THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO - Translated and with an Introduction and Notes - Robin Buss

Sep 21, 2026

Alexandre Dumas’ life and literary career are outlined, emphasizing his early hardship, limited formal education, prolific playwriting in the 1820s, and later shift toward historical novels. The introduction highlights the significance of The Count of Monte Cristo and situates it alongside other major works such as The Three Musketeers. A detailed chronology records key events from 1802 to the mid-1840s, tracing Dumas’ career milestones, travels, collaborations, and major publications, including contextual notes about authorship and translation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages1428

Reading Time36 h 39 min

AccessFree to download

Contents

Chronology

Introduction

Further Reading

A Note on the Text

The Count of Monte Cristo

Notes

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO ALEXANDRE DUMAS was born in 1802 at Villers-Cotterêts. His father, the illegitimate son of a marquis, was a general in the Revolutionary armies, but died when Dumas was only four. He was brought up in straitened circumstances and received very little education. He joined the household of the future king, Louis-Philippe, and began reading voraciously. Later he entered the cénacle of Charles Nodierand started writing. In 1829 the production of his play, Henri III et sa cour, heralded twenty years of successful playwriting. In 1839 he turned his attention to writing historical novels, often using collaborators such as Auguste Maquet to suggest plots or historical background. His most successful novels are The Count of Monte Cristo, which appeared during 1844–5 , and The Three Musketeers, published in 1844. Other novels deal with the wars of religion and the Revolution. Dumas wrote many of these for the newspapers, often in daily instalments, marshalling his formidable energies to produce ever more in order to pay off his debts. In addition, he wrote travel books, children’s stories and his Mémoires which describe most amusingly his early life, his entry into Parisian literary circles and the 1830 Revolution. He died in 1870. ROBIN BUSS is a writer and translator who contributes regularly to The Times Educational Supplement, The Times Literary Supplement and other papers. He studied at the University of Paris, where he took a degree and a doctorate in French literature. He is part-author of the article ‘French Literature’ in Encyclopaedia Britannica and has published critical studies of works by Vigny and Cocteau, and three books on European cinema, The French through Their Films ( 1988) , Italian Films ( 1989) and French Film Noir ( 1994 ) . He is also part-author of a biography, in French, of King Edward VII (with Jean-Pierre Navailles, published by Payot, Paris, 1999) . He has translated a number of other volumes for Penguin, including Jean Paul Sartre’s Modern Times, Zola’s L’Assommoir and Au Bonheur des Dames, and Albert Camus’s The Plague. ALEXANDRE DUMAS (PÈRE) The Count of Monte Cristo Translated and with an Introduction and Notes by ROBIN BUSS PENGUIN BOOKS PENGUIN BOOKS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Penguin Putnam Inc. , 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 , USA Penguin Books Australia Ltd, 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124 , Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 10 Alcorn Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4V 3B2 Penguin Books India ( P ) Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi – 110 017 , India Penguin Books ( NZ) Ltd, Cnr Rosedale and Airborne Roads, Albany, Auckland, New Zealand Penguin Books (South Africa) ( Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank 2196 , South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England [www.penguin.com](www.penguin.com) First published 1844–5 This translation first published 1996 Reissued with new Chronology and Further Reading 2003 1 Copyright © Robin Buss, 1996 , 2003 All rights reserved The moral right of the translator has been asserted Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser EISBN: 978–0–141–90125–1 Contents Chronology Introduction Further Reading A Note on the Text The Count of Monte Cristo Notes Chronology 1802 Alexandre Dumas is born at Villers-Cotterêts, the third child of ThomasAlexandre Dumas. His father, himself the illegitimate son of a marquis and a slave girl of San Domingo, Marie-Cessette Dumas, had had a remarkable career as a

FAQs

Who is Robin Buss in this edition?

Robin Buss is the translator, and the edition includes his introduction and notes.

When was The Count of Monte Cristo first published?

It was first published in 1844–5.

What does the Contents section include before the novel text?

It lists Chronology, Introduction, Further Reading, and A Note on the Text, followed by The Count of Monte Cristo and Notes.

Sep 21, 2026

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