The Count of Monte Cristo

by Alexandre Dumas

This is a classic, mesmerizing tale of betrayal and revenge. Edmond Dantes is wrongly imprisoned on the eve of his betrothal by men who are jealous of his increasing good fortune and promising future. From within his dungeon cell he learns the location of a vast fortune and plots his revenge. Then the story really begins...

The way Dantes goes about getting revenge on the men who have wronged him is elaborate, brilliant, and fascinating. This is a first rate page turner.

Also worth seeing is the 1998 French television miniseries starring Gerard Depardieu. I've seen a few dramatized versions and this one is the best. It's lavishly produced and relatively faithful to the book. The fact that it's in French (with English subtitles) only added to the experience for me.

This date is a rough approximation: