Tomorrow we begin the Chapter-a-Day Read-along of The Count of Monte Cristo! To those of you who have been reading Don Quixote with us, congratulations on finishing one of the greatest novels of all time (the greatest, if you ask me!). I will post my thoughts on my experience tomorrow, if I get the chance. To those of you who didn’t find Don Quixote to your taste but are back for the Count, thank you for returning. I hope your experience with Alexandre Dumas’ masterpiece will be more positive. And for those of you just joining, welcome from the bottom of my heart to one of the most famous adventures of all time. I’d love it if you would leave a comment below to let me know you’re reading along.

This particular chapter-a-day read-along is different for me than the read-alongs of Les Misérables or Don Quixote, each of which I have read many times over the years. First of all, I have only read The Count of Monte Cristo once. And secondly it was an abridged edition. I have seen the 1998 television miniseries starring Gerard Depardieu, and the 2002 film starring Jim Caviezel, but I have never read the complete novel. In a way, I am experiencing the novel for the first time.

My other experience with Alexandre Dumas is his Musketeer series, which I recommend highly. I discovered only within the last few years that there were other sequels to The Three Musketeers besides The Man in the Iron Mask, and it took me until this year to read them all. I thoroughly enjoyed them all, even though they weren’t all as action-packed as the first volume.

Before we begin reading The Count of Monte Cristo, a little background: Dumas wrote the book between 1841 and 1844. Like so many books of its time, it was published in parts–eighteen to be exact. From August 28, 1844 to January 15, 1846, the people of France waited each each month for the next installment. We’re fortunate that we won’t have to wait so long to read it, though reading a chapter a day may prove to test our patience just as much.

Based on the true story of a vengeful shoemaker, the novel is one of most well-known classics of world literature, translated into virtually every language. It has been made into at least two-dozen movies, several TV miniseries, comic books, and radio dramas. Its plot has inspired countless imitations and adaptions, including Ben-Hur and Jeffery Archer’s modern thriller, A Prisoner of Birth.

The story begins in Marseille, France, on February 24, 1815, and takes places roughly about the same time as Les Misérables. Napoleon is in exile on the island of Elba after being forced to abdicate, and the political situation in France is volatile.

I’ll be posting a quote a day on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #montecristoreadalong. Feel free to post your own favorite quotes, questions, and reactions using the same hashtag.