Free eBook, AI Voice, AudioBook: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Listen to the AudioBook: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

by Alexandre Dumas [père]

VOLUME ONE Chapter 1. Marseilles—The Arrival Chapter 2. Father and Son Chapter 3. The Catalans Chapter 4. Conspiracy Chapter 5. The Marriage Feast Chapter 6. The Deputy Procureur du Roi Chapter 7. The Examination Chapter 8. The Château d’If Chapter 9. The Evening of the Betrothal Chapter 10. The King’s Closet at the Tuileries Chapter 11. The Corsican Ogre Chapter 12. Father and Son Chapter 13. The Hundred Days Chapter 14. The Two Prisoners Chapter 15. Number 34 and Number 27 Chapter 16. A Learned Italian Chapter 17. The Abbé’s Chamber Chapter 18. The Treasure Chapter 19. The Third Attack Chapter 20. The Cemetery of the Château d’If Chapter 21. The Island of Tiboulen Chapter 22. The Smugglers Chapter 23. The Island of Monte Cristo Chapter 24. The Secret Cave Chapter 25. The Unknown Chapter 26. The Pont du Gard Inn Chapter 27. The Story

VOLUME TWO Chapter 28. The Prison Register Chapter 29. The House of Morrel & Son Chapter 30. The Fifth of September Chapter 31. Italy: Sinbad the Sailor Chapter 32. The Waking Chapter 33. Roman Bandits Chapter 34. The Colosseum Chapter 35. La Mazzolata Chapter 36. The Carnival at Rome. Chapter 37. The Catacombs of Saint Sebastian Chapter 38. The Rendezvous Chapter 39. The Guests Chapter 40. The Breakfast Chapter 41. The Presentation Chapter 42. Monsieur Bertuccio Chapter 43. The House at Auteuil Chapter 44. The Vendetta Chapter 45. The Rain of Blood Chapter 46. Unlimited Credit Chapter 47. The Dappled Grays

VOLUME THREE Chapter 48. Ideology Chapter 49. Haydée Chapter 50. The Morrel Family Chapter 51. Pyramus and Thisbe Chapter 52. Toxicology Chapter 53. Robert le Diable Chapter 54. A Flurry in Stocks Chapter 55. Major Cavalcanti Chapter 56. Andrea Cavalcanti Chapter 57. In the Lucern Patch Chapter 58. M. Noirtier de Villefort Chapter 59. The Will Chapter 60. The Telegraph Chapter 61. How a Gardener May Get Rid of the Dormice Chapter 62. Ghosts Chapter 63. The Dinner Chapter 64. The Beggar Chapter 65. A Conjugal Scene Chapter 66. Matrimonial Projects Chapter 67. The Office of the King’s Attorney Chapter 68. A Summer Ball Chapter 69. The Inquiry Chapter 70. The Ball Chapter 71. Bread and Salt Chapter 72. Madame de Saint-Méran Chapter 73. The Promise

VOLUME FOUR Chapter 74. The Villefort Family Vault Chapter 75. A Signed Statement Chapter 76. Progress of Cavalcanti the Younger Chapter 77. Haydée Chapter 78. We hear From Yanina Chapter 79. The Lemonade Chapter 80. The Accusation Chapter 81. The Room of the Retired Baker Chapter 82. The Burglary Chapter 83. The Hand of God Chapter 84. Beauchamp Chapter 85. The Journey Chapter 86. The Trial Chapter 87. The Challenge Chapter 88. The Insult Chapter 89. The Night Chapter 90. The Meeting Chapter 91. Mother and Son Chapter 92. The Suicide Chapter 93. Valentine Chapter 94. Maximilian’s Avowal Chapter 95. Father and Daughter

VOLUME FIVE Chapter 96. The Contract Chapter 97. The Departure for Belgium Chapter 98. The Bell and Bottle Tavern Chapter 99. The Law Chapter 100. The Apparition Chapter 101. Locusta Chapter 102. Valentine Chapter 103. Maximilian Chapter 104. Danglars’ Signature Chapter 105. The Cemetery of Père-Lachaise Chapter 106. Dividing the Proceeds Chapter 107. The Lions’ Den Chapter 108. The Judge Chapter 109. The Assizes Chapter 110. The Indictment Chapter 111. Expiation Chapter 112. The Departure Chapter 113. The Past Chapter 114. Peppino Chapter 115. Luigi Vampa’s Bill of Fare Chapter 116. The Pardon Chapter 117. The Fifth of October

VOLUME ONE

Chapter 1. Marseilles—The Arrival

On the 24th of February, 1815, the look-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the three-master, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples.

As usual, a pilot put off immediately, and rounding the Château d’If, got on board the vessel between Cape Morgiou and Rion island.

Immediately, and according to custom, the ramparts of Fort Saint-Jean were covered with spectators; it is always an event at Marseilles for a ship to come into port, especially when this ship, like the Pharaon, has been built, rigged, and laden at the old Phocee docks, and belongs to an owner of the city.

The ship drew on and had safely passed the strait, which some volcanic shock has made between the Calasareigne and Jaros islands; had doubled Pomègue, and approached the harbor under topsails, jib, and spanker, but so slowly and sedately that the idlers, with that instinct which is the forerunner of the merchant’s shrewdness, began to ask each other what could be the cause of this tardiness.

The cause was soon made apparent. While the other vessels were manoeuvring as if they had the current and the wind on their side, the Pharaon seemed to labor against both.

“What’s the matter with the Pharaon?” said one of the dock-workers to another, leaning over the quay.

