Who is Monte Cristo. On the Trail of Literature: The True Story of the Count of Monte Cristo

"Parasha, our beauty was called"
I. S. Turgenev from the poem "Parash"

- Monsieur Dumas, do you lie softly in this coffin?
- Thank you, do your job, but forget about me!
-Everything will be exactly executed, Monsieur Dumas.
-Hey, you there! Camera. Motor. Started!
From a dialogue between some director and novelist Dumas.

If your life is monotonous and boring and has long lost all charm, if heavy thoughts drag you to the bottom and you consider death to be the only solution to these problems - do not bother rubbing the rope with soap, buying poison or other completely unnecessary things. It is better to download this film on some more or less indecent site, and you will understand that your life is just flowers, compared with the torment of the long-dead Alexandre Dumas. In general, this man can definitely be considered a martyr, after all the sadistic attempts of Americans to convey to the viewer the plots of his books.

I don't even want to know what narcotic substances the screenwriter tried it on himself before taking on the job. It is only clear that with light hand we got a story that is simply magnificent in its absurdity, boldly claiming the palm among a number of other adaptations, which he simply trampled into the dirt with outstanding cretinism and mediocrity. I will not bother to retell the events - it spoils the mood, and is considered a violation of good taste and etiquette. But individual facts cannot be avoided; you see, they cry out.

First, the complete lack of acting and camera work. In addition to inexpressive facial expressions and slurred speeches, there is also a dizzying change of personnel, which fully speaks of the progressive illness of the operator of his assistants, if any.

Secondly, the film's utterly illiterate timing. With purely lordly extravagance, the director devoted one-third of the time to tapping the walls of the cell and delusional dialogues invented by grandmother Agafya from a neighboring studio.

Well, and finally, thirdly, these are the intricacies of the “brilliant” plot, thoroughly permeated with the motives of the “forever young” Indian cinema. Having cut out a good part of the novel, renaming some "hard-to-pronounce" characters, the screenwriter did not bother to replace the removed one with at least somewhat adequate content. Of course, only the “frivolity” of the novel was not enough, it’s not interesting somehow, the count exchanged his beloved for some kind of princess, Hyde, in the sense, it’s better to let Mercedes immediately, on the move, rush to Monte Cristo with a carnivorous smile and pull him to bed with you. Why not? We are for healthy relationships! And Albert, well, as without him, he, of course, is the son of the Count of Monte Cristo. Shed tears, ladies and gentlemen, lisp in front of the screen. The family reunion has been completed. The evil de Morcer was defeated, Villefort was taken under the arms right from the home bath and taken to the prison carriage (just in case, there is an unloaded revolver - and suddenly, he will buy and shoot himself, Monte Cristo is simply the height of deceit). And in general, everything is fine, but what exactly did you expect from a person, that is, from a count who could neither read nor write until he ended up in prison. Providence sent him there - they say, hard in learning, easy in battle. And now, all such an unrefined count with pleasure breaks into other people's restrooms, well, or baths, in clothes, and begins to have small talk with a half-naked royal prosecutor, then, as a free bonus, he adds a couple, (sorry there was no broom nearby), well, in conclusion, having caught the criminal bureaucrat by the hand, he politely puts him at the disposal of the whole garrison, who somehow got into the “bathroom” of de Villefort. Oh, to list the feats, or rather opuses of the director? even a hundred pages of small text will not suffice.

But the best and most impressive thing that actually distinguishes this monument to disgusting taste is the translation. He is perfect, perfect and just deafeningly stupid. What is only the count’s tirade about his release of Albert: “And so, when he was tied up, the robbers said that they would cut off his finger and send it to his father, the young man was not afraid and answered them “do your dirty work”!”. What pathos! What heroism! Or here is another pearl: “You took everything from me except this life, why did you do it?”. Yes, it is necessary, first, to take away life, and then everything else. Wrong order action, here.

This does not exhaust the storehouse of modern stupidity, but I'd better keep quiet, enjoy.
Want to laugh, eat served, ladies and gentlemen.

Now he is gradually beginning to carry out his plan of revenge. Considering that the death of his enemies would be insufficient payment for his suffering, and also considering himself as an instrument of divine justice, an instrument of Providence, he gradually strikes his victims; as a result, the disgraced Fernand, from whom his wife and son left, commits suicide, Caderousse dies because of his own greed, Villefort loses his entire family and goes crazy, and Danglars is ruined and forced to flee France. In Italy, he is taken prisoner by robbers who obey Monte Cristo; they rob him of the last remnants of his once vast fortune. In total, Caderousse and Fernand are dead, Villefort is insane, and the life of the impoverished Danglars is in the balance.

But the count was already tired of revenge - in last days he realized that in taking revenge on those whom he considers criminals, he caused irreparable harm to many innocents, and the consciousness of this laid a heavy burden on his conscience. Therefore, he lets Danglars go free and even allows him to keep fifty thousand francs.

At the end of the novel, the count sails away with Gaide on a ship, leaving the island of Monte Cristo with its underground halls and enormous wealth as a gift to Morrel's son Maximilian and his lover, Valentina de Villefort, the prosecutor's daughter.

Dumas Gavarni Count Morcert in 1838.JPG

Characters of 1838: Peer General Morcert

Dumas Gavarni Villefort in 1838.JPG

Attorney Villefort

Dumas Gavarni Noirtier in 1838.JPG

Bonapartist Noirtier

Dumas Joannot Valentina Villefort death of Madame Saint Meran in 1838.JPG

Valentine de Villefort

Dumas Gavarni Bertuccio.JPG

Manager Bertuccio

Dumas Gavarni Gaidet in 1838.JPG

Greek Albanian Gaide

Textology

Characters

The novel contains a large number of characters, the main ones are described below.

• Edmond Dantes- the main character, a sailor, unjustly imprisoned. After escaping, he becomes rich, noble and famous under the name Count of Monte Cristo. Also used names: Abbot Busoni, Lord Wilmore, Maltese Zaccone, Sinbad the Sailor.
• Fernand Mondego- Cousin Mercedes, a fisherman who wants to marry her. Later becomes lieutenant general, Comte de Morcer and Peer of France.
• Mercedes Herrera- the bride of Edmond Dantes, who later became the wife of Fernand.
  • Albert de Morcer- son of Fernand and Mercedes.
• Danglars- an accountant on the "Pharaoh", submitted the idea of ​​denouncing Dantes, later becomes a baron and a wealthy banker.
  • Hermina Danglars- the wife of Danglars, in the past the widow of the Marquis de Nargon and the mistress of the royal prosecutor de Villefort, who is fond of the stock game. biological mother Benedetto.
  • Eugenie Danglars- the daughter of the Danglars, who dreams of becoming an independent artist.
• Gerard de Villefort- assistant prosecutor of Marseilles, then became the royal prosecutor of Paris. biological father Benedetto.
  • René de Saint-Meran- first wife of Villefort, mother of Valentina, daughter Marquise and Marquise de Saint-Meran.
  • Eloise de Villefort- the second wife of the royal prosecutor, ready for anything for the sake of her son Edward.
  • Noirtier de Villefort- father of the royal prosecutor, former Jacobin and Napoleon's senator, chairman of the Bonapartist club, later paralyzed. "Despite this, he thinks, he desires, he acts."
  • Barrois- Servant of Noirtier de Villefort.
  • Valentine de Villefort- Villefort's eldest daughter from her first marriage, a wealthy heiress, actually a nurse with her grandfather, beloved Maximilian Morrel.
  • Edouard de Villefort- the young son of the royal prosecutor from his second marriage, a spoiled and cruel child.
  • Lucien Debray- Secretary of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, current lover and partner in the stock game of Baroness Danglars.
  • Doctor d'Avrigny- family doctor Vilforov, who was the first to suspect terrible secret this family.
• Gaspard Caderousse- a neighbor of Dantes, at first a tailor, and later an innkeeper. For some time he was a smuggler, later became an accomplice in the murder, a fugitive from hard labor.
  • Carconta - wife of Caderousse
• Pierre Morrel- Marseille merchant, owner of the ship "Pharaoh", benefactor of Dantes.
  • Maximilian Morrel- son of Pierre Morrel, captain of spagi, protégé of the Count of Monte Cristo.
  • Julie Morrel (Herbeau) Daughter of Pierre Morrel.
  • Emmanuelle Erbo Julie's husband.
  • Penelon- the old boatswain of the Pharaoh, helps Dantes when he saves Pierre Morrel from bankruptcy and disgrace. After serving at sea, he becomes a gardener for Julie and Emmanuel Herbaud.
  • Cocles- Treasurer of Pierre Morrel, who remained faithful to him to the end. Then he became a gatekeeper for Julie and Emmanuel Herbaud.
• Abbe Faria- Comrade Edmond Dantes in custody, a learned monk who revealed to him the secret of the treasure on the island of Monte Cristo.
• Giovanni Bertuccio- the manager of the affairs of the Count of Monte Cristo, a retired Corsican smuggler, the adoptive father of Benedetto.
• Benedetto- a fugitive from hard labor, the illegitimate son of the royal prosecutor and Baroness Danglars. He was known in Parisian society as a viscount Andrea Cavalcanti.
• Franz d'Epinay- the groom imposed on Valentine de Villefort, friend of Albert de Morcer, son of General de Quesnel (Baron d'Epinay), killed in a duel by Noirtier de Villefort.
• Beauchamp- Editor of the Impartial Voice newspaper, friend of Albert de Morser.
• Raoul de Chateau-Renaud- French aristocrat, baron, friend of the Viscount de Morcer (like the three previous ones).
• Hyde- the slave of the count, the daughter of the Janine Pasha Ali-Tebelin, betrayed by Fernand.
• Luigi Wampa- a young shepherd who became the leader of a gang of robbers in the vicinity of Rome. He owes his life and freedom to the Count of Monte Cristo, in return he swore never to touch either the Count himself or his friends.
• Peppino- a robber from the gang of Luigi Vampa, who was saved by the Count of Monte Cristo from the guillotine and later kidnapped Danglars when he fled to Italy.
• Jacopo- a Corsican sailor from the Young Amelia smugglers' tartan, who saved Dantes when he was drowning after escaping from the castle-prison of If. Subsequently - the captain of the yacht count.
• Baptistin- valet of the Count of Monte Cristo.
• Ali- slave, servant of the Count of Monte Cristo, mute Nubian (with tongue cut off).

Hero Prototype

One of the prototypes of the novel's hero - Edmond Dantes - was a shoemaker from Nimes named François Picot, who was engaged to a wealthy woman. In 1807, at the denunciation of three of his envious "friends" (Lupyan, Solari and Shobar), who falsely accused him of spying for England, Pico was arrested and thrown into the fortress of Fenestrelle, where he spent about 7 years. His fourth friend, Antoine Allue, not participating in the conspiracy, but knowing about it, cowardly kept silent about this meanness. Bride François, after two years of fruitless waiting, was forced to marry Lupiano.

Pico did not even know for the first two years what exactly he was imprisoned for. In Pico's prison, he dug a small underground passage to the next cell, where the wealthy Italian priest Father Tori was kept. They became friends, and Pico took care of the sick priest, who a year later, before his death, told him the secret of the treasure hidden in Milan. After the fall of imperial power in 1814, Francois Picot was released, took possession of the treasures bequeathed to him and, under a different name, appeared in Paris, where he devoted 10 years to retribution for meanness and betrayal.

Shobar was the first to be killed, but to Lupyan, his most hated villain, who stole from him not only freedom, but also love, Francois presented the most cruel revenge: he cunningly lured Lupyan's daughter into marriage with a criminal, and then betrayed him to trial and shame, which she could not bear it and died of shock. Then Pico organized the arson of a restaurant owned by Lupyan, and plunged him into poverty. Lupian's son was implicated (or falsely accused) of stealing the jewels and the boy was imprisoned, and then François stabbed Lupian himself. He was the last to poison Solari, but, unaware of Antoine Allue's knowledge, was kidnapped and killed by him.

Antoine Allue fled to England after the murder of Picot, where he confessed before his death in 1828. The dying Antoine Allue's confession forms the bulk of the French police records of the case.

Alexandre Dumas became interested in this story and transformed it into the adventures of Edmond Dantes - The Count of Monte Cristo. Dumas' novel, however, is devoid of a gloomy criminal flavor, his noble hero at first feels like an instrument of higher retribution, but at the end of the novel, sobered by the death of the innocent, he refuses revenge in favor of mercy.

Plot sloppiness

Like most of Dumas's works, the text of the novel contains a lot of negligence and inconsistent places, and sometimes historical inaccuracies.

Continuations of the novel

Alexandre Dumas did not write sequels to this novel, but many sequels are known, some of which were allegedly found in the writer's archive after his death (or are attributed to Dumas son). But judging by the style of writing and description of events, neither the father nor the son of Dumas could write such works.

Novel "The Last Payment"

One of the hoaxes was the novel The Last Payment, written as a continuation of The Count of Monte Cristo. His hero Edmond Dantes, after visiting Moscow, becomes the pursuer-avenger of the killer of the great Russian poet A. S. Pushkin, Georges-Charles Dantes, whom he considers his relative. The novel was published in Russia in 1990. It was not published again.

Plot. Edmond Dantes arrives in Moscow in the spring of 1838 with Gaide, who has already become his wife and has given birth to his son and daughter. In one of the restaurants, one of the students, having learned the name of the count, gives him a slap in the face. Soon the Count of Monte Cristo learns that he was confused with Georges Dantes. The count did not like that his name was embroiled in a scandal, and he decides to take revenge on Pushkin's killer.

It has now been proven that the novel "The Last Payment" is a very late hoax created in the USSR. Witty in concept and spectacular plot, it cannot possibly belong to the pen of Alexandre Dumas père, since it is written in a completely different stylistic manner and is replete with obvious anachronisms. Evidence is provided in the article by Alexander Obrizan and Andrey Krotkov "The Merry Ghosts of Literature". Most likely, the motive of this literary hoax is based on a coincidence of two events: Pushkin's killer Georges-Charles Dantes and writer Alexandre Dumas son died almost simultaneously - in November 1895. There is no connection between these events, but they could well serve as an impetus for the idea of ​​​​an imaginary continuation of The Count of Monte Cristo.

The novel "Lord of the World" (Adolf Mützelburg)

In this book, the reader will meet again with the heroes of the novel "The Count of Monte Cristo", get acquainted with new characters, visit with them the expanses of the American West, Africa and different countries of Europe.

Meanwhile, Nesvitsky, Zherkov and the officer of the retinue stood together outside the shots and looked either at this small group of people in yellow shakos, dark green jackets embroidered with cords, and blue trousers, swarming near the bridge, then at the other side, at the blue hoods and groups approaching in the distance with horses that could easily be recognized as tools.
Will the bridge be set on fire or not? Who before? Will they run up and set fire to the bridge, or will the French ride up on a canister shot and kill them? These questions with bated breath were involuntarily asked by each of those a large number troops that stood over the bridge and in the bright evening light looked at the bridge and the hussars and on the other side, at the moving blue hoods with bayonets and guns.
- Oh! get the hussars! - said Nesvitsky, - no further than a canister shot now.
“In vain did he lead so many people,” said the retinue officer.
"Indeed," said Nesvitsky. - Here they would send two good fellows, all the same.
“Ah, your excellency,” Zherkov intervened, not taking his eyes off the hussars, but all with his naive manner, because of which it was impossible to guess whether what he was saying was serious or not. - Oh, your Excellency! How do you judge! Send two people, but who will give us Vladimir with a bow? And so, even if they beat you, you can imagine a squadron and get a bow yourself. Our Bogdanich knows the rules.
- Well, - said the officer of the retinue, - this is buckshot!
He pointed to the French guns, which were being removed from their limbers and hurriedly drove off.
On the French side, in those groups where there were guns, a smoke appeared, another, a third, almost at the same time, and at the minute the sound of the first shot flew, a fourth appeared. Two sounds, one after the other, and a third.
- Oh, oh! gasped Nesvitsky, as if from burning pain, grabbing the arm of the retinue officer. - Look, one fell, fell, fell!
Two, I think?
“If I were a tsar, I would never fight,” said Nesvitsky, turning away.
The French guns were again hastily loaded. Infantry in blue hoods moved to the bridge at a run. Again, but at different intervals, smoke appeared, and grapeshot crackled and crackled across the bridge. But this time Nesvitsky could not see what was being done on the bridge. Thick smoke rose from the bridge. The hussars managed to set fire to the bridge, and the French batteries fired at them, no longer to interfere, but to ensure that the guns were pointed and there was someone to shoot at.
- The French managed to make three shots of grape shots before the hussars returned to the grooms. Two volleys were fired incorrectly, and the whole buckshot suffered, but the last shot hit the middle of a bunch of hussars and knocked down three.
Rostov, preoccupied with his relationship with Bogdanych, stopped on the bridge, not knowing what to do. There was no one to chop (as he always imagined a battle), and he also could not help in lighting the bridge, because he did not take with him, like other soldiers, a bundle of straw. He stood and looked around, when suddenly there was a crackling sound on the bridge like scattered nuts, and one of the hussars, who was closest to him, fell with a groan on the railing. Rostov ran to him along with the others. Again someone shouted: "Stretcher!". The hussar was picked up by four people and began to lift.
- Oooh! ... Drop it, for Christ's sake, - the wounded man shouted; but they still picked it up and laid it down.
Nikolai Rostov turned away and, as if looking for something, began to look at the distance, at the water of the Danube, at the sky, at the sun. How beautiful the sky looked, how blue, calm and deep! How bright and solemn the setting sun! How softly and glossy the water shone in the distant Danube! And even better were the distant mountains blue beyond the Danube, the monastery, the mysterious gorges, the pine forests flooded to the tops with fog ... it’s quiet, happy there ... thought Rostov. “There is so much happiness in me alone and in this sun, and here ... groans, suffering, fear and this vagueness, this haste ... Here again they shout something, and again everyone ran somewhere back, and I run with them, and here she is.” , here it is, death, above me, around me ... A moment - and I will never see this sun, this water, this gorge again ”...
At that moment the sun began to hide behind the clouds; ahead of Rostov other stretchers appeared. And the fear of death and the stretcher, and the love of the sun and life - all merged into one painfully disturbing impression.
“Oh my God! He Who is there in this sky, save, forgive and protect me!” Rostov whispered to himself.
The hussars ran up to the grooms, the voices became louder and calmer, the stretcher disappeared from sight.
- What, bg "at, sniffed pog" oh? ... - the voice of Vaska Denisov shouted over his ear.
“It's all over; but I'm a coward, yes, I'm a coward," thought Rostov, and, sighing heavily, he took from the hands of the horseman his Grachik, who had put aside his leg, and began to sit down.
- What was it, buckshot? he asked Denisov.
- Yes, what a! shouted Denisov. - Well done g "worked! And g" work skveg "naya! Attack is a kind deed, g" kill in the dog, and here, chog "does not know what, they hit like a target.
And Denisov rode off to a group that had stopped not far from Rostov: the regimental commander, Nesvitsky, Zherkov and an officer of the retinue.
"However, no one seems to have noticed," Rostov thought to himself. And indeed, no one noticed anything, because everyone was familiar with the feeling that an unfired junker experienced for the first time.
- Here's a report for you, - said Zherkov, - you look, and they will make me a second lieutenant.
“Report to the prince that I lit the bridge,” the colonel said solemnly and cheerfully.
- And if they ask about the loss?
- A trifle! - boomed the colonel, - two hussars were wounded, and one on the spot, - he said with visible joy, unable to resist a happy smile, loudly chopping off beautiful word on the spot.

