Resumo de The Count Of Monte Cristo

           ''The Count Of Monte Cristo'' is one of the enduring classics of English literature. Penned by Alexandre Dumas, it traces the life of Edmond Dantes, an innocent sailor, a young man who is at the threshold of happiness and prosperity. He has been made Captain of the Pharaon, betrothed to the lovely Catalan lass, Mercedes, and at the peak of his health and life could not be more perfect.
          The novel tells of the perfidious plot hatched by three men - Danglers who is one of his former crewmates, Fernand desperately in love with Mercedes, his cousin, and Monsieur de Villefort, the Deputy Attorney at Marseilles, who hides the fact that his father is a supporter of Bonaporte. A bewildered Edmond is denounced as a Bonapartist, which is a precarious position to be in, as Napoleon Bonaparte is in exile at Elba. Monsieur Villefort promises to help him till he realises that the letter Edmond is to deliver is addressed to his own father, M Nortier, and Villiers changes tack as he does not want to be linked to his father in any way. He shudders at the scandal which could ensue if the letter were brought to light. Thus each of the three men has his own axe to grind, a fact that the innocent Edmond has no inkling about.
          The next phase of Edmond''s life is horrendous as he is thrown in a dank dungeon in the notorious Chateau d''If, a prison that kills off most of its inmates. Edmond''s ordeal continues till he manages to create a niche on his prison wall and encounters the old Abbe Faria, who has been working on a tunnel over the years. This energizes Dantes who decides to throw in his fate with the old man, and try to escape. The Abbe, an erudite scholar, also teaches him three languages, science, history, mathematics and much more. He also helps him acquire the graces and refinements of a man of the world.
             It is soon after that Abbe Faria discloses the secret of a huge treasure, that of the Spada family on the island of Monte Cristo, and sketches out the details for him. Unfortunately he has a fit and dies, and though grief stricken, Edmond lies down in place of the corpse and sews himself into the shroud meant for the old man.
            The pall bearers take the body and hurl it into the sea, which is shockingly the cemetery of the Cateau d''If. He manages to get free, and thus, escapes his prison.
           It is now that Edmond Dantes sheds his iold name and, phoenix-like, emerges in Parisian society as the wealthy and eminent Count of Monte Cristo. His old enemies have all prospered considerably. Danglers has made money through illegal transactions in the French Army,and is now a millionaire banker. Fernand has married Mercedes, and had a son Albert and is now immensely rich. M. d Villefort has married well and is now the King''s Attorney for France. All three have covered their tracks very effectively.
        The Count of Monte Cristo is the talk of the town. He is elegant, charming and witty. The pace of the novel now races on as he prepares to take revenge on his former tormenters. He ruins Danglers by throwing him deeply into debt, denounces Fernand as a traitor and murderer, and forces him to shoot himself. He exposes Villefort as a father who had tried to murder his illegitimate son, by presenting the aforesaid son at court, thus subjecting Villefort to infamy and ultimately, insanity. All three men are shattered when they realise that it is Edmond Dantes, who had come back as their Nemesis.
     T fabulously told, and it is in the masterly weaving of the tapestry that Dumas is at his narrative best. The reader waits with bated breath for every incident to unfold, and the theme of vendetta is brilliantly brought out. The end result is one of tremendous satisfaction as justice is done and the wrong doers are punished, a theme as old as eternity. It is a rare treat to peruse the rich prose of a magnificent storyteller and ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' will remain one of the best tales ever told in the history of literature.

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