The Count of Monte Cristo.

[rambo19]

I have never read this book.
Been meaning to for years, and as I go camping alot in the summer, I thought I would take it with me.

What I would like to know is, are there different versions?
Cheers.

[Goaty Bill 2]

I read the Wordsworth edition (you may remember them; virtually any classic for £0.99, now £1.99 from Amazon it appears), and thoroughly enjoyed the book.
In fact Wordsworth probably provided the majority of the 'classics' I read for quite a few years.

Always ensure you get an unabridged version of any translated works.


(The most extreme case I have seen was The Gulag Archipelago - reduced from 1800 pages down to less than 500 pages.
Useful perhaps for some, but missing huge swaths that I am finding fascinating and informative in the original text.)

[Derek Smith]

http://msdl.cs.mcgill.ca/people/tfeng/books/The%20...

[davepoth]

Aside from the sheer size of it, it's not a particularly intimidating read - it was originally published in a magazine in serialised form so the chapters themselves tend to be of a consistent length and quite contained; going a chapter at a time is a very viable strategy.

[grumbledoak]

My copy is performing vital work as a monitor stand. Please do let me know if it's worth actually reading.

[Goaty Bill 2]

grumbledoak said:

My copy is performing vital work as a monitor stand. Please do let me know if it's worth actually reading.

Heathen!

I found it highly entertaining and well worth reading.
It may not possess the cultural and political importance of an Orwell, or even Hugo, but it is one of those books that any gentleman person of education must have read at some time.

I also find that books written nearer the time in which the events are occurring will provide enormous insight into the culture and society that few academic histories will ever provide.

[TheJimi]

In short, read it

Outstanding book and beautifully written, imo.

[E65Ross]

rambo19 said:

I have never read this book.
Been meaning to for years, and as I go camping alot in the summer, I thought I would take it with me.

What I would like to know is, are there different versions?
Cheers.

The Count of Monte Cristo is probably my favourite book of all time. Not sure what version I read, but it was "unabridged". It's a long book, but well worth it!!

[robsa]

As long as it's unabridged you'll be fine. Absolutely brilliant book, easy to read, utterly engrossing. Everybody should read it!

[Alapeno]

The unabridged Robin Buss translation is the one to go for. I think this is the Penguin classic one.

I tried another unabridged version (Chapman and Hall) and couldn't get on with it. Apparently the language used by Dumas was quite modern and the English translator actually made it sound a lot older than it even did originally. I swapped to the Robin Buss one about a third of the way in and made all the difference.

Great book to read but it's the afterthought that made it worthwhile. It seems to have stayed in my head and gets better as time goes on.

[BigBen]

Well worth reading, albeit quite long. Also worth reading is a book called 'the black count' which is about Dumas' father where a lot of the inspiration for Monte Cristo was taken.