Pursued by the 100,000-strong French army under Bonaparte, met with hostile inhabitants, no longer trusting their allies, lacking food, and forced to act beyond all foreseeable conditions of war, the Russian army of 35,000, under the command of Kutuzov, hastily retreated down the Danube, stopping where it was overtaken by the enemy, and fighting back with rearguard deeds, only as far as it was necessary in order to retreat without losing burdens. There were cases under Lambach, Amstetten and Melk; but, despite the courage and steadfastness, recognized by the enemy himself, with which the Russians fought, the consequence of these deeds was only an even faster retreat. The Austrian troops, who had escaped capture at Ulm and joined Kutuzov at Braunau, now separated from the Russian army, and Kutuzov was left only to his weak, exhausted forces. It was impossible to think of defending Vienna any longer. Instead of offensive, deeply thought out, according to the laws new science- strategy, war, the plan of which was transferred to Kutuzov during his stay in Vienna as an Austrian gofkriegsrat, the only, almost unattainable goal, now presented to Kutuzov, consisted in not destroying the army, like Mack near Ulm, to unite with the troops marching from Russia.
On October 28, Kutuzov with an army crossed to the left bank of the Danube and stopped for the first time, putting the Danube between himself and the main French forces. On the 30th, he attacked Mortier's division on the left bank of the Danube and defeated it. In this case, trophies were taken for the first time: a banner, guns and two enemy generals. For the first time after a two-week retreat, the Russian troops stopped and, after a struggle, not only held the battlefield, but drove the French away. Despite the fact that the troops were undressed, exhausted, one-third weakened backward, wounded, killed and sick; despite the fact that on the other side of the Danube the sick and wounded were left with a letter from Kutuzov entrusting them to the philanthropy of the enemy; despite the fact that the large hospitals and houses in Krems, converted into infirmaries, could no longer accommodate all the sick and wounded, despite all this, the stop at Krems and the victory over Mortier significantly raised the spirit of the troops. The most joyful, though unfair, rumors circulated throughout the army and in the main apartment about the imaginary approach of columns from Russia, about some kind of victory won by the Austrians, and about the retreat of the frightened Bonaparte.
Prince Andrei was during the battle with the Austrian general Schmitt, who was killed in this case. A horse was wounded under him, and he himself was slightly scratched in the arm by a bullet. As a sign of the special favor of the commander in chief, he was sent with the news of this victory to the Austrian court, which was no longer in Vienna, which was threatened French troops, and in Brunn. On the night of the battle, excited, but not tired (despite his seemingly slight build, Prince Andrei could endure physical fatigue much better than most strong people), arriving on horseback with a report from Dokhturov to Krems to Kutuzov, Prince Andrei was sent by courier to Brunn that same night. Departure by courier, in addition to awards, meant important step to the rise.
The night was dark and starry; the road was blackened between the whitening snow that had fallen the day before, on the day of the battle. Either sorting through the impressions of the past battle, or joyfully imagining the impression that he would make with the news of the victory, recalling the farewell to the commander-in-chief and comrades, Prince Andrei galloped in the mail cart, experiencing the feeling of a man who had been waiting for a long time and, finally, reached the beginning of the desired happiness. As soon as he closed his eyes, the firing of guns and guns was heard in his ears, which merged with the sound of wheels and the impression of victory. Now he began to imagine that the Russians were fleeing, that he himself had been killed; but he hurriedly woke up, with happiness, as if again learning that none of this had happened, and that, on the contrary, the French had fled. He again recalled all the details of the victory, his calm courage during the battle, and, having calmed down, dozed off ... After a dark starry night it was a bright, cheerful morning. The snow was melting in the sun, the horses were galloping fast, and indifferently to the right and to the left, new diverse forests, fields, villages passed.
At one of the stations, he overtook a convoy of Russian wounded. The Russian officer who was driving the transport, lounging on the front cart, shouted something, scolding the soldier with rude words. Six or more pale, bandaged and dirty wounded were shaking along the rocky road in long German bows. Some of them spoke (he heard the Russian dialect), others ate bread, the heaviest ones silently, with meek and painful childlike participation, looked at their courier galloping past.
Prince Andrei ordered to stop and asked the soldier in what case they were wounded. “The day before yesterday on the Danube,” answered the soldier. Prince Andrei took out a purse and gave the soldier three gold coins.
“All of them,” he added, addressing the approaching officer. - Get well, guys, - he turned to the soldiers, - there is still a lot to do.
- What, adjutant, what news? the officer asked, apparently wanting to talk.
- Good ones! Forward, - he shouted to the driver and galloped on.
It was already completely dark when Prince Andrei drove into Brunn and saw himself surrounded high houses, the lights of shops, windows of houses and lanterns, beautiful carriages rustling along the pavement and all that atmosphere of a big busy city, which is always so attractive to a military man after the camp. Prince Andrei, despite the fast ride and sleepless night, approaching the palace, felt even more lively than the day before. Only the eyes shone with a feverish brilliance, and thoughts changed with extreme rapidity and clarity. Again, all the details of the battle were vividly presented to him, no longer vaguely, but definitely, in a concise presentation, which he made in his imagination to Emperor Franz. He vividly presented himself with random questions that could be made to him, and the answers that he would make to them. He believed that he would immediately be presented to the emperor. But at the large entrance of the palace an official ran out to him and, recognizing him as a courier, escorted him to another entrance.
– From the corridor to the right; there, Euer Hochgeboren, [Your Honor,] ​​you will find the adjutant's wing on duty, - the official told him. “He takes him to the Minister of War.
The adjutant on duty, who met Prince Andrei, asked him to wait and went to the Minister of War. Five minutes later the adjutant wing returned and, leaning especially politely and letting Prince Andrei go ahead of him, led him through the corridor to the office where the minister of war was studying. The aide-de-camp wing, by his refined courtesy, seemed to want to protect himself from the Russian adjutant's attempts at familiarity. The joyful feeling of Prince Andrei weakened significantly when he approached the door of the office of the Minister of War. He felt insulted, and the feeling of insult passed at the same instant, imperceptibly for him, into a feeling of contempt based on nothing. A resourceful mind at the same instant suggested to him the point of view from which he had the right to despise both the adjutant and the minister of war. “It must be very easy for them to win victories without smelling gunpowder!” he thought. His eyes narrowed contemptuously; he entered the office of the Minister of War with particular slowness. This feeling was even more intensified when he saw the Minister of War sitting over big table and the first two minutes did not pay attention to the newcomer. The Minister of War lowered his bald head with gray temples between two wax candles and read, marking the papers with a pencil. He finished reading without raising his head as the door opened and footsteps were heard.
“Take this and pass it on,” said the Minister of War to his adjutant, handing over the papers and not yet paying attention to the courier.
Prince Andrei felt that either of all the affairs that occupied the Minister of War, the actions of the Kutuzov army could least of all interest him, or the Russian courier had to be made to feel this. But I don't care, he thought. The Minister of War moved the rest of the papers, smoothed their edges with edges, and raised his head. He had an intelligent and characteristic head. But at the same moment he turned to Prince Andrei, the intelligent and firm expression on the face of the Minister of War, apparently, habitually and consciously changed: on his face there was a stupid, feigned, not hiding his pretense, smile of a man who receives many petitioners one after another .
- From General Field Marshal Kutuzov? - he asked. “Good news, I hope?” Was there a collision with Mortier? Victory? It's time!
He took the dispatch, which was in his name, and began to read it with a sad expression.
- Oh my god! My God! Schmit! he said in German. What a misfortune, what a misfortune!
Having run through the dispatch, he laid it on the table and looked at Prince Andrei, apparently thinking something.
- Oh, what a misfortune! Deal, you say, decisive? Mortier is not taken, however. (He thought.) I am very glad that you brought good news, although the death of Schmitt is a dear price for victory. His Majesty will certainly wish to see you, but not today. Thank you, take a rest. Be at the exit after the parade tomorrow. However, I will let you know.
The stupid smile that had disappeared during the conversation reappeared on the face of the Minister of War.
- Goodbye, thank you very much. Sovereign Emperor will probably wish to see you,” he repeated and bowed his head.
When Prince Andrei left the palace, he felt that all the interest and happiness brought to him by victory had now been abandoned by him and transferred into the indifferent hands of the Minister of War and the courteous adjutant. His whole frame of mind instantly changed: the battle seemed to him a long-standing, distant memory.

Prince Andrei stayed in Brunn with his acquaintance, the Russian diplomat Bilibin.
“Ah, dear prince, there is no nicer guest,” said Bilibin, going out to meet Prince Andrei. “Franz, the prince’s things in my bedroom!” - he turned to the servant who saw off Bolkonsky. - What, the herald of victory? Perfectly. And I'm sick, as you can see.
Prince Andrei, having washed and dressed, went out into the luxurious office of the diplomat and sat down to the prepared dinner. Bilibin calmly sat down by the fireplace.
Prince Andrei, not only after his journey, but also after the entire campaign, during which he was deprived of all the comforts of purity and elegance of life, experienced a pleasant feeling of relaxation among those luxurious living conditions to which he had become accustomed since childhood. In addition, after the Austrian reception, he was pleased to talk, if not in Russian (they spoke French), but with a Russian person who, he assumed, shared the general Russian disgust (now felt especially vividly) for the Austrians.
Bilibin was a man of about thirty-five, single, of the same society as Prince Andrei. They had known each other in St. Petersburg, but they got to know each other even more closely during Prince Andrei's last visit to Vienna with Kutuzov. As Prince Andrei was a young man, promising to go far in the military field, so, and even more so, Bilibin promised in the diplomatic one. He was still a young man, but no longer a young diplomat, since he began to serve at the age of sixteen, he had been in Paris, in Copenhagen, and now occupied a rather significant place in Vienna. Both the chancellor and our envoy in Vienna knew him and cherished him. He was not one of those many diplomats who are obliged to have only negative virtues, not to do famous things and speak French in order to be very good diplomats; he was one of those diplomats who love and know how to work, and, despite his laziness, he sometimes spent his nights at his desk. He worked equally well, whatever the essence of the work. He was not interested in the question “why?”, but in the question “how?”. What the diplomatic matter was, he did not care; but to draw up skillfully, aptly and gracefully a circular, memorandum or report - in this he found great pleasure. Bilibin's merits were valued, except written works, and also by his art of addressing and speaking in higher spheres.
Bilibin loved conversation just as he loved work, only when the conversation could be elegantly witty. In society, he constantly waited for an opportunity to say something remarkable and entered into a conversation only under these conditions. Bilibin's conversation was constantly sprinkled with originally witty, complete phrases of common interest.
These phrases were prepared in Bilibin's internal laboratory, as if on purpose, of a portable nature, so that insignificant secular people could conveniently memorize them and transfer them from living rooms to living rooms. And indeed, les mots de Bilibine se colportaient dans les salons de Vienne, [Bilibin's reviews diverged in Viennese living rooms] and often had an impact on so-called important matters.
His thin, emaciated, yellowish face was all covered with large wrinkles, which always seemed to be as cleanly and painstakingly washed as the tips of fingers after a bath. The movements of these wrinkles constituted the main play of his physiognomy. Now his forehead was wrinkled in wide folds, his eyebrows went up, then his eyebrows went down, and large wrinkles formed on his cheeks. Deep-set, small eyes always looked directly and cheerfully.
“Well, now tell us your exploits,” he said.
Bolkonsky in the most modest way, never mentioning himself, told the case and the reception of the Minister of War.
- Ils m "ont recu avec ma nouvelle, comme un chien dans un jeu de quilles, [They accepted me with this news, as they accept a dog when it interferes with the game of skittles,] he concluded.
Bilibin grinned and loosened the folds of his skin.
- Cependant, mon cher, - he said, examining his nail from afar and picking up the skin above his left eye, - malgre la haute estime que je professe pour le Orthodox Russian army, j "avoue que votre victoire n" est pas des plus victorieuses. [However, my dear, with all due respect to the Orthodox Russian army, I believe that your victory is not the most brilliant.]
He continued the same way French, pronouncing in Russian only those words that he contemptuously wanted to emphasize.
- How? You, with all your weight, attacked the unfortunate Mortier with one division, and this Mortier is slipping between your hands? Where is the victory?
“However, speaking seriously,” answered Prince Andrei, “we can still say without boasting that this is a little better than Ulm ...
“Why didn’t you take us one, at least one marshal?”
- Because not everything is done as expected, and not as regularly as in the parade. We thought, as I told you, to go to the rear by seven o'clock in the morning, and did not arrive even at five in the evening.
"Why didn't you come at seven o'clock in the morning?" You should have come at seven o'clock in the morning, - Bilibin said smiling, - you should have come at seven o'clock in the morning.
“Why didn’t you convince Bonaparte by diplomatic means that it was better for him to leave Genoa? - Prince Andrei said in the same tone.
“I know,” Bilibin interrupted, “you think it’s very easy to take marshals while sitting on the sofa in front of the fireplace.” It's true, but still, why didn't you take it? And do not be surprised that not only the Minister of War, but also the august emperor and King Franz will not be very happy with your victory; and I, the unfortunate secretary of the Russian embassy, ​​do not feel any need to give my Franz a taler as a token of joy and let him go with his Liebchen [darling] to the Prater ... True, there is no Prater here.
He looked directly at Prince Andrei and suddenly pulled the collected skin off his forehead.
“Now it’s my turn to ask you why, my dear,” said Bolkonsky. - I confess that I don’t understand, maybe there are diplomatic subtleties beyond my weak mind, but I don’t understand: Mack loses an entire army, Archduke Ferdinand and Archduke Karl do not give any signs of life and make mistakes after mistakes, finally, one Kutuzov wins a real victory, destroys the charme [charm] of the French, and the Minister of War is not even interested in knowing the details.
“It is from this, my dear. Voyez vous, mon cher: [You see, my dear:] hooray! for the tsar, for Russia, for the faith! Tout ca est bel et bon, [all this is fine and good,] but what do we, I say, the Austrian court, care about your victories? Bring us your good news about the victory of Archduke Charles or Ferdinand - un archiduc vaut l "autre, [one archduke is worth another,] as you know - at least over a company of Bonaparte's fire brigade, this is another matter, we will thunder into cannons. Otherwise this , as if on purpose, can only tease us. Archduke Karl does nothing, Archduke Ferdinand is covered with disgrace. You leave Vienna, you no longer defend, comme si vous nous disiez: [as if you told us:] God is with us, and God is with you, with your capital. One general whom we all loved, Schmitt: you bring him under a bullet and congratulate us on the victory! ... You must admit that it is impossible to imagine more irritating than the news that you bring. comme unfait expres. [This is as if on purpose, as if on purpose.] Besides, well, if you won a brilliant victory, even if Archduke Karl won, what would change the general course of affairs? It's too late now that Vienna is occupied by French troops.
- How busy? Vienna busy?
- Not only busy, but Bonaparte is in Schönbrunn, and the count, our dear Count Vrbna, goes to him for orders.
Bolkonsky, after fatigue and the impressions of the journey, the reception, and especially after dinner, felt that he did not understand the full meaning of the words he heard.
“Count Lichtenfels was here this morning,” Bilibin continued, “and showed me a letter detailing the French parade in Vienna. Le prince Murat et tout le tremblement ... [Prince Murat and all that ...] You see that your victory is not very joyful, and that you cannot be accepted as a savior ...
“Really, it doesn’t matter to me, it doesn’t matter at all! - said Prince Andrei, beginning to understand that his news of the battle near Krems really had little importance in view of such events as the occupation of the capital of Austria. - How is Vienna taken? And what about the bridge and the famous tete de pont, [bridge fortification,] and Prince Auersperg? We had rumors that Prince Auersperg was defending Vienna,” he said.

