The protagonist's name is Monte Cristo. Acting characters

This term has other meanings, see Count of Monte Cristo (meanings).

See also: Monte Cristo

Count of Monte Cristo(fr. Le comte de Monte Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas, a classic of French literature, written in 1844-45. The writer came up with the name of his hero while traveling in the Mediterranean, when he saw the island of Montecristo and heard the legend of countless treasures buried there. The author only slightly changed the name of the island. The novel is set in 1815-29 and 1838.

• 1 Plot
  • 1.1 Imprisonment
  • 1.2 Jailbreak
  • 1.3 Return
  • 1.4 Revenge
• 2 Characters
• 3 The success of the novel
• 4 Interesting facts
  • 4.1 Prototype hero
  • 4.2 Plot slips
• 5 Continuations of the novel
  • 5.1 Roman Last payment
  • 5.2 Roman Master of the World (Adolf Mützelburg)
  • 5.3 Film Son of Monte Cristo (1940, USA)
• 6 Similar stories by other authors
• 7 Screen adaptations
• 8 Theatrical productions
• 9 In music
• 10 Notes
• 11 Literature
• 12 Links

Plot
Imprisonment in prison
Chateau d'If

The protagonist of the novel is the Marseille sailor Edmond Dantes from the ship Pharaoh. During one of the flights, he went to the island of Elba, where he met with Marshal Bertrand (later said that with Murat), who instructs him to deliver a letter to Paris. With this, Edmond fulfills the last will of the captain of the Pharaoh, who died shortly before.

Upon arrival in Marseille, the owner of the ship Morrel wants to appoint Dantès as captain, and Edmond himself is going to marry Mercedes, a resident of the neighboring fishing village of Catalana.

However, her cousin Fernand also wants to marry Mercedes, and the accountant from Pharaoh Danglars, whom Edmond suspects of fraud, fears for his place. Both of them and Dantes' neighbor - the envious tailor Caderousse - meet in a tavern, where Danglars has a plan to inform Edmond that he is a Bonapartist agent. He writes with his left hand an anonymous letter to the royal prosecutor, but Caderousse is against slander. Danglars declares that this is a joke, but, knowing that Fernand is in love with Mercedes, he does not destroy, but throws the denunciation into a corner. Fernand, driven to despair by the words of Danglars, decides to eliminate the enemy and delivers the letter to the post office.

Dantès is arrested during his engagement to Mercedes. Caderousse sees and understands everything, but he is silent because he is afraid of being involved in a political affair. Dantès is brought before Villefort, an assistant to the royal prosecutor, who tries to be honest in the conduct of the case. Convinced of the innocence of Dantes, he is already going to release the arrested person, but then he learns that the person to whom Dantes was supposed to deliver the letter is his father, the Bonapartist Noirtier. Villefort understands that this fact, if he becomes known, can ruin his career, and decides to sacrifice Edmond in this situation. He burns the letter, and sends Dantes without trial or investigation to imprisonment in the Chateau d'If. Villefort himself hurries to Paris and warns Louis XVIII about the impending coup.

Edmond Dantes, after several years in prison, decides to commit suicide and starts throwing food out the window. But a few days later, near death, he suddenly hears strange tapping near his cell. Dantes begins to dig an oncoming tunnel and meets Abbe Faria, an Italian scientist-cleric who is considered crazy because he constantly talks about the existence of a multimillion-dollar treasure, the location of which is known only to him alone. The personality of Abbé Faria makes a great impression on Dantes. This man, already very old, is full of love for life and hope. He works tirelessly, even while in prison, writes scientific papers, makes tools, tirelessly prepares an escape. After listening to the story of the young man, Faria restores the course of events and reveals to Dantes the reason and the perpetrators of his imprisonment. Then Dantes gives a terrible oath to take revenge on his enemies. He asks the abbot to become his teacher in the sciences and mentor in life.

The main characters of 1815 Danglars Fernand Caderousse Mercedes Prison Break
Abbe Faria in 1822

Edmond Dantes and Abbé Faria prepare to escape together. But, when everything is ready, Faria has a seizure, as a result of which the right side of his body is paralyzed. Dantes refuses to run alone and stays with the abbe. Both find solace in daily communication, and the abbot continues to teach Edmond the sciences and foreign languages. In addition, Faria reveals to him the secret of the treasure buried on the island of Monte Cristo. Faria discovered this secret while serving as a librarian for a descendant of Cardinal Spada, who hid his wealth from the greed of Pope Alexander VI and his son Caesar Borgia. Testament of Cardinal Spada

After another seizure, the abbot dies. The guards sew up the dead man in a sack, intending to bury him in the evening. Dantes, who came to say goodbye to a deceased friend, is illuminated by an idea - he transfers the body of the abbot to his cell, and he takes his place (opening, and then sewing up the bag with the help of tools made by the abbot). Like a dead man, they throw him into the sea. He hardly gets out of the bag and swims to the neighboring island. In the morning, he is picked up by local smugglers. Dantes made friends with new comrades, and the captain praised him as a skilled sailor. Once free, Dantes learns that he has been in prison for 14 years.

Monte Cristo Island is uninhabited and smugglers use it as a staging post. Dantes, pretending to be sick, remains on the island, where he finds a treasure. Return

Dantes, having become rich, did not forget those who did him good.

He told fellow smugglers that he had received an inheritance, and generously rewarded everyone.

Edmond then begins his own investigation to find out what happened after his arrest and disappearance to his father, fiancée, friends and enemies. Under the guise of a priest fulfilling the last will of the late Dantes, who allegedly bequeathed the diamond to his friends Caderousse, Fernand, Danglars and Mercedes, he visits Caderousse, who has gone bankrupt in his tailoring and now keeps the tavern in a slow place. Overwhelmed by greed, Caderousse forgets about caution and tells Edmond the whole truth about his arrest and everything that happened after that: about the despair of Mercedes and Dantes' father, who eventually died of starvation, the nobility of the shipowner Morrel, who tried to fight for the release of Dantes and supported his father. In addition, Caderousse said that Mercedes became the wife of Fernand, and the former owner of Dantes, Mr. Morrel, was almost ruined, while Danglars and Fernand were now rich, revolving in the highest Parisian society (Fernand became a general, comte de Morcer, a peer of France, and Danglars millionaire banker who received the title of baron) and, apparently, are happy. When asked about Villefort, he answers vaguely, since he knew him only by participating in the Dantes case, he could only report that Villefort was no longer in Marseille. Dantes after escaping the Chateau d'If

Edmond Dantes returns to Marseille, where he learns that his former master and friend armator Morrel is almost ruined. All his hopes are for the return with the cargo of the Pharaoh, the very ship on which Dantes once sailed. But the news comes about the death of the Pharaoh in a storm (although the team and the captain miraculously escaped). Dantes learns about this when, under the guise of an agent of the banking house-creditor Morrel, he comes to the armator himself. On behalf of his banking house, Dantès gives Morrel a final reprieve. But the reprieve is coming to an end, and Morrel is unable to pay. To avoid shame, he wants to commit suicide, but at the last moment they bring him redeemed bills, and a new Pharaoh enters the port. Morrel and his family are saved. Dantes watches them from afar. He closed his gratitude accounts and is now ready for revenge on his enemies.

Characters 1829 Armator Morrel Accountant Cocles Caderousse, Carconte, Abbé Busoni Carconte Innkeeper Slave Ali Revenge

Nine years pass. Edmond Dantes is replaced by the mysterious and eccentric Count of Monte Cristo. This is not the only image created by Edmond - he is known to some under the names of Lord Wilmore, Abbot Busoni and others. And the Italian robbers and smugglers whom he managed to unite and subjugate to his power, like many sailors and travelers, know him under the name of Sinbad the Sailor. Over the past years, he managed to visit all corners of the world and significantly replenish his education; in addition, he learned to masterfully manipulate people. He owns a fast ship, and in the caves of the island of Monte Cristo he has an underground palace hidden, where he gladly receives travelers.

Disguised as the Count of Monte Cristo, Dantès enters French high society, whom he intrigues and admires with his wealth and unusual lifestyle; he has a dumb Nubian servant Ali (my dog, my slave. If he violates his duty, I will not drive him away, I will kill him), and the former Corsican smuggler Giovanni Bertuccio, who has his own accounts with Villefort, who has already become royal prosecutor of Paris. In addition, the count contains the slave Gaide (whom she first treats as a daughter) - the daughter of the treacherously murdered Pasha Ali-Tebelin by Fernan.

Now he is gradually beginning to carry out his plan of revenge. Considering that the death of his enemies would be insufficient payment for his suffering, and also considering himself as an instrument of divine justice, an instrument of Providence, he gradually strikes his victims; as a result, the disgraced Fernand, from whom his wife and son left, commits suicide, Villefort loses his entire family and goes crazy, and Danglars is ruined and forced to flee France. In Italy, he is taken prisoner by robbers who obey Monte Cristo; they rob him of the last remnants of his once vast fortune. But the count was already tired of revenge - in recent days he realized that in taking revenge on those whom he considers criminals, he caused irreparable harm to many innocent people, and the consciousness of this laid a heavy burden on his conscience. Therefore, he lets Danglars go free and even allows him to keep fifty thousand francs.

At the end of the novel, the count sails away with Gaide on a ship, leaving the island of Monte Cristo with its underground halls and enormous wealth as a gift to Morrel's son Maximilian and his lover, Valentina de Villefort, the prosecutor's daughter.

Characters of 1838: Peer General Morcert

Attorney Villefort

Bonapartist Noirtier

Valentine de Villefort

Manager Bertuccio

Greek Albanian Gaide

The novel contains a large number of characters, the main ones are described below.

