The Countdown of Monte Cristo

The Yacht at Genoa (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25 – Part 4)

Edmond begins to shape his new life.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25, Dantès parts from La Jeune Amélie with generous gifts that secure the goodwill of her crew, then watches Jacopo sail for Marseilles with instructions to meet him again at Monte Cristo. Traveling on to Genoa, Edmond seizes opportunity: a yacht, built for an Englishman, becomes his for sixty thousand francs in gold. Wealth is now freedom, and the sea — once a prison’s horizon — is again his domain.
 
⸻
 
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.

The Gift to Jacopo (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25 – Part 3)

Wealth begins to change hands.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25, Edmond discreetly sells four small diamonds in Leghorn, netting twenty thousand francs. The next day, he astonishes Jacopo with a brand new vessel and a gift of one hundred piastres — on the condition that Jacopo sail to Marseilles to inquire after Edmond’s father and Mercédès. To explain such sudden generosity, Dantès invents a plausible story of family inheritance. Jacopo, loyal and unsuspecting, believes him without hesitation.
 
⸻
 
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.

The Return to Leghorn (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25 – Part 2)

Six days later, La Jeune Amélie returns.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25, Edmond plays the part of a wounded man, feigning weakness as the smugglers recount their narrow escape from a guard-ship. They regret his absence and the fifty piastres profit he might have earned, but Dantès, secretly heir to untold millions, conceals even the faintest smile. That evening he leaves Monte Cristo behind, sailing back toward Leghorn — carrying in his pocket the first tokens of his new destiny.
 
⸻
 
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.

The Unknown (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25 – Part 1)

Day breaks over Monte Cristo, and with it begins Edmond’s transformation.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25, Dantès conceals the treasure with painstaking care — restoring the cavern and hillside until they appear untouched by human hands. But he cannot remain a dragon hoarding in solitude. His heart burns to rejoin mankind, to wield the rank and influence that wealth alone commands. The treasure is hidden, but a new destiny has been uncovered.
 
⸻
 
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.

The Prayer of Gold (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24 – Part 10)

Ecstasy, terror, and gratitude overwhelm the new heir of Spada’s fortune.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Edmond staggers between disbelief and frenzy, frightening the goats of Monte Cristo with his wild cries before falling to his knees in prayer. At last he begins to measure his fortune: gold ingots, crowns bearing the effigy of Alexander VI, pearls, diamonds, and jewels beyond reckoning. That night he keeps watch at the grotto’s mouth, armed and sleepless — a man transformed by both joy and fear at his unimaginable wealth.
 
⸻
 
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.

The Treasure Revealed (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24 – Part 9)

The moment of revelation arrives.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Edmond bursts open the chest sealed for centuries and beholds its wonders: heaps of golden coin, heavy bars of unpolished gold, and cascades of diamonds, rubies, and pearls that clatter like hail in his hands. Frenzied with amazement, Dantès rushes through the grotto and onto the rocks, gasping at the immensity of his discovery. He is alone with the Spada treasure — wealth beyond imagination, dazzling and real.
 
⸻
 
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.

The Spada Arms (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24 – Part 8)

At last, the moment of truth.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Dantès digs into the farthest corner of the second grotto, and his pickaxe strikes against wood and iron. With torchlight he clears the earth to reveal a massive oaken coffer, bound in steel and bearing a silver plate engraved with the arms of the Spada family. After years of hope and fear, the treasure has taken form.
 
⸻
 
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.

The Second Grotto Continued (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24 – Part 7)

Proof grows stronger, yet Edmond nearly faints under the weight of hope and fear.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Dantès forces himself onward, prying loose the carefully disguised stones to reveal a hidden chamber. At last he enters the second grotto — a low, gloomy space, heavy with stale air. His eyes adjust, but the darkness yields nothing. The treasure chamber is empty… or so it seems.
 
⸻
 
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.

The Second Grotto (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24 – Part 6)

The cardinal’s words echo in Edmond’s memory: “In the farthest angle of the second opening.”
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Dantès realizes he has only uncovered the first grotto and resumes his search. At last, a hollow sound answers his pickaxe. Chipping away the surface, he discovers the wall is only stucco, painted to resemble granite — a careful disguise hiding the entrance to something deeper. The true path has been found.
 
⸻
 
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.

The Descent (The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24 – Part 5)

At the edge of despair, Dantès decides to descend.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Edmond steels himself, imagining Borgia’s hand upon the same steps centuries before. He braces for darkness — but instead finds a cavern shimmering with dim blue light and walls of glittering granite. Smiling bitterly, he thinks these must be the only treasures left: illusions mistaken for riches, dreams mistaken for reality.
 
⸻
 
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.