On February 27, 1815, the three-masted ship "Pharaoh" returned to Marseille from the next voyage. Captain Leclerc was not destined to set foot on native land: He died of a fever on the high seas. The young sailor Edmond Dantes took command, fulfilling another last will of the captain: the “pharaoh” enters the island of Elba, where Dantes passes the package received from the hands of Leclerc to Marshal Bertrand and meets with the disgraced emperor himself. Dantes is given a letter to be delivered to Paris, Mr. Noirtier - one of the conspirators preparing the return to the throne of Napoleon.

The owner of the "Pharaoh" Morrel invites Dantes to officially assume the position of captain of the ship. Envy-ridden accountant of the shipping company Danglars decides to remove Dantes. Together with a retired soldier, and now a simple fisherman, Fernand Mondego, who competes with Dantes for the right to marry the beautiful Mercedes, and the tailor Caderousse, who robbed Edmond's father during the voyage, Danglars composes an anonymous letter to the assistant prosecutor Marcel de Villefort. The meaning of the denunciation: Dantes is a secret agent of the Bonapartists. During the interrogation, Dantes, without hiding, everything is as it was, tells Villefort about his visit to Elba. There is no corpus delicti; Villefort is ready to release the prisoner, but, after reading Marshal Bertrand's letter, he realizes that his happiness and life itself depend on this game of chance. After all, the addressee, Mr. Noirtier, a dangerous conspirator, is his father! It is not enough to burn the accursed letter, one must also get rid of Dantès, who can involuntarily announce the whole story - and as a result, de Villefort will lose not only his place, but also the hand of his bride Rene de Saint-Meran (she is the daughter of an old royalist; the views of Mr. Noirtier, his relationship with the groom is a mystery to them). Dantes is sentenced to life imprisonment in the Château d'If, a political prison in the middle of the sea, not far from Marseille...

Five years pass. Dantes is close to despair, he decides to die of starvation. Suddenly, one evening, a dull rattle behind the wall reaches his ears. He is not alone here, someone is clearly digging a hole in the direction of his dungeon. Edmond starts digging the opposite tunnel. Many days of work are rewarded with the joy of meeting a comrade in misfortune. Abbot Faria - that's the name of the prisoner from the next cell - spent four years longer than Dantes in the Chateau d'If. Digging his hole, he hoped to break through to the outer wall of the prison, jump into the sea and swim to freedom. Alas, he miscalculated! Edmond comforts the abbot: there are now two of them, which means they can continue what they started with double energy. The abbot's strength is running out, soon - when he is close to salvation, he becomes seriously ill. Before his death, he initiates Dantes into the secret of the myriad treasure hidden by Cardinal Spada on the island of Monte Cristo three hundred years ago.

Having transferred the body of the abbot to his cell, Dantes hides in a bag in which the dead man was placed. In the morning, not noticing the substitution, they throw him into the sea - this is how the inhabitants of the Chateau d'If have been buried since the founding of the prison. Edmond is saved! He is picked up by smugglers. One of them, Jacopo, becomes a loyal companion of Dantes. A few months later, Edmond finally reaches the island of Monte Cristo. The treasures of Abbot Faria are truly innumerable.

During the long years of Dantes's absence in the fate of those who were guilty of his suffering, significant changes also took place, Fernand Mondego rose to the rank of general (now his name is Comte de Morcer). Mercedes became his wife and bore him a son. Danglars is a wealthy banker. De Villefort is the royal prosecutor. Caderousse has said goodbye to the tailor's needle and scissors and runs a rural inn. ...God sends a strange guest to Caderousse. Abbot Busoni, who, according to him, confessed the dying Edmond Dantes, must fulfill the last will of the deceased. Dantes handed him a diamond, the money from the sale of which should be divided into five parts: equally - Mercedes, Danglars, Fernand, Caderousse and old Dantes. Caderousse is blinded by the brilliance of the diamond. He tells Abbot Busoni that Dantes was slandered by those whom he decided to do good, that Mercedes did not remain faithful to him. Yes, he, Caderousse, was a witness to the writing of the denunciation - but what could he do! Danglars and Fernand would have killed him on the spot if he had hinted at the unseemliness of their maliciousness! As for old Dantes, he did not have the strength to endure the blow of fate (in fact, Caderousse robbed him to the skin, and Edmond's father died of hunger). He, he, Caderousse, is the only heir of poor Dantes! Abbé Busoni hands Caderousse the diamond and disappears in the morning...

At the same time, Lord Wilmore, an agent of the banking house of Thomson and French, comes to the mayor of Marseille. He asks permission to look through the investigation file of the Abbe Faria, who died in If prison. He also has another assignment: to pay the debts of Mr. Morrel, the owner of a shipping company that is on the verge of collapse. last hope Morrel was on his flagship - the three-masted "Pharaoh", but that one - about evil rock! - dies in a shipwreck. Wilmore hands Morrel a six-figure promissory note, draws up a three-month grace period. But what can be done in three months! On the day the reprieve expires, Morrel's daughter receives a letter signed "Sinbad the Sailor" indicating the address where she will find the purse intended for her illustrious father. In the purse - a check for the amount owed by Morrel and a diamond the size of a walnut: the dowry of Mademoiselle Morrel. Everything that happened is like a fairy tale: but this is not enough. The Pharaoh enters the port of Marseilles safe and sound on all sails! The city is a witness to this miracle. Lord Wilmore, aka Abbot Busoni, aka Count of Monte Cristo, aka Edmond Dantes, looks at the sailboat that has risen from the abyss with a smile: “Be happy, noble man! You deserve this happiness! .. And now - goodbye, philanthropy! Let the god of vengeance give way to me so that I punish the villains! .. ”With documents from his investigative file, which was stored along with the case of Abbé Faria, Edmond leaves Marseilles ...