• 
  Edmond Dantes- the main character, a sailor, unjustly imprisoned. After escaping, he becomes rich, noble and famous under the name
  Count of Monte Cristo. Also used names:
  Abbot Busoni,
  Lord Wilmore,
  Maltese Zaccone,
  Sinbad the Sailor.
• 
  Abbe Faria- Comrade Edmond Dantes in custody, a learned monk who revealed to him the secret of the treasure on the island of Monte Cristo.
• 
  Fernand Mondego- Cousin Mercedes, a fisherman who wants to marry her. Later becomes lieutenant general,
  Comte de Morcer and peer of France.
• 
  Mercedes Herrera- the bride of Edmond Dantes, who later became the wife of Fernand.
  • 
    Albert de Morcer- son of Fernand and Mercedes.
• 
  Danglars- an accountant on the Pharaoh, submitted the idea of ​​​​denouncing Dantes, later becomes a baron and a wealthy banker.
  • 
    Hermina Danglars- the wife of Danglars, in the past the widow of the Marquis de Nargon and the mistress of the royal prosecutor de Villefort, who is fond of the stock game. biological mother
    Benedetto.
  • 
    Eugenie Danglars- the daughter of the Danglars, who dreams of becoming an independent artist.
• 
  Gerard de Villefort- assistant prosecutor of Marseilles, then became the royal prosecutor of Paris. biological father
  Benedetto.
  • 
    René de Saint-Meran- first wife of Villefort, mother of Valentina, daughter
    Marquise and Marquise de Saint-Meran.
  • 
    Eloise de Villefort- the second wife of the royal prosecutor, ready for anything for the sake of her son Edward.
  • 
    Noirtier de Villefort- father of the royal prosecutor, former Jacobin and Napoleon's senator, chairman of the Bonapartist club, later paralyzed. Despite this, he thinks, he desires, he acts.
  • 
    Valentine de Villefort- Villefort's eldest daughter from her first marriage, a wealthy heiress, actually a nurse with her grandfather, beloved Maximilian Morrel.
  • 
    Edouard de Villefort- the young son of the royal prosecutor from his second marriage, a spoiled and cruel child.
• 
  Gaspard Caderousse- a neighbor of Dantes, at first a tailor, and later an innkeeper. For some time he was a smuggler, later became an accomplice in the murder, a fugitive from hard labor.
• 
  Giovanni Bertuccio- the manager of the affairs of the Count of Monte Cristo, a retired Corsican smuggler, the adoptive father of Benedetto.
• 
  Benedetto- a fugitive from hard labor, the illegitimate son of the royal prosecutor and Baroness Danglars. He was known in Parisian society as a viscount
  Andrea Cavalcanti.
• 
  Pierre Morrel- Marseille merchant, owner of the ship Pharaoh, benefactor of Dantes.
  • 
    Maximilian Morrel- son of Pierre Morrel, captain of spagi, protégé of the Count of Monte Cristo.
  • 
    Julie Morrel (Herbeau) Daughter of Pierre Morrel.
  • 
    Emmanuelle Herbeau Julie's husband.
  • 
    Penelon- the old boatswain of the Pharaoh, helps Dantes when he saves Pierre Morrel from bankruptcy and disgrace. After serving at sea, he becomes a gardener for Julie and Emmanuel Herbaud.
  • 
    Cocles- Treasurer of Pierre Morrel, who remained faithful to him to the end. Then he became a gatekeeper for Julie and Emmanuel Herbaud.
• 
  Dr. davrigny- the family doctor Wilforov, who was the first to suspect the terrible secret of this family.
• 
  Franz d'Epinay- the groom imposed on Valentine de Villefort, a friend of Albert de Morcert, the son of General de Quesnel (Baron dÉpinay), who was killed in a duel by Noirtier de Villefort.
• 
  Lucien Debray- Secretary of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, current lover and partner in the stock game of Baroness Danglars.
• 
  Beauchamp- editor of the newspaper Impartial voice, friend of Albert de Morcer.
• 
  Raoul de Chateau-Renaud- French aristocrat, baron, friend of the Viscount de Morcer (like the three previous ones).
• 
  Hyde- the slave of the count, the daughter of the Pasha Ali-Tebelin, betrayed by Fernand.
• 
  Luigi Wampa- a young shepherd who became the leader of a gang of robbers in the vicinity of Rome. He owes his life and freedom to the Count of Monte Cristo, in return he swore never to touch either the Count himself or his friends.
• 
  Peppino- a robber from the gang of Luigi Vampa, who was saved by the Count of Monte Cristo from the guillotine and later kidnapped Danglars when he fled to Italy.
• 
  Jacopo- a Corsican sailor from Young Amelia's smugglers' tartan, who saved Dantes when he was drowning after escaping from the castle-prison of If. Subsequently, the captain of the count's yacht.
• 
  batistin- valet of the Count of Monte Cristo.
• 
  Ali- a slave, a servant of the Count of Monte Cristo, a dumb Nubian (with a cut off tongue).
• 
  Carconta- wife of Caderousse

The success of the novel Monte Cristo surpassed all the previous works of the writer. It was at that time one of the biggest successes of any novel in France. The novel is staged in theaters. Earnings allow Alexandre Dumas to build a country villa in addition to the house. He calls the chic palace Monte Cristo Castle, and he himself begins to lead a wasteful life worthy of his hero. Interesting Facts
Hero Prototype

One of the prototypes of the novel's hero, Edmond Dantes, was a shoemaker from Nimes named Francois Picot, who was engaged to a wealthy woman. In 1807, at the denunciation of three of his envious friends (Lupyan, Solari and Shobar), who falsely accused him of spying for England, Pico was arrested and thrown into the Fenestrelle fortress, where he spent about 7 years. His fourth friend, Antoine Allue, not participating in the conspiracy, but knowing about it, cowardly kept silent about this meanness. Bride François, after two years of fruitless waiting, was forced to marry Lupiano.

Pico did not even know for the first two years what exactly he was imprisoned for. In the prison, Pico dug a small underground passage into the neighboring cell, where a wealthy Italian priest, Father Tory, was kept. They became friends, and Pico took care of the sick priest, who a year later, before his death, told him the secret of the treasure hidden in Milan. After the fall of imperial power in 1814, Francois Picot was released, took possession of the treasures bequeathed to him and, under a different name, appeared in Paris, where he devoted 10 years to retribution for meanness and betrayal.

Shobar was the first to be killed, but to Lupyan, his most hated villain, who stole from him not only freedom, but also love, Francois presented the most cruel revenge: he cunningly lured Lupyan's daughter into marriage with a criminal, and then betrayed him to trial and shame, which she could not bear it and died of shock. Then Pico organized the arson of a restaurant owned by Lupyan, and plunged him into poverty. Lupian's son was implicated (or falsely accused) of stealing the jewels and the boy was imprisoned, and then François stabbed Lupian himself. He was the last to poison Solari, but, unaware of Antoine Allue's knowledge, was kidnapped and killed by him.

Antoine Allue fled to England after the murder of Picot, where he confessed before his death in 1828. The dying Antoine Allue's confession forms the bulk of the French police records of the case.

Alexandre Dumas became interested in this story and transformed it into the adventures of Edmond Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas' novel, however, is devoid of a gloomy criminal flavor, his noble hero at first feels like an instrument of higher retribution, but at the end of the novel, sobered by the death of the innocent, he refuses revenge in favor of mercy. Plot sloppiness

Like most of Dumas's works, the text of the novel contains a lot of negligence and inconsistent places, and sometimes historical inaccuracies.

• In Chapter XI of the first part, Baron Dandre, Minister of Police, reports to Louis XVIII on March 3 that the usurper left the island of Elba on the twenty-eighth of February and landed on the first of March. In fact, he left the island of Elba on February 26, and on February 28 this was announced in the Paris newspapers.
• In the XIV chapter of the second part, Albert claims that he saw the execution of the criminal Castaing, which allegedly took place on the day he graduated from college. However, it is known that the high-profile trial in the case of this poisoner doctor and his execution took place in 1823, when, according to the chronology of the novel, Albert could not be more than 6-7 years old.
• In the Vision chapter, Albert claims that he was very strong in Greek in college and parses individual words spoken by Monte Cristo in modern Greek, but at the same time, in the Hyde chapter, he admits that Homer and Plato have never had such an unsuccessful and, I dare even say, such an indifferent student.
• Chapter VIII of the first part says that Dantes spoke Spanish like a true son of Castile; at the same time, further (chapter XVII) it is stated that he mastered the Spanish language only six months after the start of studies with the abbe Faria.
• In the chapter Past it is said that the jailer Antoine was the jailer of Edmond, although in the chapter The prisoner is mad and the prisoner is violent there is a refutation of this.

Alexandre Dumas did not write sequels to this novel, but many sequels are known, some of which were allegedly found in the writer's archive after his death (or are attributed to Dumas son). But judging by the style of writing and description of events, neither the father nor the son of Dumas could write such works. Roman Last payment

One of the hoaxes was the novel The Last Payment, written as a sequel to The Count of Monte Cristo. His hero Edmond Dantes, after visiting Moscow, becomes the pursuer-avenger of the killer of the great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin, Georges-Charles Dantes, whom he considers his relative. The novel was published in Russia in 1990. It was not published again.

Plot. Edmond Dantes arrives in Moscow in the spring of 1838 with Gaide, who has already become his wife and has given birth to his son and daughter. In one of the restaurants, one of the students, having learned the name of the count, gives him a slap in the face. Soon the Count of Monte Cristo learns that he was confused with Georges Dantes. The count did not like that his name was embroiled in a scandal, and he decides to take revenge on Pushkin's killer.

It has now been proven that the novel The Last Payment is a very late hoax created in the USSR. Witty in concept and spectacular plot, it cannot possibly belong to the pen of Alexandre Dumas père, since it is written in a completely different stylistic manner and is replete with obvious anachronisms. Evidence is given in the article by Alexander Obrizan and Andrey Krotkov Cheerful Ghosts of Literature. Most likely, the motive of this literary hoax is based on a coincidence of two events: Pushkin's killer Georges-Charles Dantes and writer Alexander Dumas son died almost simultaneously - in November 1895. There is no connection between these events, but they could well serve as an impetus for the idea of ​​​​an imaginary continuation of the Count of Monte Cristo. Roman Lord of the World (Adolf Mützelburg)

In this book, the reader will meet again with the heroes of the novel The Count of Monte Cristo, get acquainted with new characters, visit with them the expanses of the American West, Africa and different countries of Europe. Film Son of Monte Cristo (1940, USA)

In 1865, General Gurko Leinen, with the help of the troops of Napoleon III and the support of the Russian government, wants to establish a totalitarian regime in the territory under his jurisdiction (the fictional state of the Grand Duchy of Lichtenberg, the pearl of the Balkans, stylized as Habsburg Hungary, more or less known to the American audience, although religion, apparently, is Orthodoxy - the general and the duchess are crowned by an Orthodox bishop), marry the Duchess of Zona and thus become king. To obtain a loan, he turns to the banker-son of the Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond. However, the younger Monte Cristo refused to increase his wealth in this way. The banker, on the contrary, raises the people to fight the dictator. Similar stories by other authors

Jules Verne wrote the book Matthias Sandor (1885). According to him, this is the answer to the novel by A. Dumas. But unlike Edmond Dantes, the hero of J. Verne, Count Matthias Sandor, is no longer an ordinary naive simpleton, framed by friends out of envy, but a nobleman and a Hungarian revolutionary who seeks to overthrow the Austrian government in Austria-Hungary. Repeatedly, you can even hear the opinions of readers that this work has surpassed the creation of Dumas.

Alfred Bester in the science fiction novel Tiger! Tiger! (English) The Stars My Destination), written in 1956, partially applied the motives of the Dumas novel. An ordinary space laborer is left in a wrecked ship, where he vows to take revenge on those who abandoned him. He escapes, but after being imprisoned, he runs away, after which he becomes rich and begins to take revenge.

The novel Heaven's Tennis Balls, written in 2000 by Stephen Fry, uses motifs from the novel The Count of Monte Cristo The film adaptation

The novel has been made into many films.

• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1908, USA, directed by Francis Boggs, Thomas Persons, starring Hobart Bosworth
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1908, Italy, directed by Luigi Maggi and Arturo Ambrosio, starring Umberto Mozzato, Arturo Ambrosio, Lydia de Robertis, Mirra Principi.
• Le Prisonnier du Chteau dIf (Une vasion manque) - 1910, France, directed by Victorin Jasse, starring Charles Cross, André Llabelle.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1910, USA
• Monte Cristo - 1911, USA
• Monte Cristo - 1912, USA, directed by Colin Campbell, starring Hobart Bosworth
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1913, USA, directed by Joseph A. Golden, Edwin Porter, starring James O'Neill
• Modern Monte Cristo - 1917, USA, directed by Eugene Moore
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1918, France, directed by Henri Pouktal (15 episodes), starring Léon Matho
• Monte Cristo - 1922, USA, directed by Emmett J. Flynn, starring John Gilbert
• Monte Cristo - 1929, France, directed by Henry Fescour, starring Jean Angelo, Lil Dagover, Gaston Modot, Bernhard Goetzke
• The Mystery of the Count of Monte Cristo - 1934, USA, directed by Rowland W. Lee, starring - Robert Donat, Elissa Lundy, Sidney Blackmer
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1942, Mexico, directed by Roberto Gavaldon, Chano Urueta, starring Arturo de Cordova
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1942, France, Italy, directed by Robert Vernet, starring Pierre Richard-Villem
• The Wife of Monte Cristo - 1946, USA, directed by Edgar J. Ulmer. The film is based on the book.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1954, Italy-France, directed by Robert Vernet, starring Jean Marais.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1954, Mexico-Argentina, directed by Leon Klimovsky, starring Jorge Mistral.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1961, Italy-France, directed by Claude Autun-Lara, starring Louis Jourdan
• The Return of Monte Cristo - 1968, France, directed by André Hunebel. The film is based on the novel, the events unfold in the 20th century immediately after the Second World War.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1973, Australia, (cartoon), directed by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1975 TV movie, UK-Italy, directed by David Green, starring Richard Chamberlain.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1979, France-Italy-Germany (TV series), directed by Denis de La Patelier, starring Jacques Weber.
• Prisoner of If Castle - 1988, USSR-France, director Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich, starring Viktor Avilov, Mikhail Boyarsky.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 1998, TV series, Germany-France-Italy, Director José Diane, starring Gerard Depardieu, Ornella Muti.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - 2002, USA-UK-Ireland, directed by Kevin Reynolds, starring James Caviezel.
• Gankutsuo - Count of Monte Cristo (Ruler of the Cave), 2005-2006 - anime film, Japan, uses the motives of the novel, the action is moved to the distant future.
• Montecristo - 2006, Argentina, TV series.
• Montecristo - 2008, Russia, TV series.

