1. Count of Monte Cristo
Alexandre Dumas

2. Alexandre Dumas Sr. July 24, 1802 – December 5, 1870 French writer
Part Haitian
Historical novels of high adventure

4. Alexandre Dumas Sr. Born in a village northeast of Paris
Father: He was a leading general in Napoleon's army, died (Dumas was almost 4 when this happened)
By the time young Dumas was born his family had lost all pretensions to wealth, and his widowed mother struggled to give him a decent education.

5. Alexandre Dumas Sr.
Even though he had barely any education, he read anything he could get his hands on
His mother's stories of his father's brave military acts during the glory years of Napoleon I of France spawned his vivid imagination for adventure and heroes

6. Alexandre Dumas Sr.
When he was older he began to write articles for magazines as well as plays for the theatre
In 1829 his first solo play, Henry III and his Court, was produced, meeting with great public acclaim.

7. Alexandre Dumas Sr.
Dumas believed in the principles of social equality and individual rights, and he tried to infuse his dramatic works with these principles.

8. Alexandre Dumas Sr.
February 1, 1840, he married an actress, Ida Ferrier, born Marguerite-Joséphine Ferrand (1811 – 1859) but continued having numerous affairs with other women, fathering at least four illegitimate children.

9. Alexandre Dumas Sr.
His writing earned him a great deal of money, but Dumas was frequently broke or in debt as a result of spending lavishly on women and high living.
Love affairs, foreign adventures, and liked to spend money.
Generous man

10. Alexandre Dumas Sr.
Dumas suffered a stroke on December 5, 1870 in his son’s home in France.
He was buried in the cemetery of Villers-Cotterêts. In 2002, his body was moved to the Panthéon in Paris, where Dumas rests among such other French literary greats as Émile Zola, Victor Hugo and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

11. The Count of Monte Cristo
Dumas' most popular work
Completed in 1844
Story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Middle East during the historical events of 1815–1838

12. The Count of Monte Cristo
It is primarily concerned with themes of justice, vengeance, mercy, and forgiveness, and is told in the style of an adventure story.
When first released, the Catholic church in France condemned it because of its powerful message it presented the reader.

13. The Count of Monte Cristo
Force of divine justice
Focuses on man-man hatred
Monte Cristo's character does not arouse sympathy, yet somehow his actions are justified. He is almost a mythological hero.
These are not the reasons why The Count of Monte Cristo is often listed as one of the ten best novels of all time. It is rather the imagery of man acting as a force of divine justice that enthralls the senses. The Count if Monte Cristo focuses on man-man hatred. This hatred is far more powerful than the man-woman love contained within the work. The psychological portrayal of vengeance is one that fascinates yet it is a portrayal that also repels. Monte Cristo's character does not arouse sympathy, yet somehow his actions are justified. He is almost a mythological hero. A supernatural aura creates an adventure tale that is hard to resist.

14. Napoleon Bonaparte

15. Napoleon Bonaparte
Key figure in French politics during the first quarter of the nineteenth century
General who rose to prominence during the French Revolution
Saved the revolutionary government from an angry mob and led the French army to victories

16. Napoleon Bonaparte French senate voted him emperor
Widely beloved by the people
He abolished serfdom and feudalism and guaranteed basic human rights
Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism. It was a condition of bondage which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted in some countries until the mid-19th century.
Serfs who occupied a plot of land were required to work for the Lord of the Manor who owned that land, and in return were entitled to protection, justice and the right to exploit certain fields within the manor to maintain their own subsistence. Serfs were often required not only to work on the lord's fields, but also his mines, forests and roads.

17. Napoleon Bonaparte
He simplified the court system, took steps to make education universally available, and standardized national codes of law to ensure that the rights and liberties won during the French Revolution— equality before the law and freedom of religion— could not be taken away.
Dogged by an increasing number of enemies and looming military defeat, Napoleon was forced to step down from his throne

18. Napoleon Bonaparte He was exiled to the Mediterranean island of Elba
Napoleon escaped from Elba, secretly sailed to France, and marched on Paris, defeating the royal troops. (It is information about this return to power that is contained in the letter Dantès is caught conveying to Paris.)