The young Parisian aristocrat Baron Franz d'Epinay, going to the carnival in Rome, set out to visit the legendary Elba. However, he changes his route: the ship sails past the island of Monte Cristo, where, according to rumors, he lives in fairytale palace a man who calls himself Sinbad the Sailor. The owner of the island receives Franz with such cordiality and luxury, which, it seems, never dreamed of by any of the most powerful inhabitants of the earth. In Rome, Franz unexpectedly meets Sinbad, who lives in the same hotel with him under the name of the Count of Monte Cristo. Franz's friend Viscount Albert de Morcert is captured by robbers from a gang terrifying against the inhabitants of Rome, chieftain Luigi Vampa. The Count of Monte Cristo saves Albert: "Ataman, you have violated our agreement, my friend's friend is my friend." Wampa is in disarray, he sternly scolds his thugs: “We all owe our lives to the Count! How could you act so recklessly!” Albert invites the Count to visit Paris and be his guest of honor.

In the capital (where the count has not appeared before), Albert introduces him to his friends, including Morrel's son Maximillian. This acquaintance deeply excited the count - young Morrel is no less excited when he learns that the count uses the services of the Thomson and French banking house, which saved the life of their entire family.

The Count of Monte Cristo acquires several apartments in Paris and a house in Auteuil, at 28 Rue Fontaine, formerly owned by the Marquis de Saint-Meran. The Count's steward, Bertuccio, sees their move to this house as bad luck. Many years ago, he witnessed how de Villefort buried a newborn baby in the garden of his father-in-law's house - an illegitimate son from an unknown lady, Bertuccio hurried to dig up the box - the baby was still alive. Bertuccio's sister-in-law raised the boy, whom they named Benedetto. The offspring of eminent parents embarked on an unrighteous path and landed in jail. But that's just one of two scary stories hidden by Bertuccio from the Count. In June 1829, he stopped at the tavern of Caderousse - the day after the abbot Busoni had been there (Bertuccio does not realize that the abbot, who rescued him a long time ago from hard labor, and the count are one person). The Abbe Caderousse diamond was sold for 45 thousand francs to a reliable jeweler, and on the same night he stabbed him. Now Caderousse is where Bertuccio also happened to be: in hard labor. The count is sure that this is not the last drop in the cup that Caderousse must drink; as for Benedetto - if he is alive - he will serve as a weapon of God's punishment ...

The city is full of rumors about the mysterious count and his wealth. At the Danglars bank, the Count opens "unlimited credit". Danglars questions the capabilities of the count: everything in the world has its limits. The count ironically: "For you - maybe, but not for me." - "No one has counted my cash register yet!" - Danglars is wounded. “In that case, I am the first one who will have to do this,” the count promises him. Monte Cristo draws closer not only to Danglars, who did not recognize poor Edmond in him, but also to the de Villefort family. The Count wins the favor of Madame de Villefort: the servant of Count Ali saved her from an accident and his son Villefort from marrying her (Villefort also has a daughter from his first marriage, Valentina, bound by bonds of love with Maximillian Morrel, but forced by her relatives to marry Franz d' Epine). It is as if fate itself opens wide the doors in the houses of his sworn enemies for the Count of Monte Cristo, informs him of their other victims. The pupil of Dantes-Monte Cristo, the daughter of Pasha Janina, the marvelous beauty Gaide (there are rumors in Paris that she is the mistress of the count) recognizes in the Opera the man who gave the Turks a fortress that defended the city where her father ruled for two thousand purses of gold, and Gaide herself was twelve years old as a girl sold into slavery to the Turkish sultan. This man's name was Fernand Mondego; he is now known as Comte de Morcert, lieutenant-general, member of the House of Peers. Gaide was redeemed by Monte Cristo from the Sultan, the count swore revenge on the one who killed her father and she herself languished in captivity. He is not at all surprised that this scoundrel is Fernand: a betrayer once risks remaining a traitor to the end.

Luxurious lunch at the house of Monte Cristo. The first blows prepared by the count for his offenders. Villefort turns pale when the count informs all the guests that he has found the skeleton of a baby in the garden, buried alive under the previous owner. Danglars learns that, playing on the stock exchange, he suffered losses in the amount of over a million francs (the count placed in the newspaper false information about the coup in Spain, and Danglars hastened to get rid of the shares of the Bank of Madrid). Villefort informs Madame Danglars that the count seems to be privy to their secret: the unfortunate child was their illegitimate son. “You buried my child alive! God, this is your revenge!" exclaims Madame Danglars. “No, revenge is still waiting for us, and the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo will have to carry it out!” Villefort undertakes at all costs to find out the whole truth about the count; but the Abbé Busoni and Lord Wilmore, who found themselves in Paris, give him very contradictory information. The Count not only remains unrecognized by playing these two roles, but also confuses the tracks. A young man named Andrei Cavalcanti appears in Paris (one count, who showered him with bounty, knows that this is the runaway convict Benedetto). Immediately, Caderousse also grows out of the ground, assuring Benedetto that he is his offspring, and defrauding the young villain of money under the threat of breaking the brilliant career that has opened before him. Cavalcanti-Benedetto de Villefort is forced to obey: he laid eyes on the daughter of Danglars, a girl with a rich dowry. Wouldn't it be better, he suggests to Caderousse, to give the Count a good shake than to steal money from him with which the madman Monte Cristo lends him? Caderousse climbs into the Count's house - and comes face to face with the Abbé Busoni. The old convict betrays the young; he writes, under the abbot's dictation, a letter to Danglars, explaining who his son-in-law is in fact. Leaving the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, Caderousse runs into Benedetto's knife. Before he expires, the abbot lets him make sure that he, Monte Cristo and Edmond Dantes are one person ...

A hail of misfortune rains down on de Villefort's head: one after another, his father-in-law and mother-in-law suddenly die, then an old lackey who drank lemonade from a carafe in his father Noirtier's room. The doctor comes to the conclusion: they were all poisoned. The perpetrator lives in this house. All the servants of Villefort immediately ask for their resignation. The case gets a lot of publicity. And here - new blow: Noirtier upsets the wedding of Valentina and Franz d'Epinay (he promised this to his beloved granddaughter). Noirtier's secretaire contains a document stating that in February 1815 he killed in a fair duel General de Quesnel, Baron d'Epinay, who did not want to join the Bonapartist conspiracy.

Now it's Fernand's turn. There was a scandal in the House of Peers: the newspapers published a report about his low behavior during the siege of the fortress of Ioannina by the Turks. Hyde comes to the hearings in the Chamber and presents documents to the peers, which confirm: all this is true, the position of General de Morser in society was bought at the price of betrayal. Albert de Morser challenges the Count to a duel, standing up for his father, but, after the whole truth about Fernand Mondego is revealed to him, he asks Dantes for forgiveness. Edmond is begging for this and Madame de Morser, who still loves him Mercedes. The Count accepts Albert's apology; on the same day he and his mother leave Paris. Morcer repeats his son's challenge, but after the Count of Monte Cristo reveals his true name to him, the dishonored general puts a bullet in his forehead.