A number of films use the general plot scheme of Dumas' novel, but the characters in them have different names:

• In 1977, Hong Kong television filmed the plot of the novel in the TV series Big Vendetta ( The Great Vendetta), only the action takes place in South China, and the island of Montecristo is called the island of the Tail of the White Dragon, the events described by A. Dumas in France take place in Shanghai.
• Favorsky (TV series) - 2005, Russia, starring - Ilya Shakunov, Alexander Lykov, Valery Degtyar, Andrey Zibrov, Nodar Mgaloblishvili, Tara Amirkhanova. (The plot of the novel by Dumas is shifted to modern times - the USSR, Russia, the Baltic states, Armenia, of the period 1982-1999).
• Count Krestovsky (2005, a television series was shot by Russian filmmakers, where the story of the Count of Monte Cristo in the USSR of the 1980s was played).
• Count of Montenegro (2006). Although the film's title clearly indicates a connection to Dumas' novel, the plot of this film emphasizes the search for treasure. The action takes place today.

• Musical The Count of Monte Cristo - 2003 (premiered on December 21), theater of the musical Seventh Morning, libretto author - Tatiana Zyryanova, composer - Alexander Tyumentsev
• Musical Le comte de Monte-Cristo- 2005 (premiered on October 27), musical theater The Seventh Morning, libretto by Tatiana Zyryanova, equirhythmic translation into French by Inna Nazarova-Salita, composer Alexander Tyumentsev
• Musical Monte Cristo 2008 (premiered on October 1), Moscow Operetta Theatre, libretto author - Yuli Kim, composer - Roman Ignatiev
• Musical Count of Monte Cristo (The Count of Monte Cristo) - 2009 (the premiere took place on March 14), composer - Frank Wildhorn (Frank Wildhorn).
• Musical drama I am Edmond Dantes - 2012 (the premiere took place on October 13, 2012), libretto author - Nikolai Denisov, composer - Laura Quint, director - Egor Druzhinin

On March 31, 2006, the German rock metal band Vanden Plas released the album Christ 0, using a modernized version of the story of the Count of Monte Cristo. Literature

• Dobin E. S. Cunning and revenge (A. Dumas The Count of Monte Cristo) Dobin E. S. Plot and reality.- L.: Sov. writer, 1976. - 496 pp. - Circulation 20,000 copies - pp. 382-427.

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugénie_Danglard

• Edmond Dantes- the main character, a sailor, unjustly imprisoned. After escaping, he becomes rich, noble and famous under the name of the Count of Monte Cristo. Also used names: Abbot Busoni, Lord Wilmore, Maltese Zaccone, Sinbad the Sailor.
• Abbe Faria- Comrade Edmond Dantes in custody, a learned monk who revealed to him the secret of the treasure on the island of Monte Cristo.
• Fernand Mondego- Cousin Mercedes, a fisherman who wants to marry her. Later becomes lieutenant general, comte de Morcert and peer of France.
• Mercedes Herrera- the bride of Edmond Dantes, who later became the wife of Fernand.
• Albert de Morcer- son of Fernand and Mercedes.
• Danglars- an accountant on the "Pharaoh", submitted the idea of ​​denouncing Dantes, later becomes a baron and a wealthy banker.
• Hermina Danglars- the wife of Danglars, in the past the widow of the Marquis de Nargon and the mistress of the royal prosecutor de Villefort, who is fond of the stock game. Biological mother of Benedetto.
• Eugenie Danglars- the daughter of the Danglars, who dreams of becoming an independent artist.
• Gerard de Villefort- assistant prosecutor of Marseilles, then became the royal prosecutor of Paris. Biological father of Benedetto.
• René de Saint-Meran- the first wife of Villefort, mother of Valentina, daughter of the Marquis and Marquise de Saint-Meran.
• Eloise de Villefort- the second wife of the royal prosecutor, ready for anything for the sake of her son Edward.
• Noirtier de Villefort- father of the royal prosecutor, former Girondin and senator of Napoleon, chairman of the Bonapartist club, later paralyzed. "Despite this, he thinks, he desires, he acts."
• Valentine de Villefort- Villefort's eldest daughter from her first marriage, a wealthy heiress, actually a nurse with her grandfather, beloved Maximilian Morrel.
• Edward de Villefort- the young son of the royal prosecutor from his second marriage, a spoiled and cruel child.
• Gaspard Caderousse- a neighbor of Dantes, at first a tailor, and later an innkeeper. For some time he was a smuggler, later became an accomplice in the murder, a fugitive from hard labor.
• Giovanni Bertuccio- the manager of the affairs of the Count of Monte Cristo, a retired Corsican smuggler, the adoptive father of Benedetto.
• Benedetto- a fugitive from hard labor, the illegitimate son of the royal prosecutor and Baroness Danglars. He was known in Parisian society as Viscount Andrea Cavalcanti.
• Pierre Morrel- Marseille merchant, owner of the ship "Pharaoh", benefactor of Dantes.
• Maximilian Morrel- son of Pierre Morrel, captain of spagi, protégé of the Count of Monte Cristo.
• Julie Morrel (Herbeau) Daughter of Pierre Morrel.
• Emmanuelle Herbeau Julie's husband.
• Doctor d'Avrigny- the family doctor Wilforov, who was the first to suspect the terrible secret of this family.
• Franz d'Epinay- the groom imposed on Valentine de Villefort, friend of Albert de Morcert, son of General de Quesnel (Baron d'Epinay), killed in a duel by Noirtier de Villefort.
• Lucien Debray- Secretary of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, current lover and partner in the stock game of Baroness Danglars.
• Beauchamp- Editor of the Impartial Voice newspaper, friend of Albert de Morser.
• Raoul de Chateau-Renaud- French aristocrat, baron, friend of the Viscount de Morcer (like the three previous ones).
• Hyde- the slave of the count, the daughter of the Pasha Ali-Tebelin, betrayed by Fernand.
• Luigi Wampa- a young shepherd who became the leader of a gang of robbers in the vicinity of Rome. He owes his life and freedom to the Count of Monte Cristo, in return he swore never to touch either the Count himself or his friends.
• Jacopo- a Corsican sailor from the Young Amelia smugglers' tartan, who saved Dantes when he was drowning after escaping from the castle-prison of If. Subsequently - the captain of the yacht count.
• batistin- valet of the Count of Monte Cristo.
• Ali- a slave, a servant of the Count of Monte Cristo, a dumb Nubian (with a cut off tongue).

Read The Count of Monte Cristo Summary

On February 27, 1815, the three-masted ship "Pharaoh" returned to Marseille from the next voyage. Captain Leclerc was not destined to set foot on his native land: he died of a fever on the high seas. The young sailor Edmond Dantes took command, fulfilling another last will of the captain: the "pharaoh" enters the island of Elba, where Dantes passes the package received from the hands of Leclerc to Marshal Bertrand and meets with the disgraced emperor himself. Dantes is given a letter to be delivered to Paris, Mr. Noirtier - one of the conspirators preparing the return to the throne of Napoleon.

The owner of the "Pharaoh" Morrel invites Dantes to officially assume the position of captain of the ship. Envy-ridden accountant of the shipping company Danglars decides to remove Dantes. Together with a retired soldier, and now a simple fisherman, Fernand Mondego, who competes with Dantes for the right to marry the beautiful Mercedes, and the tailor Caderousse, who robbed Edmond's father during the voyage, Danglars composes an anonymous letter to the assistant prosecutor Marcel de Villefort. The meaning of the denunciation: Dantes is a secret agent of the Bonapartists. During the interrogation, Dantes, without concealment, tells Villefort about his visit to Elba. There is no corpus delicti; Villefort is ready to release the prisoner, but, after reading Marshal Bertrand's letter, he realizes that his happiness and life itself depend on this game of chance. After all, the addressee, Mr. Noirtier, a dangerous conspirator, is his father! It is not enough to burn the accursed letter, one must also get rid of Dantès, who can involuntarily announce the whole story - and as a result, de Villefort will lose not only his place, but also the hand of his bride Rene de Saint-Meran (she is the daughter of an old royalist; the views of Mr. Noirtier, his relationship with the groom is a mystery to them). Dantes is sentenced to life imprisonment in the Chateau d'If, a political prison in the middle of the sea, near Marseille...

Five years pass. Dantes is close to despair, he decides to die of starvation. Suddenly, one evening, a dull rattle behind the wall reaches his ears. He is not alone here, someone is clearly digging a hole in the direction of his dungeon. Edmond starts digging the opposite tunnel. Many days of work are rewarded with the joy of meeting a comrade in misfortune. Abbe Faria - that's the name of the prisoner from the next cell - spent four years longer than Dantes in the Chateau d'If. Digging his hole, he hoped to break through to the outer wall of the prison, jump into the sea and swim to freedom. Alas, he miscalculated! Edmond comforts the abbot: there are now two of them, which means they can continue what they started with double energy. The abbot's strength is running out, soon - when he is close to salvation, he becomes seriously ill. Before his death, he initiates Dantes into the secret of the myriad treasure hidden by Cardinal Spada on the island of Monte Cristo three hundred years ago.

Having transferred the body of the abbot to his cell, Dantes hides in a bag in which the dead man was placed. In the morning, not noticing the substitution, they throw him into the sea - this is how the inhabitants of the Chateau d'If have been buried since the founding of the prison. Edmond is saved! He is picked up by smugglers. One of them, Jacopo, becomes a loyal companion of Dantes. A few months later, Edmond finally reaches the island of Monte Cristo. The treasures of Abbot Faria are truly innumerable.

During the long years of Dantes's absence in the fate of those who were guilty of his suffering, significant changes also took place, Fernand Mondego rose to the rank of general (now his name is Comte de Morcer). Mercedes became his wife and bore him a son. Danglars is a wealthy banker. De Villefort is the royal prosecutor. Caderousse has said goodbye to the tailor's needle and scissors and runs a rural inn. ...God sends a strange guest to Caderousse. Abbot Busoni, who, according to him, confessed the dying Edmond Dantes, must fulfill the last will of the deceased. Dantes handed him a diamond, the money from the sale of which should be divided into five parts: equally - Mercedes, Danglars, Fernand, Caderousse and old Dantes. Caderousse is blinded by the brilliance of the diamond. He tells Abbot Busoni that Dantes was slandered by those whom he decided to do good, that Mercedes did not remain faithful to him. Yes, he, Caderousse, was a witness to the writing of the denunciation - but what could he do! Danglars and Fernand would have killed him on the spot if he had hinted at the unseemliness of their maliciousness! As for old Dantes, he did not have the strength to endure the blow of fate (in fact, Caderousse robbed him to the skin, and Edmond's father died of hunger). He, he, Caderousse, is the only heir of poor Dantes! Abbé Busoni hands Caderousse the diamond and disappears in the morning...

