Monday Nov 10, 2025
The Name of Dantès (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 26 – Part 8)
The Countdown of Monte Cristo
A daily podcast reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, one page at a time, every single day, over the course of four years.
Each short episode offers a focused, intimate passage from Dumas’ sweeping tale of betrayal, imprisonment, revenge, and redemption, accompanied by brief reflections, historical context, and the occasional detour into 19th-century oddities (and yes, the occasional mangled French pronunciation).
Never read The Count of Monte Cristo? Perfect. This podcast is designed for first-time readers, longtime admirers, and anyone curious about experiencing a literary classic as a daily ritual rather than a daunting tome. You can start from the beginning or jump in wherever you are, the story unfolds steadily, patiently, one page at a time.
Whether you’re a lover of classic literature, a podcast listener looking for a calm daily escape, or someone who just wants a few quiet minutes away from the noise of the modern world, The Countdown of Monte Cristo invites you to live with one of the greatest novels ever written.
New episodes every day. No skipping. No rushing.
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Episodes
Episodes
Sunday Nov 09, 2025
Sunday Nov 09, 2025
The abbé’s questions press deeper.
Caderousse admits to once being a tailor, though trade and fortune have both long since vanished. Hoping to please his unusual guest, he produces one of his few remaining bottles of wine, only to find himself under the kind of gaze that strips away excuses.
When asked if he is alone, Caderousse mentions his ailing wife upstairs, but insists that, whatever his poverty, he is at least an honest man. The priest listens, silent and steady, as though weighing the claim against truths only he seems to know.
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New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://countdownofmontecristo.com
Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each chapter: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3vyewhvQugX5M3oREl57A
⸻
The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years.
Saturday Nov 08, 2025
Saturday Nov 08, 2025
At the Pont du Gard Inn, the knock at the door stirs up more than dust.
A snarling black dog greets the newcomer, but Caderousse himself rushes to make amends, offering wine and apologies when he realizes the unexpected visitor is a priest. The abbé’s Italian-accented words cut straight to the heart of recognition: he knows Caderousse’s name, his past, even his former address in the Allées de Meilhan.
Why such pointed questions? And what business could a foreign priest possibly have with a ruined innkeeper who thought himself forgotten?
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://countdownofmontecristo.com
Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each chapter: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3vyewhvQugX5M3oREl57A
⸻
The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years.
Friday Nov 07, 2025
Friday Nov 07, 2025
A desolate road. A noonday sun. And an unexpected rider.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 26 continues as a solitary figure approaches the Pont du Gard Inn. Mounted on a Hungarian horse and dressed in the black robes of a priest, the stranger advances with calm purpose, undeterred by the barren, sun-scorched road that few others would choose to travel.
At the inn’s threshold, he dismounts, ties his horse, and knocks three times with his iron-tipped cane — a signal that will change the quiet monotony of Caderousse’s life into something far more consequential.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://countdownofmontecristo.com
Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each chapter: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3vyewhvQugX5M3oREl57A
⸻
The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years.
Thursday Nov 06, 2025
Thursday Nov 06, 2025
Once a man of display and local pageantry, Gaspard Caderousse has been reduced to shabby obscurity.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 26, we glimpse how prosperity once dressed him in velvet vests, embroidered stockings, and silver buckles, while his wife, La Carconte, shone in the fashions of Arles. Now, those trappings are long gone. Their inn is barely shelter, and their lives are marked more by envy than joy, with the sounds of distant celebrations a bitter reminder of what has been lost.
Caderousse sits idly at his door, staring at a deserted road and a patch of barren grass, until his wife’s sharp voice calls him upstairs — a summons that sets the next turn of events into motion.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://countdownofmontecristo.com
Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each chapter: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3vyewhvQugX5M3oREl57A
⸻
The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years.
Wednesday Nov 05, 2025
Wednesday Nov 05, 2025
The lonely inn has a familiar master.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 26, we learn that the Pont du Gard Inn is run by none other than Gaspard Caderousse. Once Edmond’s neighbor, he is now an innkeeper brought low by the new canal that diverts travelers and ruins his trade. Dumas sketches him vividly: tall, bony, with dark eyes, hooked nose, and teeth sharp as an animal’s, his skin burned darker still by years of standing hopelessly at the door in search of customers who rarely come. The once-idle tailor of Marseilles is now a man hardened by disappointment and circumstance, but his presence here signals the beginning of Edmond’s next encounter.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://countdownofmontecristo.com
Want to talk theories, themes, or betrayals? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each chapter: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3vyewhvQugX5M3oREl57A
⸻
The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Tuesday Nov 04, 2025
Tuesday Nov 04, 2025
The lonely inn has a familiar master.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 26, we learn that the Pont du Gard Inn is run by none other than Gaspard Caderousse. Once Edmond’s neighbor, he is now an innkeeper brought low by the new canal that diverts travelers and ruins his trade. Dumas sketches him vividly: tall, bony, with dark eyes, hooked nose, and teeth sharp as an animal’s, his skin burned darker still by years of standing hopelessly at the door in search of customers who rarely come. The once-idle tailor of Marseilles is now a man hardened by disappointment and circumstance, but his presence here signals the beginning of Edmond’s next encounter.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://countdownofmontecristo.com
Want to talk theories, themes, or betrayals? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each chapter: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3vyewhvQugX5M3oREl57A
⸻
The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Monday Nov 03, 2025
Monday Nov 03, 2025
The road leads Edmond to a lonely inn by the Rhône.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 26, Dumas paints a vivid picture of the Pont du Gard Inn, a shabby outpost between Beaucaire and Bellegarde. Its tin sign creaks in the wind, its garden is little more than a patch of garlic and dying fig-trees, and its setting lies under the constant scourge of the mistral. Around it, the plain resembles a dusty lake, where even the sparse wheat struggles to grow, each stalk a perch for rasping grasshoppers. This bleak landscape sets the stage for what Edmond will soon encounter within.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://countdownofmontecristo.com
Want to talk theories, themes, or betrayals? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each chapter: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3vyewhvQugX5M3oREl57A
⸻
The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Count of Monte Cristo.
Sunday Nov 02, 2025
Sunday Nov 02, 2025
Edmond returns in secret, but his presence leaves a trail of wonder.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25, Dantès — under the name Lord Wilmore — purchases outright the house where his father once lived, paying far more than its value to reclaim the place of his memories. He then seeks news of Caderousse and visits the Catalan village, where he spends an hour quietly asking after those long gone. The next day, the fishermen find themselves the owners of a brand-new boat and gear, a gift from the mysterious stranger. Whispers of speculation spread through Marseilles, but no one knows the truth: Edmond has returned.
⸻
New to the journey? Start from the beginning at: http://countdownofmontecristo.com
Want to talk theories, themes, or betrayals? Join the conversation on our Discord: https://discord.gg/Sg2prdm
Support the project on Patreon and receive full-length, story-only audio after each chapter: https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod
Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or follow along on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3vyewhvQugX5M3oREl57A
⸻
The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily podcast reading one page at a time from Alexandre Dumas’ classic novel — every day, for four years. Whether you’re starting from the beginning or joining mid-journey, each episode brings you deeper into the story of The Count of Monte Cristo.