Danglars is on the verge of ruin. He has to pay all the new bills that come to him proxies graph. His last hope is that he will be able to make a decent party for his daughter: the young Cavalcanti is the confidant of Monte Cristo, and the hand of the giver is unlikely to become impoverished. After the signing of the marriage contract, the words from the letter of Caderousse sound like a bolt from the blue: “Andrea Cavalcanti is a runaway convict!” Eugenie leaves Paris. Danglars no longer has a daughter or money. He leaves a farewell note to his wife (“I let you go the way I married you: with money, but without a good reputation”) and runs aimlessly. Andrea-Benedetto also runs, hoping to cross the border; but the gendarmes stop him. At the trial, he says: his father is the prosecutor de Villefort!

The last, most terrible blow of fate in the heart of de Villefort: Valentine is poisoned. He has no more doubts: the killer is his wife, who obtained an inheritance for herself and her son in such a terrible way (old Noirtier declared his granddaughter the only heiress). De Villefort threatens his wife with a scaffold. In desperation, Madame de Villefort takes poison and poisons the boy: " good mother does not abandon the child for whom she became a criminal. Villefort loses his mind; wandering around the garden of the house of the Count of Monte Cristo, he digs graves first in one place, then in another ...

The act of vengeance has been completed. Villefort is insane. Caderousse and Fernand are dead. Danglars was captured by robbers from the gang of Luigi Vampa and spends the last money on bread and water: the thugs sell him a crust for a thousand francs, and in total he has less than fifty thousand in his pocket. The Count of Monte Cristo grants him life and freedom. Turned gray in one night, Danglars drags out the existence of a beggar.

Evil is punished. But why did the young Valentina de Villefort burn in his flame, not at all sharing the guilt of her father and stepmother? Why should Maximillian Morrel, the son of the one who made attempts to rescue Dantes from prison for many years in a row, grieve for her all his life? Leaving Paris, the Count performs the miracle of Valentina's resurrection. Her death was staged by him in a community with the old man Noirtier: a terrible poison was neutralized by a miraculous medicine - one of the generous gifts of Abbé Faria.

Returning to the island of Monte Cristo, having given happiness to Maximillian and Valentine, Edmond Dantes, the martyr of the Chateau d'If and the Parisian angel of revenge, leaves a letter to young people that sounds both like his confession and like a mandate to two pure hearts: “There is neither happiness nor misfortune. Everything is relative. Only those who have suffered immensely can experience bliss. One must taste the taste of death in order to taste life with pleasure. All wisdom is in a nutshell: wait and hope! .. "

The story of the Count of Monte Cristo, despite all its fantasticness, is based on real events - the story of the French shoemaker François Picot. Like Edmond Dantes, Pico went to prison on a false charge, was released and managed to take revenge on those whose denunciation cost him a prison sentence. For one of his most famous novels, Dumas embellished the original story somewhat - and the result was forever included in the list of the most adventure novels in world history.

For the first time, Dantes appears before readers in the form of a sailor from the merchant ship "The Pharaon" - young (only 19 years old), but extremely successful and promising. The ship's generally successful voyage is marred by the death of its captain; the owner of the merchant ship Morrel (Morrel) reads Dantes for the vacant seat. Dantes goes to meet his father and his beloved, the beautiful Mercedes (Mercédès); Edmond and Mercedes finally decide to get married. Their plans, however, are violated by the intrigues of the girl's cousin Fernand (Fernand), the accountant Danglars (Danglars) and the tailor Caderousse (Caderousse). The first himself dreams of marrying Mercedes, the second fears that Dantes will reveal his financial fraud, and the third is simply jealous of an extremely successful young man. The Trinity draws up a denunciation in which Dantes is accused of Bonapartism. The denunciation is considered by the public prosecutor Gerard de Villefort (Gérard de Villefort); he initially plans to release the apparently innocent young man, but later learns that the late captain of the Pharaoh gave Edmond a letter for the Bonapartist Noirtier, who is the father of Villefort. Fearing that kinship with the Bonapartist, coupled with the release of Dantes, could cost him his career, Villefort passes a clearly unfair sentence, sending Dantes to the terrible castle of If (Chateau d "If). This prison is a bastion located on a remote island, serves as a place of detention for the most dangerous political criminals and has a reputation as a place where it is simply impossible to escape.

After six years in the solitary confinement of Ifa Castle, Edmond loses his will to live and decides to commit suicide. Deciding to starve himself to death, he begins secretly throwing food out the window; he almost succeeds in achieving his goal - but mysterious sounds in the walls arouse curiosity in Dantes. Having abandoned the hunger strike, Dantes begins to quietly dig a passage in the direction of the sounds; soon he manages to get in touch with the source of the mysterious squeaks - the Italian priest Faria.

Abbot Faria, like Dantes, languishes in the castle of If; unlike Dantes, the priest is still determined to go free. Communicating with Faria, Dantes receives many valuable lessons in various sciences - from mathematics and economics to history and philosophy; more importantly, the sharp mind of the abbot helps Dantes to figure out those to whom Edmond owes imprisonment in the Castle.

Faria dies without having time to dig a passage out; before his death, he shares with Dantes another important secret - the secret of the treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo (Monte Cristo). The death of Faria helps Dantes to go free - he takes the place of the corpse of the priest and the jailers throw him into the waters of the ocean. Having sailed to a nearby island, Dantes pretends to be a victim of a shipwreck; he is rescued and taken into their ranks by smugglers floating nearby. At the first opportunity, Edmond is convinced of the reality of the treasure of the island of Monte Cristo; several visits to the island make him an extremely wealthy man.

Dantes' wealth alone does not satisfy him - he is eager to take revenge on those who betrayed him. Returning to his homeland, Edmond learns about the death of his father; Dantes also learns that Mercedes eventually married Fernand. Taking the guise of Abbé Busoni, Dantes learns about what happened to his friends and enemies from one of the conspirators, Caderousse. According to Caderousse, after the arrest of Dantes, things are going uphill for Fernand and Danglars, while Morrel, who tried to save his young subordinate, this moment almost ruined. Dantes comes to the aid of Morrel, saving him from imminent bankruptcy and suicide - after which he begins to plan revenge on Danglars, Fernand and Villefort. It takes another 9 years for Dantes - known to the world under the name "Count of Monte Cristo" - to prepare plans. What was planned to be carried out is simply brilliant; Edmond methodically destroys everything that his opponents have achieved. Fernand, who has lost everything, commits suicide; Villefort is also deprived of all ranks and regalia - which in literally words drive him crazy. Danglars Monte Cristo ruins and forces him to flee the country; however, Dantes is not going to finally deal with the last of his opponents - he understands in time that revenge has become his only meaning of life and decides to stop while it is still possible.

Of all the novels by Alexandre Dumas, the story of the Count of Monte Cristo becomes the most successful; the writer earns a fortune on the novel (which almost immediately begins to spend very vigorously). In the future, the novel was repeatedly filmed.