The Countdown of Monte Cristo

The Prisoner’s Escape (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 28 – Part 4)

With the ink barely dry on their transaction, the Englishman’s true purpose unfolds. His calm curiosity sharpens as M. de Boville recounts a story he calls “a singular incident.” The Abbé Faria — the so-called madman who dreamed of treasure — died only months ago, in February. But his death, Boville explains, was not the end of the tale.
Faria’s cell lay just fifty feet from another prisoner — one of Napoleon’s agents, dangerous and determined. His name: Edmond Dantès. The Englishman’s composure tightens. Boville continues, describing how the two men dug a tunnel between their dungeons, planning escape. But when the abbé was struck down by his final attack of catalepsy, Dantès saw a desperate opportunity.
He switched places with the corpse, sealed himself in the sack meant for burial, and waited for freedom disguised as death.
The Englishman listens in silence, his stillness now trembling with revelation.
 
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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.

The Price of a Secret (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 28 – Part 3)

The Englishman’s composure never wavers, producing a thick bundle of banknotes — far more than M. de Boville had dared to hope for. Relief floods the inspector’s face as ruin gives way to salvation. Yet the stranger refuses any percentage or commission. His price, it seems, is something altogether different.
What began as a transaction of francs now turns into an exchange of secrets. Money changes hands easily; the truth requires another kind of payment.
 
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Join us daily as we read The Count of Monte Cristo one page at a time — unabridged, immersive, and spoiler-free.
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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.

The Debt Redeemed (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 28 – Part 2)

When the Englishman enters M. de Boville’s office, recognition flickers across his face — though the inspector of prisons, sunk in despair, is too distraught to notice. The visitor repeats his polite inquiries about the finances of Morrel & Son, but this time the answer is worse than rumor: M. de Boville is ruined. Two hundred thousand francs — his daughter’s dowry — lie trapped in Morrel’s failing firm, and the deadline for payment looms within days.
A transaction begins that feels less like business than providence — and perhaps, retribution.
 
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Join us daily as we read The Count of Monte Cristo one page at a time — unabridged, immersive, and spoiler-free.
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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.

The Stranger from Rome (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 28 – Part 1)

A new chapter — and a new game begins. The morning after the events at the Pont du Gard inn, a man appears in Marseilles: thirtyish, well-dressed, and unmistakably English in bearing. Introducing himself as the chief clerk of Thomson & French of Rome, he claims concern over a large loan made to Morrel & Son — the very firm now whispered to be on the verge of ruin.
Before the mayor of Marseilles, the stranger’s questions are polite, his tone measured, yet his purpose precise. The mayor, bound by honor, can offer only respect for Morrel’s integrity — not the reassurance the visitor seeks. But he directs him onward, to M. de Boville, inspector of prisons and holder of a far larger sum.
 
The Englishman bows, thanks him gravely, and strides away with quiet efficiency — his steps echoing down Rue de Noailles, toward the next link in a chain of inquiry whose true purpose lies hidden.
 
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Join us daily as we read The Count of Monte Cristo one page at a time — unabridged, immersive, and spoiler-free.
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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.

The Diamond Tested (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 27 – Part 11)

The abbé departs into the fading light, leaving Caderousse overflowing with gratitude and disbelief. “May this money profit you,” the priest says, mounting his horse and riding away — back down the same lonely road that brought him to the Pont du Gard inn. Behind him, his calm words linger like a benediction, or a warning.
Inside, Caderousse’s joy meets the cold suspicion of La Carconte. Pale and trembling, she eyes the diamond with dread. “Suppose it’s false?” she whispers. The thought strikes him like a curse. Could the priest — that solemn man of God — have tricked them?
 
Driven by greed and fear, Caderousse seizes his hat. The fair at Beaucaire is open, and there he will learn the gem’s true worth. As he runs into the distance, his wife stares after him and mutters darkly, “Fifty thousand francs — it is a large sum, but not a fortune.” Her voice trails into the emptiness, the first chill of what is to come.
 
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Catching up? Explore every chapter, character, and twist on our website: countdownofmontecristo.com
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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.

The Diamond and the Debt (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 27 – Part 10)

The tale reaches its quiet climax in the dim Pont du Gard inn. The abbé, grave and watchful, speaks of divine justice — of how God’s memory, though slow, never fails. Then, from his pocket, he draws the diamond: a brilliant stone meant for Edmond Dantès’ true friends. “Take it,” he says, placing it before the trembling Caderousse. “There was one friend only. It is yours.”
Caderousse hesitates, half-believing it a cruel jest, until the abbé names his price — the faded red silk purse once left by M. Morrel on old Dantès’ chimney. Reluctantly, Caderousse exchanges it for the jewel. The priest accepts the purse with reverence, the diamond gleaming between them like a test.
To Caderousse, it feels like a miracle; to the abbé, a confirmation — of guilt, of truth, and of judgment still to come. As Caderousse swears his honesty before a crucifix, the priest’s eyes darken. He has heard enough. The reckoning has begun.
 
