One of my favorite authors is the French adventure novelist Alexandre Dumas, famous for a number of popular stories such as The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo. Starting his career as a playwright, Dumas gained immediate critical acclaim, which encouraged him to begin writing novels. Dumas was also a talented essayist, which is evident from his work Celebrated Crimes, a collection of essays about famous European crimes and criminals, including Cesare and Lucrezia Borgia, Beatrice Cenci, and Martin Guerre. Dumas released many of his stories as episodes, much like a modern television series, creating suspense as his readers eagerly awaited the story’s continuation. My favorite Dumas work is The Count of Monte Cristo, which was completed in 1844. The story follows a young sailor named Edmond Dantes set to become a captain and marry Mercedes, a beautiful young woman. Dantes, however, is falsely accused of being a Bonapartist conspirator and thrown in prison for life. The deputy public prosecutor sees that Dantes has been framed but does not spare him because he wants to save his own Bonapartist father. In prison, Dantes learns science, philosophy, and foreign languages from Abbe Faria who bequeaths him a treasure on Monte Cristo Island if Dantes is ever freed and able to claim it. When Faria dies, Dantes hides in his shroud and escapes, traveling to the island and finding a great fortune. Assuming a new identity, Dantes returns home to discover the fate of his friends and family before again disappearing. He reappears ten years later in Rome, calling himself the Count of Monte Cristo and reintegrates himself into Parisian society. When no one recognizes his true identity, save Mercedes, Dantes is able to wreak vengeance for the misdeeds committed against him. The Count of Monte Cristo is an engrossing story that is hard to put down.