At the same time, Lord Wilmore, an agent of the banking house of Thomson and French, comes to the mayor of Marseille. He asks permission to look through the investigation file of the Abbe Faria, who died in If prison. He also has another assignment: to pay the debts of Mr. Morrel, the owner of a shipping company that is on the verge of collapse. Morrel's last hope was on his flagship - the three-masted "Pharaoh", but that one - oh evil rock! - dies in a shipwreck. Wilmore hands Morrel a six-figure promissory note, draws up a three-month grace period. But what can be done in three months! On the day the reprieve expires, Morrel's daughter receives a letter signed "Sinbad the Sailor" with the address where she will find the purse destined for her illustrious father. In the purse - a check for the amount owed by Morrel and a diamond the size of a walnut: the dowry of Mademoiselle Morrel. Everything that happened is like a fairy tale: but this is not enough. The "Pharaoh" enters the port of Marseilles safe and sound! The city is a witness to this miracle. With a smile, Lord Wilmore, aka Abbot Busoni, aka Count of Monte Cristo, he is Edmond Dantes: "Be happy, noble man! You deserve this happiness! .. And now - goodbye, philanthropy! Let the god of vengeance give me a place so that I punish the villains! .." With documents from my investigative file, stored together with the case of Abbé Faria, Edmond leaves Marseille...

The young Parisian aristocrat Baron Franz d'Epine, going to the carnival in Rome, set out to visit the legendary Elba. However, he changes his route: the ship sails past the island of Monte Cristo, where, according to rumors, a man who calls himself Sinbad the Sailor lives in a fabulous palace "The owner of the island receives Franz with such cordiality and luxury, which, it seems, none of the most powerful inhabitants of the earth dreamed of. In Rome, Franz unexpectedly meets Sinbad, who lives in the same hotel with him under the name of Count Monte Cristo. Franz's friend, Viscount Albert de Morser captured by robbers from a gang of ataman Luigi Vampa, who terrifies the inhabitants of Rome. The Count of Monte Cristo saves Albert: "Ataman, you violated our agreement, my friend's friend is my friend." Wampa is in disarray, he sternly scolds his thugs: count life! How could you act so recklessly!" Albert invites the count to visit Paris and be his guest of honor.

In the capital (where the count has not appeared before), Albert introduces him to his friends, including Morrel's son Maximillian. This acquaintance deeply excited the count - young Morrel is no less excited when he learns that the count uses the services of the Thomson and French banking house, which saved the life of their entire family.

The Count of Monte Cristo acquires several apartments in Paris and a house in Auteuil, at 28 Rue Fontaine, formerly owned by the Marquis de Saint-Meran. The Count's steward, Bertuccio, sees their move to this house as bad luck. Many years ago, he witnessed how de Villefort buried a newborn baby in the garden of his father-in-law's house - an illegitimate son from an unknown lady, Bertuccio hurried to dig up the box - the baby was still alive. Bertuccio's sister-in-law raised the boy, whom they named Benedetto. The offspring of eminent parents embarked on an unrighteous path and landed in jail. But this is only one of two terrible stories hidden by Bertuccio from the count. In June 1829, he stopped at the tavern of Caderousse - the day after the abbot Busoni had been there (Bertuccio does not realize that the abbot, who rescued him a long time ago from hard labor, and the count are one person). The Abbe Caderousse diamond was sold for 45,000 francs to a reliable jeweler, and on the same night he stabbed him to death. Now Caderousse is where Bertuccio also happened to be: in hard labor. The count is sure that this is not the last drop in the cup that Caderousse must drink; as for Benedetto - if he is alive, then he will serve as a weapon of God's punishment ...

The city is full of rumors about the mysterious count and his wealth. At the Danglars bank, the Count opens "unlimited credit". Danglars questions the capabilities of the count: everything in the world has its limits. The count ironically: "For you - maybe, but not for me." - "No one has counted my cash register yet!" - Danglars is wounded. "In that case, I'm the first one to do it," the Count promises him. Monte Cristo draws closer not only to Danglars, who did not recognize poor Edmond in him, but also to the de Villefort family. The Count wins Madame de Villefort's favor: Count Ali's servant saved her and Villefort's son from marrying her from an accident (Villefort also has a daughter from his first marriage, Valentina, bound by bonds of love with Maximillian Morrel, but forced by relatives to marry Franz d " Epin). As if fate itself opens wide the doors in the houses of his sworn enemies for the Count of Monte Cristo, informs him of their other victims. ) recognizes in the Opera the man who gave the Turks a fortress that defended the city where her father ruled for two thousand purses of gold, and sold Gaide herself as a twelve-year-old girl into slavery to the Turkish sultan. This man was called Fernand Mondego; now he is known as Comte de Morser, General -lieutenant, member of the Chamber of Peers. Gayde was redeemed by Monte Cristo from the Sultan, the count swore revenge on the one who killed her father and languished in captivity herself. I am not at all surprised that this scoundrel is Fernand: he who betrays once runs the risk of remaining a traitor to the end.

Luxurious lunch at the house of Monte Cristo. The first blows prepared by the count for his offenders. Villefort turns pale when the count informs all the guests that he has found the skeleton of a baby in the garden, buried alive under the previous owner. Danglars learns that, playing on the stock exchange, he suffered losses in the amount of more than a million francs (the count placed false information in the newspaper about the coup in Spain, and Danglars hurried to get rid of the shares of the Madrid Bank). Villefort informs Madame Danglars that the count seems to be privy to their secret: the unfortunate child was their illegitimate son. "You buried my child alive! God, this is your revenge!" exclaims Madame Danglars. "No, revenge is still waiting for us, and the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo will have to carry it out!" Villefort undertakes at all costs to find out the whole truth about the count; but the Abbé Busoni and Lord Wilmore, who found themselves in Paris, give him very contradictory information. The Count not only remains unrecognized by playing these two roles, but also confuses the tracks. A young man named Andrei Cavalcanti appears in Paris (one count, who showered him with bounty, knows that this is the runaway convict Benedetto). Immediately, Caderousse also grows out of the ground, assuring Benedetto that he is his offspring, and defrauding the young villain of money under the threat of breaking the brilliant career that has opened before him. Cavalcanti-Benedetto de Villefort is forced to obey: he laid eyes on the daughter of Danglars, a girl with a rich dowry. Wouldn't it be better, he suggests to Caderousse, to give the Count a good shake than to steal money from him with which the madman Monte Cristo lends him? Caderousse climbs into the Count's house - and comes face to face with the Abbé Busoni. The old convict betrays the young; he writes, under the abbot's dictation, a letter to Danglars, explaining who his son-in-law is in fact. Leaving the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, Caderousse runs into Benedetto's knife. Before he expires, the abbot lets him make sure that he, Monte Cristo and Edmond Dantes are one person ...

A hail of misfortune rains down on de Villefort's head: one after another, his father-in-law and mother-in-law suddenly die, then an old footman who drank lemonade from a decanter in the room of his father Noirtier. The doctor comes to the conclusion: they were all poisoned. The perpetrator lives in this house. All the servants of Villefort immediately ask for their resignation. The case gets a lot of publicity. And here is a new blow: Noirtier upsets the wedding of Valentina and Franz d "Epin (he promised this to his beloved granddaughter). Nouartier's secretary contains a document stating that in February 1815 he killed General de Quesnel, Baron d" Epin in a fair fight who did not want to join the conspiracy of the Bonapartists.

Now it's Fernand's turn. There was a scandal in the House of Peers: the newspapers published a report about his low behavior during the siege of the fortress of Ioannina by the Turks. Hyde comes to the hearings in the Chamber and presents documents to the peers, which confirm: all this is true, the position of General de Morser in society was bought at the price of betrayal. Albert de Morser challenges the Count to a duel, standing up for his father, but, after the whole truth about Fernand Mondego is revealed to him, he asks Dantes for forgiveness. Edmond is begging for this and Madame de Morser, who still loves him Mercedes. The Count accepts Albert's apology; on the same day he and his mother leave Paris. Morcer repeats his son's challenge, but after the Count of Monte Cristo reveals his true name to him, the dishonored general puts a bullet in his forehead.

Danglars is on the verge of ruin. He has to pay all the new bills with which the count's trusted representatives come to him. His last hope is that he will be able to make a decent party for his daughter: the young Cavalcanti is the confidant of Monte Cristo, and the hand of the giver is unlikely to become impoverished. After the signing of the marriage contract, the words from Caderousse's letter sound like a bolt from the blue: "Andrea Cavalcanti is a runaway convict!" Eugenie leaves Paris. Danglars no longer has a daughter or money. He leaves a farewell note to his wife (“I let you go the way I married you: with money, but without a good reputation”) and runs aimlessly. Andrea-Benedetto also runs, hoping to cross the border; but the gendarmes stop him. At the trial, he says: his father is the prosecutor de Villefort!

The last, most terrible blow of fate in the heart of de Villefort: Valentine is poisoned. He no longer has any doubts: the killer is his wife, who obtained an inheritance for herself and her son in such a terrible way (old Noirtier declared his granddaughter the only heiress). De Villefort threatens his wife with a scaffold. In desperation, Madame de Villefort takes poison and poisons the boy: "A good mother does not abandon a child for whom she has become a criminal." Villefort loses his mind; wandering around the garden of the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, he digs graves first in one place, then in another ...

The act of vengeance has been completed. Villefort is insane. Caderousse and Fernand are dead. Danglars was captured by robbers from the gang of Luigi Vampa and spends the last money on bread and water: the thugs sell him a crust for a thousand francs, and in total he has less than fifty thousand in his pocket. The Count of Monte Cristo grants him life and freedom. Turned gray in one night, Danglars drags out the existence of a beggar.

Evil is punished. But why did the young Valentina de Villefort burn in his flame, not at all sharing the guilt of her father and stepmother? Why should Maximillian Morrel, the son of the one who made attempts to rescue Dantes from prison for many years in a row, grieve for her all his life? Leaving Paris, the Count performs the miracle of Valentina's resurrection. Her death was staged by him in a community with the old man Noirtier: a terrible poison was neutralized by a miraculous medicine - one of the generous gifts of Abbé Faria.

This article tells about an adventure novel that was created in 1844-1845. The topic of our today's story is a description of its heroes and a brief summary. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a work authored by A. Dumas (father). This is a recognized classic of French literature. Many of his works, including "The Count of Monte Cristo", the reviews from readers cause the most positive. First, we will acquaint you with a summary, and then move on to characterizing the heroes of the work of interest to us.

Imagine the protagonist of the novel that (father) wrote. He is Dantes, a Marseille sailor from the ship "Pharaoh". He went during the next flight to the Elba, where he met with Marshal Bertrand, who instructed Edmond (this is the name of the main character) to deliver a letter to Paris. Dantes also saw Napoleon Bonaparte here. Edmond agreed to deliver the letter, thus fulfilling the last will of the captain of the ship "Pharaoh", who died shortly before. Morrel, the owner of the ship, upon arrival in Marseilles decided to appoint Dantès in charge.

Denunciation of Edmond

Edmond was about to marry Mercedes, a Catholic from a nearby village. However, Fernand, her cousin, also wants to connect his fate with this girl. Accountant Danglars (Edmond suspects him of deceit) begins to fear for his position. Danglars, Fernand and the tailor Caderousse, the envious neighbor of Dantes, meet in a tavern. Danglars has a plan to inform Dantes that he is supposedly a Bonapartist subordinate. To do this, he writes an anonymous letter to the prosecutor, but Caderousse is against this plan. Therefore, Danglars has to pretend that he destroyed the denunciation. He tells Fernand to deliver a letter to the prosecutor, which is done by cousin Mercedes.

Arrest and imprisonment in the castle

During the wedding with the chosen one, Dantes is arrested. Caderousse understands everything, but is silent, because he is afraid that they will consider him to be involved in a political affair. The protagonist is taken to Villefort, an assistant to the royal prosecutor, who tries to deal honestly. He is about to release the innocent, but learns that Dantes was supposed to give the letter to his father Noirtier, a Bonapartist. Villefort is aware that if this fact becomes known, his career may come to an end. Therefore, he decides in this situation to sacrifice Edmond. Villefort burns the letter, and sends Edmond without trial or investigation to the Chateau d'If, in conclusion. He himself hurries to Paris in order to warn of the impending coup of King Louis XVIII.

