The Count of Monte Cristo

“A piece of perfect storytelling.” — Robert Louis Stevenson Informationen zum Autor Alexandre Dumas was born July 24, 1802, at Villiers-Cotterets, France, the son of Napoleon's famous mulatto general, Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie. Dumas began writing at an early age and saw his first success in a play he wrote entitled Henri III et sa Cour (1829). A prolific author, Dumas was also an adventurer and took part in the Revolution of 1830. Dumas is most famous for his brilliant historical novels, which he wrote with collaborators, mainly Auguste Maquet, and which were serialized in the popular press of the day. His most popular works are The Three Musketeers (1844), The Count of Monte Cristo (1844-45), and The Man in the Iron Mask (1848-50). Dumas made and lost several fortunes, and died penniless on December 5, 1870. Roger Celestin is a professor of French and comparative literature at the University of Connecticut. He has published on French authors from the Renaissance to the twentieth century and is coeditor of the journal Contemporary French & Francophone Studies/SITES. Klappentext In the post-Napoleonic era, Edmond Dantès, a young sailor from Marseilles, is poised to become captain of his own ship and to marry his beloved. But spiteful enemies provoke his arrest, condemning him to lifelong imprisonment. Then Edmond's sole companion in prison reveals his secret plan of escape and a letter with directions to hidden riches on the island of Monte Cristo—a treasure trove that will eventually fund Edmund's dream of creating a new identity for himself: the mysterious and powerful Count of Monte Cristo. In The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas employed all the elements of compelling drama—suspense, intrigue, love, vengeance, rousing adventure, and the triumph of good over evil—that contribute to this classic story's irresistible and timeless appeal. Leseprobe Chapter I ON FEBRUARY 24, 1815, the watchtower at Marseilles signaled the arrival of the three-master Pharaon, coming from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples. The quay was soon covered with the usual crowd of curious onlookers, for the arrival of a ship is always a great event in Marseilles, especially when, like the Pharaon, it has been built, rigged and laden in the city and belongs to a local shipowner. Meanwhile the vessel was approaching the harbor under topsails, jib and foresail, but so slowly and with such an air of melancholy that the onlookers, instinctively sensing misfortune, began to wonder what accident could have happened on board. However, the experienced seamen among them saw that if there had been an accident, it could not have happened to the ship herself, for she had every appearance of being under perfect control. Standing beside the pilot, who was preparing to steer the Pharaon through the narrow entrance of the harbor, was a young man who, with vigilant eyes and rapid gestures, watched every movement of the ship and repeated each of the pilot's orders. The vague anxiety hovering over the crowd affected one man so much that he could not wait until the ship entered the harbor: he leaped into a small boat and ordered the boatman to row him out to meet the Pharaon. When he saw this man coming toward him, the young sailor left his post beside the pilot and walked over to the side of the ship, holding his hat in his hand. He was a tall, slender young man, no more than twenty years old, with dark eyes and hair as black as ebony. His whole manner gave evidence of that calmness and resolution peculiar to those who have been accustomed to facing danger ever since their childhood. "Ah, it's you, Dantès!" cried the man in the boat. "What's happened? Why does everything look so gloomy on board?" "A great misfortune, Monsieur Morrel!" replied the young man. "We lost our brave Captain Leclère off Civitavecchia."

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Roger Celestin, Alexandre Dumas, Alexandre/ Celestin Dumas
• Editore: Signet USA
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Tascabile
• Pubblicazione: 05.04.2005
• EAN: 9780451529701
• ISBN: 978-0-451-52970-1
• Pagine: 528
• Dimensioni: 106 mm x 175 mm x 35 mm
• Categoria: Narrativa > Romanzi