Volume 4 of 4 Alexandre Dumas, born in France in 1802, is one of the most widely read French authors in history. His novels of high adventure have been translated into nearly 100 languages and made into more than 200 movies. A very prolific author, Dumas' published works total more than 100,000 pages. He died in 1870 and was buried in his birthplace of Villers-Cotterets. In 2002, the bicentennial of his birth, he was reinterred in the mausoleum of the Pantheon in Paris. "Le Comte de Monte-Cristo," a classic literary tale of revenge, was first published in serial form in Paris, appearing in 18 volumes of the "Journal des Debats" from 1844-1845. It takes place in France, Italy, and the Mediterranean. The theme of the novel extends beyond revenge to encompass hope, justice, mercy, and forgiveness. As the characters of the story reveal their true selves through their actions over the course of the book, the reader also sees romance, loyalty, betrayal, and selfishness. The unabridged form of this story runs to over 1,000 pages in either French or English, necessitating multiple volumes of this bilingual edition, which is designed to assist those learning French. The original French text appears on the right-hand pages of the book, with the corresponding English translation on the left-hand pages. Other bilingual books available from Sleeping Cat Books: "The Picture of Dorian Gray Selected Works of Edgar Allan Poe Fables of Jean de La Fontaine Candide Shakespeare's Sonnets New Fairy Tales for Small Children The Tales of Mother Goose The Last of the Mohicans Madame Bovary Alice's Adventures in Wonderland""
Author
This note regards Alexandre Dumas, père, the father of Alexandre Dumas, fils (son). For the son, see Alexandre Dumas fils. Alexandre Dumas, père (French for "father", akin to Senior in English), born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a French writer, best known for his numerous historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world. Many of his novels, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne were serialized. Dumas also wrote plays and magazine articles, and was a prolific correspondent. Dumas was of Haitian descent and mixed-race. His father, General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) to Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie, a French nobleman, and Marie-Cessette Dumas, a black slave. At age 14 Thomas-Alexandre was taken by his father to France, where he was educated in a military academy and entered the military for what became an illustrious career. Dumas' father's aristocratic rank helped young Alexandre Dumas acquire work with Louis-Philippe, Duke of Orléans, then as a writer, finding early success. He became one of the leading authors of the French Romantic Movement, in Paris. Excerpted from Wikipedia.