Fateful meeting

We continue to describe the summary. The Count of Monte Cristo is a very interesting read. Events keep in suspense until the very end. Alexandre Dumas (father) goes on to talk about how, after a few years in prison, Dantès decides to commit suicide. He starts throwing food out the window. However, a few days later, when he was almost dying, Edmond suddenly heard someone digging the ground near his cell. The protagonist begins to dig a tunnel from his side.

He meets a clergyman from Italy, Abbe Faria. The abbot is considered crazy, as he keeps saying that there is a multi-million dollar treasure, and only he knows where it is. The personality of Faria makes a huge impression on the protagonist. This already elderly man is full of hope and love for life. He works all the time: writing scientific papers, even while in prison, making tools and steadily preparing an escape. Faria, after listening to the story of the protagonist, restores the course of events. He reveals to Dantes the perpetrators and the reason for his imprisonment. Edmond takes an oath to take revenge on his enemies. He asks Faria to become his mentor in life and teacher in the sciences. We will not dwell on this in detail, describing the summary. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is a voluminous work, so we can only talk about the main events.

Edmond learns about the treasure

The abbot and Edmond prepare to escape together. When everything is ready, Faria suddenly has a seizure. The right side of the abbot's body is paralyzed. The protagonist refuses to escape alone and decides to stay with Faria. They communicate, the abbot teaches Edmond foreign languages ​​and sciences. In addition, he reveals to the protagonist the secret of the treasure, which is buried on about. Monte Cristo. Faria learned about him when he served as a librarian for one of the descendants of Cardinal Spada, who hid his wealth from Pope Alexander VI and Caesar Borgia, his son.

Escape of Edmond, meeting with smugglers

The abbot dies after another seizure. When preparing to bury the dead man in the evening, the guards sew his body into a sack. Dantes, who came to say goodbye to the deceased, is illuminated by an idea. Edmond Dantes decides to transfer the body of the abbot to his cell, while he himself, having ripped and sewn up the bag with the help of tools made by Fabia, takes his place. The main character is thrown into the sea like a dead man. With difficulty, Edmond gets out of the bag. He manages to swim to a neighboring island. Thus, the protagonist leaves the castle of If. Local smugglers pick it up in the morning. Dantes meets new comrades. He was praised as a skilled sailor by their captain. Dantes, once free, learns that he spent 14 years in prison.

Edmond finds a treasure, gifts smugglers

No one lives on the island of Monte Cristo. It is used as a staging post by smugglers from a work by Alexandre Dumas ("The Count of Monte Cristo"). Edmond pretends to be sick and with the help of this trick remains on the island, where he finds a buried treasure. Having become rich, the main character did not forget those who were kind to him. He told his fellow smugglers that he had received an inheritance and rewarded them all generously.

The main character starts an investigation

After that, Edmond decides to start his own investigation in order to find out what happened after his arrest with his fiancée, father, friends and enemies. He visits Caderousse under the guise of a priest who allegedly fulfills the last will of Dantes and bequeaths the diamond to his friends: Mercedes, Danglars, Fernand and Caderousse. The latter holds a tavern. At the sight of a diamond, greed overwhelms him, and he forgets about caution. Caderousse tells Edmond the truth about his arrest, as well as what happened after that. Dantes' father fell into despair and died of starvation, Mercedes was also very sad.

Morrel tried to fight for Dantès to be released and supported his father. Caderousse also said that Mercedes had married Fernand, and Monsieur Morrel, Edmond's former master, was practically ruined. Fernand and Danglars are now rich. They belong to high society and must be happy. Danglars became a millionaire banker, has the title of baron. Fernand is now a general, peer of France, comte de Morcer.

Saving Morrel

Edmond returns to Marseille. Here he learns that Morrel is really on the verge of ruin. He only hopes for the return of the "Pharaoh" with cargo, the ship on which Dantes once sailed. However, news arrives that the ship has sunk in a storm (although the captain and crew miraculously escaped). Dantes learns about all this when he comes to the armator under the guise of agent Morrel. The protagonist on behalf of gives the last reprieve to Morrel. It is already coming to an end, and he cannot pay off. Morrel, in order to avoid shame, decides to commit suicide. At the last moment, however, redeemed bills are brought, and the new "Pharaoh" enters the port. Morrel and his family are saved. Dantes watches them from afar. Out of gratitude, he closed Morrel's account, and now he wants to take revenge on his enemies.

The mysterious Count of Monte Cristo

9 years pass. Alexandre Dumas continues to describe further events. The Count of Monte Cristo, eccentric and mysterious, succeeds Edmond Dantes. This is just one of the images that the main character created. He is also known to some as Abbot Busoni, Lord Wilmore, and others. The Italian smugglers and robbers whom he was able to unite and subjugate, like many travelers and sailors, know the main character under the name Sinbad the Sailor. He has already managed to visit many parts of the world over the past years and significantly expand his education. The Count of Monte Cristo, in addition, learned to skillfully manipulate people. He is the owner of a fast boat. And in the caves located on the island of Monte Cristo, he has a hidden underground palace. Here he receives travelers.

Dantes, under the guise of a count, is included in the highest French society. He intrigues and delights him with an unusual way of life and wealth. The main character has a mute servant Ali, about whom he says that if he disobeys him, he will be killed. The count's affairs are managed by Giovanni Bertuccio, a Corsican smuggler who has his own accounts with Villefort. Meanwhile, Villefort had already become the royal prosecutor of Paris. The count, in addition, contains Gaide, a slave, whom she treats first as a daughter. This is the daughter of Pasha Ali-Tebelin, whom Fernand treacherously killed.

Carrying out a plan of revenge

The protagonist begins to gradually implement his plan of revenge. He believes that the death of enemies is not enough payment for the suffering caused. The count considers himself as an instrument of Providence, an instrument of justice. He strikes subtly at the victims. As a result, Fernand is disgraced, his wife and son left him, and ultimately he commits suicide. Villefort goes mad, losing his entire family. Danglars is ruined and flees from France. The robbers who obey Monte Cristo take him prisoner in Italy. They rob Danglars of the last remnants of his fortune. The Count, however, was already tired of revenge. He realized that just retribution for criminals caused irreparable damage to many innocent people. A heavy burden on the conscience of the protagonist lay the consciousness of this. Therefore, he lets Danglars go free, even allowing him to take 50 thousand francs with him.

Final events

So we come to the finale, describing the summary. The Count of Monte Cristo ends with the hero, who realizes that he loves Gayde not with his father's love, sails away with her on a ship. He leaves the island of Monte Cristo with all its wealth as a gift to Maximilian, son of Morrel, and also to Valentine de Villefort, his beloved, the daughter of a prosecutor.

The Count of Monte Cristo (Edmond Dantes)

Monte Cristo (aka E. Dantes) is the main character of the work written by A. Dumas (father). The history of its real prototype was drawn by the author from the archives of the Paris police. Having become a victim of a prank, the shoemaker was imprisoned in the castle. Here he courted a prisoner, a prelate who bequeathed him a large fortune. The shoemaker, finding himself at large, took revenge on his enemies, but he himself died at the hands of the last of the survivors. The name Monte Cristo was inspired by the name of a small island located near the Elba.

It should be noted that by the end of the work, when the perpetrators are mercilessly punished, neither Monte Cristo himself nor the reader experiences the necessary satisfaction (with the exception, perhaps, of the youngest reader, for whom this image is designed). The protagonist of the novel transforms so much that he acts unrecognized among people who knew him before. The motive of inner transformation is the structuring motive of his character. One can only speak of an implicit, dotted "shine" through the image of the prudent and cold avenger of Monte Cristo of Edmond's direct disinterestedness. It can be combined typologically with such characters as Joseph the Beautiful and Odysseus, who were met by relatives after many years and were not recognized by them. Mercedes, unlike Penelope, could not wait for her lover, she decided that he was dead. And unlike Jacob, the old father could not bear the separation from his son. The hero of Dumas is reborn, not grown up. The credulity and simplicity of Edmond are transformed into romantic mystery, demonism. In addition, his way of being changes: Edmond lives a natural life, and the Count of Monte Cristo, whose character is described in some detail in the novel, manages the lives of other people without having his own.

Danglars

This is an accountant who served on the Pharaoh. This person is envious. It was he who initiated the denunciation of Dantes. It can be said that Baron Danglars is the most fallen hero of all in the novel, but he did not feel remorse. He managed to leave Marseille. Danglars was engaged in deliveries for the French army during the Spanish war and got rich on this. The hero's only love was money. That is why Monte Cristo used this weakness of his as revenge. Robber Luigi Vampa, a friend of the count, kidnapped Danglars at his request and began to starve him, offering the hero to buy food for millions. When Danglars had no money left at all, the count decided to let him go. Thus, this character was the first of those who were spared by the protagonist. However, he was the last one who deserved to be forgiven by the Count of Monte Cristo. The book, written by Alexandre Dumas, makes you think about the reasons for this.

Gaspard Caderousse

Who was the neighbor of the protagonist and his father. Gaspard is one of the participants in the denunciation of Dantes. But he can be justified by the fact that he was drunk and therefore did not take the writing of the denunciation seriously, believing that it was a joke. Later, the hero became the owner of the tavern. Greed forced him to kill a man and become a criminal. Edmond several times in different guises gave Caderousse a chance to improve. In fact, he did not even take revenge on him, but only gave him the right to choose, which was a test for him. The Count of Monte Cristo, as a revenge, gave Caderousse a choice - to leave the criminal past or continue the wicked path. He could not refuse the profit and decided to rob the count, but fell from Benedetto, his "friend", with whom he committed the robbery.

Gerard de Villefort

This hero of the work is an assistant to the royal prosecutor. He put Edmond in prison only because he had a letter from Napoleon, which was addressed to the father of Villefort. He then rose to the position of Crown Prosecutor. The past of this hero was not flawless, which was used for revenge by the Count of Monte Cristo. Gerard had an affair with Madame Danglars. She gave birth to an unwanted child. Villefort buried it in the garden of a house in Auteuil. Monte Cristo first bought this house. Then, inviting the light of Paris, he showed the audience a re-enactment of the night in which the child was buried alive. Benedetto, with his help, became a defendant, and it turned out that he was the son of Villefort. Gerard's wife turned out to be a poisoner. All this led to the fact that Villefort went mad.

Fernand Mondego

This hero is a fisherman, Mercedes' cousin. He was in love with her, so he decided to betray Edmond. After that, Fernand was recruited. He managed to rise to the rank of general, and also receive the title of count. When Greece rebelled against Turkey, Ferdinand betrayed Ali-Tibelinus, pasha of Janina. Monte Cristo's revenge was sophisticated. He announced the circumstances under which Ali-Tibelin died. This led to the disdain of Albert and Mercedes. Fernand's story ended with a shot in the temple.

Abbe Faria

The novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" introduces us to another interesting character. This is an Italian priest who became Edmond's second father. He was in the Chateau d'If as his cellmate. Faria is a sage who taught Dantes everything. Everyone thought that he was crazy, because he offered treasures for his freedom. And only Edmond found out that these treasures actually existed.

Pierre Morrel

Of course, Morrel is a positive hero in the work "The Count of Monte Cristo". Pierre (that was his name) is Edmond's best friend, the owner of the Pharaoh ship. Dumas (The Count of Monte Cristo) portrayed him as the noblest man. When Dantes was arrested, he went several times to Villefort to plead for him. When Morrel had no money to pay off his debts, he was ready to wash away the shame with his blood. However, Dantes saved him. Pierre was sure that he should thank Edmond for saving his honor, although he appeared to him under the guise of an agent of a banking house.

So, you met the main characters of the novel. The Count of Monte Cristo is a book worth reading. It will be of particular interest to young readers. Many of them are simply delighted with the work of Alexandre Dumas - "The Count of Monte Cristo". This novel is not in vain known to the whole world.

We have only briefly described the work "The Count of Monte Cristo". Parts that are not so important for the development of the plot have been omitted by us. However, this retelling gives an idea of ​​the main events of the novel.

