It has long been a goal of mine to read this book. The size was daunting, I have to admit. But the story is so immersive that I lost myself within its pages.

All the high acclaim for this book is warranted. It is an absolutely riveting read, transporting the reader to France in the 1800’s, a time of unrest and revolution, a time when being associated with Napoleon was a death sentence. We meet Edmond Dante’s, a young, hard working, loving young man who is wrongly accused and thrown into one of the worst prisons possible.

What an adventure we share with Edmond- from his time in prison to his escape to his evolvement into the Count and to achieving his life goal of seeking revenge on all who wronged him.

Yes, I knew what the book was about. But to read it and actually be transported by Dumas’ words was magical.

This book did also give me pause for reflection. Is revenge always as rewarding as one expects? Did it really help alleviate all of the Count’s suffering? I was happy to see that by the end of the book even the Count had to stop and consider whether he had taken it too far. At his core, the Count was really a good man!

A book that has immediately gone on my favourite shelf and one that I will never forget!

Published: 1844