“I don’t know,” replied the second; “but it’s strange, as she is a fine boat, and her captain, an old sea-dog, knows this port as well as his own pocket.”

At that moment, the wind, which had been blowing from the southwest, suddenly dropped, and the sea became perfectly calm. The Pharaon was barely moving.

“It is the current that is against her,” said a third man, who had the look of a retired sailor. “They’re trying to make the harbor too quickly, and they are fighting the current, which is strong here. They should have tacked earlier.”

“Perhaps,” said the first speaker; “but look! they are lowering a boat. They are going to send for a tug.”

“No,” said the old sailor, observing the direction of the vessel, “they don’t need a tug. They’re going to drop anchor and wait for the tide to turn. They are wise enough not to struggle against the sea.”

Indeed, the captain, who was visible on the quarterdeck, made a signal, and the first mate, descending into the long-boat, was rowed toward the dock.

The spectators, whose curiosity was by no means satisfied, turned their attention to the quay where the most important business was to be transacted—the unloading of the ship.

The Pharaon was the property of Messrs. Morrel & Son, one of the most respected ship-owners in Marseilles. She had left the port six months ago, bound for Alexandria, by way of Naples and Smyrna. She was expected back a month earlier, and her late arrival caused some anxiety. The owners had already made inquiries at Toulon and Antibes, without receiving any news.

The news of her arrival quickly spread through the town, and a crowd began to gather on the quay, as it always does when a ship is expected. But there was one person in particular whose heart beat faster than all the others at the sight of the three-master.

This was a young man, eighteen or nineteen years old, with handsome features, dark hair, and a complexion that betrayed his Italian origin. He was dressed simply, but with a certain elegance appropriate to his station. This was Edmond Dantès, the first mate of the Pharaon, and, it was rumored, the intended husband of Mademoiselle Mercédès, the beautiful Catalan girl.

He had been waiting since early morning, pacing the quay with an agitation that made him conspicuous among the other dock workers and curious onlookers. He was too excited to talk, and his eyes were fixed on the sea, searching for the first sign of the ship.

When at last the signal from Notre-Dame de la Garde pierced the air, Dantès felt a thrill run through him. He seized a telescope from a neighboring lookout post, raised it to his eye, and scanned the horizon.

“There she is!” he exclaimed, his voice trembling with emotion. “There she is! The Pharaon!”

The crowd surged forward, eager to see the vessel that had caused so much speculation.

“So she’s come at last!” cried a man known as Lapensier, a kind of superintendent of the port works. “Dantès was right to have faith in her!”

“Yes,” replied a woman, adjusting a basket of eels on her head, “but where is the captain? I was told Captain Leclere was aboard.”

“He is aboard, Madame,” said Dantès, turning around, his face radiant with joy, “and I hope to bring him ashore before nightfall.”

“And Mademoiselle Mercédès?” asked the woman. “Is she here too?”

“She is waiting for me at the Cannebière,” Dantès replied with a blush. “We are to be married the day after the Pharaon is unloaded.”

The good wishes and congratulations rained down upon the young sailor. Dantès, however, was distracted, constantly looking back toward the sea.

The ship was now closer, but its slow progress was still surprising.

“It is odd that Captain Leclere does not make more haste,” muttered Lapensier. “He is usually so eager to put his cargo ashore.”

“Perhaps he is ill,” suggested the eel-seller.

Dantès shook his head. “No, Captain Leclere is not ill. I received a letter from him in Naples, dated the 10th of January. He was in good health then, and mentioned he would be back in Marseilles on the 25th of February at the latest.”

“But today is the 24th,” observed Lapensier.

“Yes, but it is nearly dark,” Dantès replied, consulting a large pocket watch. “They must have been delayed by the wind.”

While they spoke, the first mate of the Pharaon had landed and was making his way toward the harbor master’s office. Dantès rushed to meet him.

“Ah, Francine!” he cried, grasping the man’s hand. “What kept you? I thought you were never coming!”

Francine, a stout man with a sun-beaten face, looked troubled.

“Dantès,” he said, his voice low, “we have had a devil of a time since Naples.”

“What happened? Was there a storm?”

“No, worse than a storm. We were held up at Elba.”

Dantès frowned. “Elba? What were you doing at Elba?”

“The captain was ordered to stop there. He had a letter to deliver to the governor, Baron de Neuch, and receive instructions for his return.”

Dantès’s face paled. “A letter? To the governor of Elba? But Captain Leclere had no such orders when he left Marseilles!”

“It seems he received them in Naples,” Francine replied gravely. “And the instructions he brought back were not for us, but for you, Dantès.”

“For me?”

“Yes. A letter to deliver to your employer, M. Morrel.”

“And where is the captain now?” Dantès asked anxiously.

“That,” said Francine, lowering his voice further, “is the trouble. The Captain died at Porto Ferraio.”

Dantès staggered back as if struck. “Captain Leclere dead! Who told you that?”

“I saw it myself. A sudden fever took him on the island. He was buried there three days ago.”

“My poor captain!” cried Dantès, tears springing to his eyes. “And who is in command of the Pharaon now?”

“I am, provisionally. But Dantès, I must tell you, this voyage has been fatal for us. The Captain’s death, the delay at Elba—it will not be good for Morrel & Son.”

Dantès, still overcome by the news of his captain’s death, could only stammer: “We must go to M. Morrel at once. He must know everything.”

He turned toward the counting house of Morrel & Son, which was at the end of the quay. Francine followed him. The crowd, sensing a drama, also began to move in that direction.

You can download, read online, find more details of this full eBook The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas from

And convert it to the AudioBook with any voice you like in our AI Voice AudioBook app.