{"product_id":"the-count-of-monte-cristo-4","title":"The Count of Monte Cristo","description":"\u003cp\u003e6b Alexandre Dumas. Illustrations by M. Valentin. London: Chapman and Hall, 1846. \u003cstrong\u003eFirst English Edition.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eNotes\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAEIBhAA\" data-processed=\"true\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eSet against the turbulent backdrop of post-Napoleonic France, \u003cem\u003eThe Count of Conte Cristo\u003c\/em\u003e is a masterful tale of injustice, patience, and absolute retribution. The story begins on the eve of Edmond Dantès's wedding and his promotion to ship captain, when a group of envious rivals conspires to falsely accuse him of treason. Dantès is arrested and cast into the dreaded island fortress of the Château d'If, where he suffers in solitary confinement for fourteen years. He eventually befriends a fellow prisoner, the wise Abbé Faria, who educates him and reveals the location of a vast fortune hidden on the Mediterranean island of Monte Cristo. Following a daring escape, Dantès secures the treasure, adopts the enigmatic persona of the Count of Monte Cristo, and systematically dismantles the lives of those who betrayed him, ultimately realizing the high emotional and moral cost of playing God.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAEIBhAA\" data-processed=\"true\" data-complete=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAEICBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eAlexandre Dumas was a legendary figure in 19th-century French literature, whose own larger-than-life personality and background deeply infused his work. Dumas, who spent roughly eighteen months writing and serializing the novel between 1844 and 1846 alongside his collaborator Auguste Maquet, was heavily influenced by real cases and family tragedies. He held a deep interest in the memoirs of French police archivist Jacques Peuchet, specifically the real-life 1807 case of \u003cspan class=\"T286Pc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003eFrançois Picaud\u003c\/span\u003e, a shoemaker wrongfully imprisoned who later exacted a lethal vendetta on his betrayers. Furthermore, the character of Dantès was directly inspired by the status and struggles of Dumas's own father, Thomas-Alexandre Dumas—France’s first Black general who was born into slavery, rose to immense military heights, and was ultimately betrayed and left to rot in an Italian prison without the support of the French government.\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAEICBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAEICBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eThe 1846 Chapman and Hall edition stands as the most famous early English rendering of Dumas's epic, establishing the standard text that dominated the English-speaking world for over a century. First released in ten weekly installments starting in March 1846 before appearing as a complete two-volume set in May, this edition features 20 exquisite wood-engraved illustrations by M. Valentin. The translation itself was performed by \u003c\/span\u003ean\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e anonymous translator who, while remaining uncredited to this day, heavily shaped how English readers experienced the story. In keeping with the strict social mores of Victorian England, this unidentified translator frequently modified the original French text to align with contemporary sensibilities, carefully editing or \"bowdlerizing\" various passages to ensure they were suitable for the Victorian public.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAEICBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAEICBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eDescription\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAEICBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"n6owBd awi2gc\" data-sfc-cp=\"\" data-sfc-root=\"c\" data-sfc-cb=\"\" data-hveid=\"CAEICBAA\" data-complete=\"true\" data-processed=\"true\" data-copy-service-computed-style='font-family: \"Google Sans\", \"Helvetica Neue\", sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400; margin: 12px 0px 16px; text-decoration: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: rgb(10, 10, 10);'\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003eModern period-style rebinding. Deep blue calfskin with gilt turn-ins and details in each spinal compartment. Maroon and caramel labels with gilt lettering to spine. Gilt edges. Twenty wood-block illustrations throughout. Very fine condition. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Moons Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56441411109030,"sku":null,"price":20000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0173\/6563\/1040\/files\/0A610F1C-FA42-4B50-A620-A54C943C2F85.jpg?v=1778014277","url":"https:\/\/moons-rare-books.myshopify.com\/products\/the-count-of-monte-cristo-4","provider":"Moons Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}