Year of writing:

1845

Reading time:

Description of the work:

The Count of Monte Cristo was written by Alexandre Dumas in 1844. It was this novel that brought the author the long-awaited fame. Immediately after the publication of the book, The Count of Monte Cristo began to stage performances.

The novel has been filmed dozens of times. We invite you to read its summary.

On February 27, 1815, the three-masted ship "Pharaoh" returned to Marseille from the next voyage. Captain Leclerc was not destined to set foot on his native land: he died of a fever on the high seas. The young sailor Edmond Dantes took command, fulfilling another last will of the captain: the “pharaoh” enters the island of Elba, where Dantes passes the package received from the hands of Leclerc to Marshal Bertrand and meets with the disgraced emperor himself. Dantes is given a letter to be delivered to Paris, Mr. Noirtier - one of the conspirators preparing the return to the throne of Napoleon.

The owner of the "Pharaoh" Morrel invites Dantes to officially assume the position of captain of the ship. Envy-ridden accountant of the shipping company Danglars decides to remove Dantes. Together with a retired soldier, and now a simple fisherman, Fernand Mondego, who competes with Dantes for the right to marry the beautiful Mercedes, and the tailor Caderousse, who robbed Edmond's father during the voyage, Danglars composes an anonymous letter to the assistant prosecutor Marcel de Villefort. The meaning of the denunciation: Dantes is a secret agent of the Bonapartists. During the interrogation, Dantes, without hiding, everything is as it was, tells Villefort about his visit to Elba. There is no corpus delicti; Villefort is ready to release the prisoner, but, after reading Marshal Bertrand's letter, he realizes that his happiness and life itself depend on this game of chance. After all, the addressee, Mr. Noirtier, a dangerous conspirator, is his father! It is not enough to burn the accursed letter, one must also get rid of Dantès, who can involuntarily announce the whole story - and as a result, de Villefort will lose not only his place, but also the hand of his bride Rene de Saint-Meran (she is the daughter of an old royalist; the views of Mr. Noirtier, his relationship with the groom is a mystery to them). Dantes is sentenced to life imprisonment in the Château d'If, a political prison in the middle of the sea, not far from Marseille...

Five years pass. Dantes is close to despair, he decides to die of starvation. Suddenly, one evening, a dull rattle behind the wall reaches his ears. He is not alone here, someone is clearly digging a hole in the direction of his dungeon. Edmond starts digging the opposite tunnel. Many days of work are rewarded with the joy of meeting a comrade in misfortune. Abbot Faria - that's the name of the prisoner from the next cell - spent four years longer than Dantes in the Chateau d'If. Digging his hole, he hoped to break through to the outer wall of the prison, jump into the sea and swim to freedom. Alas, he miscalculated! Edmond comforts the abbot: there are now two of them, which means they can continue what they started with double energy. The abbot's strength is running out, soon - when he is close to salvation, he becomes seriously ill. Before his death, he initiates Dantes into the secret of the myriad treasure hidden by Cardinal Spada on the island of Monte Cristo three hundred years ago.

Having transferred the body of the abbot to his cell, Dantes hides in a bag in which the dead man was placed. In the morning, not noticing the substitution, they throw him into the sea - this is how the inhabitants of the Chateau d'If have been buried since the founding of the prison. Edmond is saved! He is picked up by smugglers. One of them, Jacopo, becomes a loyal companion of Dantes. A few months later, Edmond finally reaches the island of Monte Cristo. The treasures of Abbot Faria are truly innumerable.

During the long years of Dantes's absence in the fate of those who were guilty of his suffering, significant changes also took place, Fernand Mondego rose to the rank of general (now his name is Comte de Morcer). Mercedes became his wife and bore him a son. Danglars is a wealthy banker. De Villefort is the royal prosecutor. Caderousse has said goodbye to the tailor's needle and scissors and runs a rural inn. ...God sends a strange guest to Caderousse. Abbot Busoni, who, according to him, confessed the dying Edmond Dantes, must fulfill the last will of the deceased. Dantes handed him a diamond, the money from the sale of which should be divided into five parts: equally - Mercedes, Danglars, Fernand, Caderousse and old Dantes. Caderousse is blinded by the brilliance of the diamond. He tells Abbot Busoni that Dantes was slandered by those whom he decided to do good, that Mercedes did not remain faithful to him. Yes, he, Caderousse, was a witness to the writing of the denunciation - but what could he do! Danglars and Fernand would have killed him on the spot if he had hinted at the unseemliness of their maliciousness! As for old Dantes, he did not have the strength to endure the blow of fate (in fact, Caderousse robbed him to the skin, and Edmond's father died of hunger). He, he, Caderousse, is the only heir of poor Dantes! Abbé Busoni hands Caderousse the diamond and disappears in the morning...

At the same time, Lord Wilmore, an agent of the banking house of Thomson and French, comes to the mayor of Marseille. He asks permission to look through the investigation file of the Abbe Faria, who died in If prison. He also has another assignment: to pay the debts of Mr. Morrel, the owner of a shipping company that is on the verge of collapse. Morrel's last hope was on his flagship - the three-masted "Pharaoh", but that one - about evil rock! - dies in a shipwreck. Wilmore hands Morrel a six-figure promissory note, draws up a three-month grace period. But what can be done in three months! On the day the reprieve expires, Morrel's daughter receives a letter signed "Sinbad the Sailor" indicating the address where she will find the purse intended for her illustrious father. In the purse - a check for the amount owed by Morrel and a diamond the size of a walnut: the dowry of Mademoiselle Morrel. Everything that happened is like a fairy tale: but this is not enough. The Pharaoh enters the port of Marseilles safe and sound on all sails! The city is a witness to this miracle. Lord Wilmore, aka Abbot Busoni, aka Count of Monte Cristo, aka Edmond Dantes, looks at the sailboat that has risen from the abyss with a smile: “Be happy, noble man! You deserve this happiness! .. And now - goodbye, philanthropy! Let the god of vengeance give way to me so that I punish the villains! .. ”With documents from his investigative file, which was stored along with the case of Abbé Faria, Edmond leaves Marseilles ...

The young Parisian aristocrat Baron Franz d'Epinay, going to the carnival in Rome, set out to visit the legendary Elba. However, he changes his route: the ship sails past the island of Monte Cristo, where, according to rumors, a man who calls himself Sinbad the Sailor lives in a fabulous palace. The owner of the island receives Franz with such cordiality and luxury, which, it seems, never dreamed of by any of the most powerful inhabitants of the earth. In Rome, Franz unexpectedly meets Sinbad, who lives in the same hotel with him under the name of the Count of Monte Cristo. Franz's friend, Viscount Albert de Morser, is captured by robbers from a gang of ataman Luigi Vampa, who terrifies the inhabitants of Rome. The Count of Monte Cristo saves Albert: "Ataman, you have violated our agreement, my friend's friend is my friend." Wampa is in disarray, he sternly scolds his thugs: “We all owe our lives to the Count! How could you act so recklessly!” Albert invites the Count to visit Paris and be his guest of honor.

In the capital (where the count has not appeared before), Albert introduces him to his friends, including Morrel's son Maximillian. This acquaintance deeply excited the count - young Morrel is no less excited when he learns that the count uses the services of the Thomson and French banking house, which saved the life of their entire family.

The Count of Monte Cristo acquires several apartments in Paris and a house in Auteuil, at 28 Rue Fontaine, formerly owned by the Marquis de Saint-Meran. The Count's steward, Bertuccio, sees their move to this house as bad luck. Many years ago, he witnessed how de Villefort buried a newborn baby in the garden of his father-in-law's house - an illegitimate son from an unknown lady, Bertuccio hurried to dig up the box - the baby was still alive. Bertuccio's sister-in-law raised the boy, whom they named Benedetto. The offspring of eminent parents embarked on an unrighteous path and landed in jail. But this is only one of two terrible stories hidden by Bertuccio from the count. In June 1829, he stopped at the tavern of Caderousse - the day after the abbot Busoni had been there (Bertuccio does not realize that the abbot, who rescued him a long time ago from hard labor, and the count are one person). The Abbe Caderousse diamond was sold for 45 thousand francs to a reliable jeweler, and on the same night he stabbed him. Now Caderousse is where Bertuccio also happened to be: in hard labor. The count is sure that this is not the last drop in the cup that Caderousse must drink; as for Benedetto - if he is alive - he will serve as a weapon of God's punishment ...

The city is full of rumors about the mysterious count and his wealth. At the Danglars bank, the Count opens "unlimited credit". Danglars questions the capabilities of the count: everything in the world has its limits. The count ironically: "For you - maybe, but not for me." - "No one has counted my cash register yet!" - Danglars is wounded. “In that case, I am the first one who will have to do this,” the count promises him. Monte Cristo draws closer not only to Danglars, who did not recognize poor Edmond in him, but also to the de Villefort family. The Count wins the favor of Madame de Villefort: the servant of Count Ali saved her from an accident and his son Villefort from marrying her (Villefort also has a daughter from his first marriage, Valentina, bound by bonds of love with Maximillian Morrel, but forced by her relatives to marry Franz d' Epine). It is as if fate itself opens wide the doors in the houses of his sworn enemies for the Count of Monte Cristo, informs him of their other victims. The pupil of Dantes-Monte Cristo, the daughter of Pasha Janina, the marvelous beauty Gaide (there are rumors in Paris that she is the mistress of the count) recognizes in the Opera the man who gave the Turks a fortress that defended the city where her father ruled for two thousand purses of gold, and Gaide herself was twelve years old as a girl sold into slavery to the Turkish sultan. This man's name was Fernand Mondego; he is now known as Comte de Morcert, lieutenant-general, member of the House of Peers. Gaide was redeemed by Monte Cristo from the Sultan, the count swore revenge on the one who killed her father and she herself languished in captivity. He is not at all surprised that this scoundrel is Fernand: a betrayer once risks remaining a traitor to the end.

Luxurious lunch at the house of Monte Cristo. The first blows prepared by the count for his offenders. Villefort turns pale when the count informs all the guests that he has found the skeleton of a baby in the garden, buried alive under the previous owner. Danglars learns that, playing on the stock exchange, he suffered losses in the amount of more than a million francs (the count placed false information in the newspaper about the coup in Spain, and Danglars hurried to get rid of the shares of the Madrid Bank). Villefort informs Madame Danglars that the count seems to be privy to their secret: the unfortunate child was their illegitimate son. “You buried my child alive! God, this is your revenge!" exclaims Madame Danglars. “No, revenge is still waiting for us, and the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo will have to carry it out!” Villefort undertakes at all costs to find out the whole truth about the count; but the Abbé Busoni and Lord Wilmore, who found themselves in Paris, give him very contradictory information. The Count not only remains unrecognized by playing these two roles, but also confuses the tracks. A young man named Andrei Cavalcanti appears in Paris (one count, who showered him with bounty, knows that this is the runaway convict Benedetto). Immediately, Caderousse also grows out of the ground, assuring Benedetto that he is his offspring, and defrauding the young villain of money under the threat of breaking the brilliant career that has opened before him. Cavalcanti-Benedetto de Villefort is forced to obey: he laid eyes on the daughter of Danglars, a girl with a rich dowry. Wouldn't it be better, he suggests to Caderousse, to give the Count a good shake than to steal money from him with which the madman Monte Cristo lends him? Caderousse climbs into the Count's house - and comes face to face with the Abbé Busoni. The old convict betrays the young; he writes, under the abbot's dictation, a letter to Danglars, explaining who his son-in-law is in fact. Leaving the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, Caderousse runs into Benedetto's knife. Before he expires, the abbot lets him make sure that he, Monte Cristo and Edmond Dantes are one person ...

