, as in the Monte Cristo story, pervades both the manga and the film. Also, in the film, Oh-Dae Su is referred to as "the Count of Monte Cristo" in jest.
The Film V for Vendetta references the Count of Monte Cristo many times

Unofficial sequels

The next 50 years after the publication of The Count of Monte Cristo saw many unofficial sequels written by other authors. Many of these were published under Dumas' name, to increase sales.

Alfredo Hogan wrote a sequel, The Hand of the Dead, in Portuguese, in which Dantès's revenge backfires and his life and fortune are forfeit.
Jean Charles Du Boys wrote The Countess of Monte Cristo in 1869.
Edmund Flagg wrote a three-part set of sequels, beginning with Edmond Dantes in 1878.
Jules Hippolyte Lermina wrote The Son of Monte Cristo in 1881.
Paul Mahalin wrote Mademoiselle Monte-Cristo in 1896.

Trivia

As of 2007, Edmond Dantès' fortune would be roughly equivalent to about 11 billion dollars, adjusted for inflation.

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