The Count of Monte Cristo (ePub)

"The Count of Monte Cristo" is Dumas's most famous work. It was written in 1844 and published in sequels during the next two years. The plot is taking place before and after Napoleon's reign from 1815 to 1844, during the time of the Bourbon Restoration in France.

The main character is Edmond Dantes, a honest and honorable man who believed in the good in everyone, until he was wrongfully accused and imprisoned for alleged political actions. Edmond Dantes was betrayed by his friends, convicted for being a Bonapartist and imprisoned in the Château d'If, prison changed him and made him a different man. Edmond started being led by the desire for revenge against people who wronged him. His vengeance is the main motive of the plot and he doesn't give up until he gets what he wants. The development of the main character is important because he became a vengeful man out of a naïve, good and honest man. He escaped after fourteen years and assumed the identity of the Count of Monte Cristo. He hid behind aliases to complete his plan. In the end of the novel, after getting his revenge, he found a piece of himself. He also found happiness and love.

The novel also has a political background based on two divisions in France; one supported Napoleon and one didn't. Dumas supported Napoleon. In the novel, there are many characters, such as Villefort's father who received a letter from Napoleon and his son, who were against Napoleon. He, because of his political beliefs, denied his father and it was the cause of Dantes's sentence.

The narrator is in the third person, and he was objective. Also, all the events have detailed descriptions. The main theme in the novel is tasting the boundaries of justice, and the main character takes on himself the duty to establish justice.