Authored by Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo is considered to be on of the most popular works of Dumas. The author had completed the writing of this adventure novel in the year 1844. Just as many of the novels written by him, the plot of the book has been expanded from the outlines which are suggested by Auguste Maquet, his collaborating ghostwriter.
The story is set in the countries of Italy, France, a few islands in the Mediterranean Sea and the Levant. The timeline in which the novel is based is the years around 1815-1838 just before the Hundred Days. A fundamental element of the book is indeed the historical setting in which it has been written. The story is an adventure and has highlighted themes such as justice, hope, forgiveness, hope and mercy from place to place. The theme of revenge in The Mount of Monte Cristo has been taken from a story that Dumas had read in a compilation by Jacques Peuchet, an archivist in France. The novel is basically about the revenge which Dantès takes from those three men who are responsible for his unjust imprisonment. Before the revenge, Dantès provides help to all those people who were kind to him before he was imprisoned. He pays off the debts of his previous employer Morrel when Morrel is on the verge of committing suicide. He also gives Caderrousse, a person serving a life time imprisonment for the murder of a jeweler, a chance at redemption.
The Count of Monte Cristo makes the readers eager to know about what is going to happen next and keeps them glued to it. The relation of the historical events and their significance has a royal impact on the events that take place. Also, the characters have been described and portrayed in a brilliant and realistic way by Dumas. The Count of Monte Cristo is a novel everyone should read at least once in their lifetime.