A hail of misfortune rains down on de Villefort's head: one after another, his father-in-law and mother-in-law suddenly die, then an old lackey who drank lemonade from a carafe in his father Noirtier's room. The doctor comes to the conclusion: they were all poisoned. The perpetrator lives in this house. All the servants of Villefort immediately ask for their resignation. The case gets a lot of publicity. And here - a new blow: Noirtier upsets the wedding of Valentina and Franz d'Epin (he promised this to his beloved granddaughter). Noirtier's secretaire contains a document stating that in February 1815 he killed in a fair duel General de Quesnel, Baron d'Epinay, who did not want to join the Bonapartist conspiracy.

Now it's Fernand's turn. There was a scandal in the House of Peers: the newspapers published a report about his low behavior during the siege of the fortress of Ioannina by the Turks. Hyde comes to the hearings in the Chamber and presents documents to the peers, which confirm: all this is true, the position of General de Morser in society was bought at the price of betrayal. Albert de Morser challenges the Count to a duel, standing up for his father, but, after the whole truth about Fernand Mondego is revealed to him, he asks Dantes for forgiveness. Edmond is begging for this and Madame de Morser, who still loves him Mercedes. The Count accepts Albert's apology; on the same day he and his mother leave Paris. Morcer repeats his son's challenge, but after the Count of Monte Cristo reveals his true name to him, the dishonored general puts a bullet in his forehead.

Danglars is on the verge of ruin. He has to pay all the new bills with which the count's trusted representatives come to him. His last hope is that he will be able to make a decent party for his daughter: the young Cavalcanti is the confidant of Monte Cristo, and the hand of the giver is unlikely to become impoverished. After the signing of the marriage contract, the words from the letter of Caderousse sound like a bolt from the blue: “Andrea Cavalcanti is a runaway convict!” Eugenie leaves Paris. Danglars no longer has a daughter or money. He leaves a farewell note to his wife (“I let you go the way I married you: with money, but without a good reputation”) and runs aimlessly. Andrea-Benedetto also runs, hoping to cross the border; but the gendarmes stop him. At the trial, he says: his father is the prosecutor de Villefort!

The last, most terrible blow of fate in the heart of de Villefort: Valentine is poisoned. He has no more doubts: the killer is his wife, who obtained an inheritance for herself and her son in such a terrible way (old Noirtier declared his granddaughter the only heiress). De Villefort threatens his wife with a scaffold. In desperation, Madame de Villefort takes poison and poisons the boy: "A good mother does not abandon a child for whom she has become a criminal." Villefort loses his mind; wandering around the garden of the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, he digs graves first in one place, then in another ...

The act of vengeance has been completed. Villefort is insane. Caderousse and Fernand are dead. Danglars was captured by robbers from the gang of Luigi Vampa and spends the last money on bread and water: the thugs sell him a crust for a thousand francs, and in total he has less than fifty thousand in his pocket. The Count of Monte Cristo grants him life and freedom. Turned gray in one night, Danglars drags out the existence of a beggar.

Evil is punished. But why did the young Valentina de Villefort burn in his flame, not at all sharing the guilt of her father and stepmother? Why should Maximillian Morrel, the son of the one who made attempts to rescue Dantes from prison for many years in a row, grieve for her all his life? Leaving Paris, the Count performs the miracle of Valentina's resurrection. Her death was staged by him in a community with the old man Noirtier: a terrible poison was neutralized by a miraculous medicine - one of the generous gifts of Abbé Faria.

Returning to the island of Monte Cristo, having given happiness to Maximillian and Valentine, Edmond Dantes, the martyr of the Chateau d'If and the Parisian angel of revenge, leaves a letter to young people that sounds both like his confession and like a mandate to two pure hearts: “There is neither happiness nor misfortune. Everything is relative. Only those who have suffered immensely can experience bliss. One must taste the taste of death in order to taste life with pleasure. All wisdom is in a nutshell: wait and hope! .. "

You have read the summary of the novel The Count of Monte Cristo. In you can read summaries of other books.

Plot

Imprisonment in prison

The protagonist of the novel is the Marseille sailor Edmond Dantes from the Pharaoh ship. During one of the flights, he called at the island of Elba, where he met with Marshal Bertrand (later said that with Murat), who instructs him to deliver a letter to Paris. With this, Edmond fulfills the last will of the captain of the Pharaoh, who died shortly before.

Testament of Cardinal Spada

After another seizure, the abbot dies. The guards sew up the dead man in a sack, intending to bury him in the evening. Dantes, who came to say goodbye to his deceased friend, is illuminated by the idea - he transfers the body of the abbot to his cell, and he takes his place (opening, and then sewing up the bag with the help of tools made by the abbot). Like a dead man, they throw him into the sea. He hardly gets out of the bag and swims to the neighboring island. In the morning, he is picked up by local smugglers. Dantes made friends with new comrades, and the captain praised him as a skilled sailor. Once free, Dantes learns that he has been in prison for 14 years.

Monte Cristo Island is uninhabited and smugglers use it as a staging post. Dantes, pretending to be sick, remains on the island, where he finds a treasure.

Return

Dantes after escaping the Chateau d'If

Dantes, having become rich, did not forget those who did him good.

He told fellow smugglers that he had received an inheritance, and generously rewarded everyone.

Edmond then begins his own investigation to find out what happened after his arrest and disappearance to his father, fiancée, friends and enemies. Under the guise of a priest fulfilling the last will of the "late" Dantes, who allegedly bequeathed the diamond to his friends - Caderousse, Fernand, Danglars and Mercedes - he visits Caderousse, who keeps a tavern in a slow place. Overwhelmed by greed, Caderousse forgets about caution and tells Edmond the whole truth about his arrest and everything that happened after that: about the despair of Mercedes and Dantes' father, who eventually died of starvation, the nobility of the shipowner Morrel, who tried to fight for the release of Dantes and supported his father. In addition, Caderousse said that Mercedes became the wife of Fernand, and the former owner of Dantes, Mr. Morrel, was almost ruined, while Danglars and Fernand were now rich, revolving in the highest Parisian society (Fernand became a general, comte de Morcer, a peer of France, and Danglars millionaire banker who received the title of baron) and, apparently, are happy. When asked about Villefort, he answers vaguely, since he knew him only by participating in the Dantes case, he could only report that Villefort was no longer in Marseille.

Edmond Dantes returns to Marseille, where he learns that his former master and friend armator Morrel is almost ruined. All his hopes are to return with the cargo of the Pharaoh, the very ship on which Dantes once sailed. But news comes of the death of the Pharaoh in a storm (although the crew and the captain miraculously escaped). Dantes learns about this when, under the guise of an agent of the banking house-creditor Morrel, he comes to the armator himself. On behalf of his banking house, Dantès gives Morrel a final reprieve. But the reprieve is coming to an end, and Morrel is unable to pay. To avoid shame, he wants to commit suicide, but at the last moment they bring him redeemed bills, and a new "Pharaoh" enters the port. Morrel and his family are saved. Dantes watches them from afar. He closed his gratitude accounts and is now ready for revenge on his enemies.

Revenge

Nine years pass. Edmond Dantes is replaced by the mysterious and eccentric Count of Monte Cristo. This is not the only image created by Edmond - he is known to some under the names of Lord Wilmore, Abbot Busoni and others. And the Italian robbers and smugglers, whom he managed to unite and subjugate to his power, like many sailors and travelers, know him under the name " Sinbad the Sailor". Over the past years, he managed to visit all corners of the world and significantly replenish his education; in addition, he learned to masterfully manipulate people. He owns a fast ship, and in the caves of the island of Monte Cristo he has an underground palace hidden, where he gladly receives travelers.

Disguised as the Count of Monte Cristo, Dantès enters French high society, whom he intrigues and admires with his wealth and unusual lifestyle; he has a dumb Nubian servant Ali (“... my dog, my slave. If he violates his duty, I will not drive him away, I will kill him”), and the former Corsican smuggler Giovanni Bertuccio, who has his own accounts with Villefort, is in charge of his affairs , who has already become the royal prosecutor of Paris. In addition, the count contains the slave Gayde (whom she first refers to as a daughter) - the daughter of the treacherously murdered Pasha Ali-Tebelin by Fernan.

Now he is gradually beginning to carry out his plan of revenge. Considering that the death of his enemies would be insufficient payment for his suffering, and also considering himself as an instrument of divine justice, an instrument of Providence, he gradually strikes his victims; as a result, the disgraced Fernand, from whom his wife and son left, commits suicide, Villefort loses his entire family and goes crazy, and Danglars is ruined and forced to flee France. In Italy, he is taken prisoner by robbers who obey Monte Cristo; they rob him of the last remnants of his once vast fortune. But the count was already tired of revenge - in recent days he realized that by taking revenge on those whom he considers criminals, he caused irreparable harm to many innocent people, and the consciousness of this laid a heavy burden on his conscience. Therefore, he lets Danglars go free and even allows him to keep fifty thousand francs.

At the end of the novel, the count sails away with Gaide on a ship, leaving the island of Monte Cristo with its underground halls and enormous wealth as a gift to Morrel's son Maximilian and his lover, Valentina de Villefort, the prosecutor's daughter.

Characters

The novel contains a large number of characters, the main ones are described below.

• Edmond Dantes- the main character, a sailor, unjustly imprisoned. After escaping, he becomes rich, noble and famous under the name Count of Monte Cristo. Also used names: Abbot Busoni, Lord Wilmore, Maltese Zaccone, Sinbad the Sailor.
• Abbe Faria- Comrade Edmond Dantes in custody, a learned monk who revealed to him the secret of the treasure on the island of Monte Cristo.
• Fernand Mondego- Cousin Mercedes, a fisherman who wants to marry her. Later becomes lieutenant general, Comte de Morcer and Peer of France.
• Mercedes Herrera- the bride of Edmond Dantes, who later became the wife of Fernand.
  • Albert de Morcer- son of Fernand and Mercedes.
• Danglars- an accountant on the "Pharaoh", submitted the idea of ​​denouncing Dantes, later becomes a baron and a wealthy banker.
  • Hermina Danglars- the wife of Danglars, in the past the widow of the Marquis de Nargon and the mistress of the royal prosecutor de Villefort, who is fond of the stock game. biological mother Benedetto.
  • Eugenie Danglars- the daughter of the Danglars, who dreams of becoming an independent artist.
• Gerard de Villefort- assistant prosecutor of Marseilles, then became the royal prosecutor of Paris. biological father Benedetto.
  • René de Saint-Meran- first wife of Villefort, mother of Valentina, daughter Marquise and Marquise de Saint-Meran.
  • Eloise de Villefort- the second wife of the royal prosecutor, ready for anything for the sake of her son Edward.
  • Noirtier de Villefort- father of the royal prosecutor, former Girondin and senator of Napoleon, chairman of the Bonapartist club, later paralyzed. "Despite this, he thinks, he desires, he acts."
  • Valentine de Villefort- Villefort's eldest daughter from her first marriage, a wealthy heiress, actually a nurse with her grandfather, beloved Maximilian Morrel.
  • Edward de Villefort- the young son of the royal prosecutor from his second marriage, a spoiled and cruel child.
• Gaspard Caderousse- a neighbor of Dantes, at first a tailor, and later an innkeeper. For some time he was a smuggler, later became an accomplice in the murder, a fugitive from hard labor.
• Giovanni Bertuccio- the manager of the affairs of the Count of Monte Cristo, a retired Corsican smuggler, the adoptive father of Benedetto.
• Benedetto- a fugitive from hard labor, the illegitimate son of the royal prosecutor and Baroness Danglars. He was known in Parisian society as a viscount Andrea Cavalcanti.
• Pierre Morrel- Marseille merchant, owner of the ship "Pharaoh", benefactor of Dantes.
  • Maximilian Morrel- son of Pierre Morrel, captain of spagi, protégé of the Count of Monte Cristo.
  • Julie Morrel (Herbeau) Daughter of Pierre Morrel.
  • Emmanuelle Erbo Julie's husband.
• Doctor d'Avrigny- the family doctor Wilforov, who was the first to suspect the terrible secret of this family.
• Franz d'Epinay- the groom imposed on Valentine de Villefort, friend of Albert de Morcert, son of General de Quesnel (Baron d'Epinay), killed in a duel by Noirtier de Villefort.
• Lucien Debray- Secretary of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, current lover and partner in the stock game of Baroness Danglars.
• Beauchamp- Editor of the Impartial Voice newspaper, friend of Albert de Morser.
• Raoul de Chateau-Renaud- French aristocrat, baron, friend of the Viscount de Morcer (like the three previous ones).
• Hyde- the slave of the count, the daughter of the Janine Pasha Ali-Tebelin, betrayed by Fernand.
• Luigi Wampa- a young shepherd who became the leader of a gang of robbers in the vicinity of Rome. He owes his life and freedom to the Count of Monte Cristo, in return he swore never to touch either the Count himself or his friends.
• Jacopo- a Corsican sailor from the Young Amelia smugglers' tartan, who saved Dantes when he was drowning after escaping from the castle-prison of If. Subsequently - the captain of the yacht count.
• Baptistin- valet of the Count of Monte Cristo.
• Ali- slave, servant of the Count of Monte Cristo, mute Nubian (with tongue cut off).

The success of the novel

The success of the novel "Monte Cristo" surpassed all previous works of the writer. It was at that time one of the biggest successes of any novel in France. The novel is staged in theaters. Earnings allow Alexandre Dumas to build a country villa in addition to the house. He calls the chic palace "Castle of Monte Cristo", and he himself begins to lead a wasteful life worthy of his hero.

Hero Prototype

One of the prototypes of the novel's hero - Edmond Dantes - was a shoemaker from Nimes named François Picot, who was engaged to a wealthy woman. In 1807, at the denunciation of three of his envious "friends" (Lupyan, Solari and Shobar) who falsely accused him of spying for England, Pico was arrested and thrown into the fortress of Fenestrelle, where he spent about 7 years. His fourth friend, Antoine Allue, not participating in the conspiracy, but knowing about it, cowardly kept silent about this meanness. Bride François, after two years of fruitless waiting, was forced to marry Lupiano.

Pico did not even know for the first two years what exactly he was imprisoned for. In the prison, Pico dug a small underground passage into the neighboring cell, where a wealthy Italian priest, Father Tory, was kept. They became friends, and Pico took care of the sick priest, who a year later, before his death, told him the secret of the treasure hidden in Milan. After the fall of imperial power in 1814, Francois Picot was released, took possession of the treasures bequeathed to him and, under a different name, appeared in Paris, where he devoted 10 years to retribution for meanness and betrayal.

Shobar was the first to be killed, but to Lupyan, his most hated villain, who stole from him not only freedom, but also love, Francois presented the most cruel revenge: he cunningly lured Lupyan's daughter into marriage with a criminal, and then betrayed him to trial and shame, which she could not bear it and died of shock. Then Pico organized the arson of a restaurant owned by Lupyan, and plunged him into poverty. Lupian's son was implicated (or falsely accused) of stealing the jewels and the boy was imprisoned, and then François stabbed Lupian himself. He was the last to poison Solari, but, unaware of Antoine Allue's knowledge, was kidnapped and killed by him.

Antoine Allue fled to England after the murder of Picot, where he confessed before his death in 1828. The dying Antoine Allue's confession forms the bulk of the French police records of the case.

Alexandre Dumas became interested in this story and transformed it into the adventures of Edmond Dantes - The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas' novel, however, is devoid of a gloomy criminal flavor, his noble hero at first feels like an instrument of higher retribution, but at the end of the novel, sobered by the death of the innocent, he refuses revenge in favor of mercy.

Plot sloppiness

Like most of Dumas's works, the text of the novel contains a lot of negligence and inconsistent places. For example, in the first chapter, Dantes assures Morrel that he has no complaints about Danglars: “As an accountant, nothing bad can be said about him.” On the other hand, in prison, in a conversation with Faria, Dantes reports that he discovered some fraud in Danglars' accounts. In the same conversation with Faria, Dantes clearly recalls that on the table of the conspirators in the gazebo, he noticed a pen, ink and paper. But if you re-read the scene in the gazebo, it becomes clear that Danglars demanded all of the above after Dantes left, and he could not see the pen, inkwell and paper on the table of Danglars, Fernand and Caderousse.

Another example: in chapter XIII, Albert informs Franz that in college he "was very strong in Greek." And later, visiting the Count, he confesses to Monte Cristo that "Homer and Plato have never had such an unsuccessful and, I even dare to say, such an indifferent student as I", as a result of which he does not understand a word of Greek . In both cases, there was absolutely no reason for Albert to lie.

In Chapter XI, Baron Dandre, Minister of Police, reports to Louis XVIII on March 3 that "the usurper left the island of Elba on the twenty-eighth of February and landed on the first of March." He actually left the island of Elba on 26 February, and on 28 February this was announced in the Parisian newspapers. Thus, the Minister of Police Dandre remained in the dark for 3 days, while all of Paris already knew about it.

Also in prison, Dantes learns that the abbot's treasure is two million scudos, which equals fourteen million francs. But at the end of the book, he tells Maximilian about the hundred millionth fortune. It can be assumed that Dantes increased his capital during this time, but it is very difficult to make from seventeen to one hundred million, even in ten years. And considering that in every country he bought himself a mansion (as in France) and could spend up to six million a year, such an increase in capital seems impossible. Although, perhaps, the abbot did not fully imagine the value of the treasure (which is unlikely: this amount was indicated in the will of Cesare Spada, which was written on April 25, 1498). There is another option: for 340 years, precious stones and ingots, which accounted for two-thirds of the treasure, have grown significantly in price.

In chapter XIII of the second part, Maestro Pastrini brings a poster to Franz and Albert, which says that the executions are carried out on the first day of the carnival, February 22. A few days later (about a week during which the carnival lasted), the Count of Monte Cristo, when he made an appointment with Albert to meet in Paris, turned to the calendar and said, “Today we have February 21.”

Maximilian Morrel, since the miraculous rescue of his father, has been tirelessly looking for a stranger-savior who wrote a letter under the pseudonym Sinbad the Sailor to his sister Julie. However, the fact that the Count of Monte Cristo was repeatedly called Sinbad the Sailor in his presence (for example, in the chapter "Guests of Albert") did not arouse any interest in Maximilian.

In Part I of Chapter XIII, "Father and Son," Noirtier de Villefort tells his son Villefort that he is vice-president of the Bonapartist club (at rue Saint-Jacques, number 53). However, in part IV of chapter XVIII "Protocol" it turns out that he was then the president of this club.

Continuations of the novel

Alexandre Dumas did not write sequels to this novel, however, many sequels are known, some of which were allegedly found in the writer's archive after his death (or attributed to Dumas son). But judging by the style of writing and description of events, neither the father nor the son of Dumas could write such works.

The film "Son of Monte Cristo" (1940, USA)

In 1865, General Gurko Leinen, with the help of the troops of Napoleon III and the support of the Russian government, wanted to establish a totalitarian regime in the territory under his jurisdiction (the fictional state of the Grand Duchy of Lichtenberg, the “pearl of the Balkans”, stylized as Habsburg Hungary, more or less known to the American audience, although religion, judging by around, Orthodoxy is - the general and the duchess are crowned by an Orthodox bishop), marry the duchess of the Zone and thus become king. To obtain a loan, he turns to a banker - the son of the Count of Monte Cristo Edmond. However, the younger Monte Cristo refused to increase his wealth in this way. The banker, on the contrary, raises the people to fight the dictator.

Novel "The Last Payment"

Edmond Dantes arrives in Moscow in the spring of 1838 with Gaide, who has already become his wife and has given birth to his son and daughter. In one of the restaurants, one of the students, having learned the name of the count, gives him a slap in the face. Soon the Count of Monte Cristo learns that he was confused with Georges Dantes. The count did not like that his name was embroiled in a scandal, and he decides to take revenge on Pushkin's killer. It has now been proven that the novel "The Last Payment" is a very late hoax created in the USSR. Witty in concept and spectacular plot, it cannot possibly belong to the pen of Alexandre Dumas père, since it is written in a completely different stylistic manner and is replete with obvious anachronisms. Evidence is given in the article by Alexander Obrizan and Andrey Krotkov "The Merry Ghosts of Literature" ("Book Review", 1993, April 23). Most likely, the motive of this literary hoax is based on a coincidence of two events: Pushkin's killer Georges-Charles Dantes and writer Alexandre Dumas son died almost simultaneously - in November 1895. There is no connection between these events, but they could well serve as an impetus for the idea of ​​​​an imaginary continuation of The Count of Monte Cristo.

Jules Verne wrote the book "Mathias Sandor" (1885). According to him, this is “an answer to the novel by A. Dumas”. But unlike Edmond Dantes, the hero of J. Verne, Count Matthias Sandor, is no longer an ordinary naive simpleton, substituted by "friends" out of envy/jealousy, but a nobleman and a Hungarian revolutionary who seeks to overthrow the Austrian power in Austria-Hungary. Repeatedly, you can even hear the opinions of readers that this work has surpassed the creation of Dumas.

Alfred Bester in a science fiction novel Tiger! Tiger!(English) The Stars My Destination), written in 1956, partially applied the motifs of Dumas' novel. An ordinary space laborer is left in a wrecked ship, where he vows to take revenge on those who abandoned him. He escapes, but after being imprisoned, he runs away, after which he becomes rich and begins to take revenge.

Novel "Tennis Balls of Heaven" en:The Stars" Tennis Balls, written in 2000 by Stephen Fry, takes inspiration from The Count of Monte Cristo

Screen adaptations

The novel has been made into many films.

• The Count of Monte Cristo - , USA, directed by Francis Boggs, Thomas Persons, starring - Hobart Bosworth
• Il conte di Montecristo - , Italy, directed by Luigi Maggi and Arturo Ambrosio (Italian) Russian , starring Umberto Mozzato, Arturo Ambrosio, Lydia de Robertis, Mirra Principi.
• Le Prisonnier du Château d'If (Une évasion manquée) - , France , directed by Victorin Jasset, starring Charles Cross, Andre Llabelle (fr.) Russian .
• Count of Monte Cristo - , USA
• Monte Cristo - , USA
• Monte Cristo - , USA , directed by Colin Campbell, starring Hobart Bosworth
• The Count of Monte Cristo - , USA , directors Joseph A. Golden, Edwin Porter, starring James O'Neill
• Modern Monte Cristo - , USA , director Eugene Moore
• The Count of Monte Cristo - , France , directed by Henri Pouktal (15 episodes), starring Leon Matho
• Monte Cristo - , USA , directed by Emmett J. Flynn, starring John Gilbert
• Monte Cristo - , France , directed by Henry Fescour, starring Jean Angelo, Lil Dagover, Gaston Modot, Bernhard Goetzke
• The Mystery of the Count of Monte Cristo - , USA , directed by Rowland W. Lee, starring - Robert Donat, Elissa Lundy, Sidney Blackmer
• The Count of Monte Cristo - , Mexico, directed by Roberto Gavaldon, Chano Urueta, starring Arturo de Cordova
• The Count of Monte Cristo - , France , Italy , directed by Robert Vernet, starring Pierre Richard-Villem
• Wife of Monte Cristo - , USA, director Edgar J. Ulmer. The film is based on the book.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - Italy - France, directed by Robert Vernet, starring Jean Marais
• The Count of Monte Cristo - Mexico - Argentina, directed by Leon Klimovsky, starring Jorge Mistral
• The Count of Monte Cristo - Italy-France, directed by Claude Autan-Lara, starring Louis Jourdan
• Return of Monte Cristo - , France, directed by Andre Hunebel. The film is based on the novel.
• The Count of Monte Cristo - , Australia , (cartoon), directed by Joseph Barbera, William Hanna
• The Count of Monte Cristo - TV movie, UK-Italy, directed by David Green, starring Richard Chamberlain
• Count of Monte Cristo -