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Catching up? Explore every chapter, character, and twist on our website: countdownofmontecristo.com
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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.

The Countess and Her Shadow (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 27 – Part 9)

Eighteen months of mourning — then a wedding. Mercédès begged time to grieve for Edmond Dantès, but grief gave way to resignation, and resignation to marriage. The abbé’s voice cuts with irony as he whispers, “Frailty, thy name is woman,” and listens as Caderousse recounts her walk to the altar — through the same church where she was once to have wed Edmond. Passing La Réserve, she nearly fainted, haunted by memory.
Fernand, uneasy in his triumph, hurried his new wife away from Marseilles and the ghosts that lingered there. Years later, Caderousse saw her again in Perpignan, teaching her son — Albert — as Fernand’s fortune grew. With wealth came refinement: she learned music, art, and grace, filling her mind to quiet her sorrow. But even now, as Countess de Morcerf, Caderousse swears she is not happy.
 
When he sought help in his poverty, Danglars turned him away, Fernand sent money through a servant — but Mercédès, unseen, dropped a purse from her window. The abbé’s face darkens. Compassion endures in her, yet it cannot erase the tragedy she lives behind silk curtains and shuttered blinds.
 
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Join us daily as we read The Count of Monte Cristo one page at a time — unabridged, immersive, and spoiler-free.
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The Countdown of Monte Cristo is a daily read-along podcast that moves through Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo one page at a time — every day, for four years. Whether you’re starting at the beginning or joining midway, each brief episode serves as a quiet companion to the novel: a page-by-page reading, a steady guide through each chapter, and a deliberate, unhurried way to follow Dantès on his long journey.
 
For anyone who has ever wished a classic could unfold at the pace of lived experience, this is Monte Cristo in real time.
 
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The Return of Fernand (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 27 – Part 8)

Caderousse’s tale drifts into the realm of dreams — the kind that ache with truth. Fernand, once the poor Catalan fisherman, now owns a grand Parisian mansion at 27 Rue du Helder. And Mercédès — she too has risen, “as the sun disappears to rise again with greater splendor.” The abbé’s voice falters, his irony masking something deeper.
Caderousse recounts her long sorrow: the pleading with Villefort, the tending of old Dantès, the lonely vigils by the roads to Marseilles. Each evening she waited, praying for Edmond’s return — until one night, a familiar step approached. Fernand stood before her, no longer a fisherman but a soldier, a reminder of the past dressed in new pride. It was not joy of love that filled her heart, but the relief of not being alone.
 
And when her last protector, old Dantès, died, Fernand returned again — not as comfort, but as consequence. With no one left to guard her memory of Edmond, the sorrowful Mercédès listened when Fernand finally spoke of love.
 
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Catching up? Explore every chapter, character, and twist on our website: countdownofmontecristo.com
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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.

The Making of a Count (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 27 – Part 7)

The abbé listens as Caderousse unspools the incredible rise of Fernand — once a poor fisherman, now a decorated noble. His fortune, it seems, was built not on honor but on opportunity seized in shadow. Drafted under Napoleon and stationed at the frontier, Fernand betrayed his general to the Bourbons and returned a hero instead of a traitor. The winds of empire had changed, and Fernand changed with them.
As wars came and went, his ambition only grew. In Spain, he joined forces with Danglars, guiding troops through secret routes and earning favor among royalists until he was made a colonel, then a count. When Europe quieted, he sought new glory in the Greek war for independence, aligning himself with Ali Pasha and returning to France rich, titled, and lauded as the Comte de Morcerf.
 
“Destiny! Destiny!” murmurs the abbé — though the word carries more bitterness than awe.
 
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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.

The Fortunes of the Guilty (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 27 – Part 6)

The abbé listens as Caderousse paints a grim contrast between the ruined and the rewarded. M. Morrel — faithful, honorable, undone by loss — now stands at the edge of despair, burdened not only by ruin but by a family he cannot save. A wife steadfast in suffering. A daughter denied her love. A son serving far away. Even death would be a mercy if not for those who depend on him.
 
And yet the men who destroyed Edmond Dantès prosper. Danglars, the scheming clerk, has climbed from fraud to fortune, now a baron with mansions, horses, and servants — a banker whose wealth multiplies faster than his scruples. Fernand, too, has risen, though no one knows how. The poor Catalan fisherman has somehow become a man of power and rank, his past buried beneath a mystery darker than his ambition.
 
The abbé’s voice trembles between irony and fury. “Ah, he is happy,” he murmurs — and the words sound less like belief than judgment deferred.
 
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Join us daily as we read The Count of Monte Cristo one page at a time — unabridged, immersive, and spoiler-free.
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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.