The Count of Monte Cristo

年輕有為的水手愛德蒙‧鄧蒂斯，擔任法老號上的大副。原本將要成為法老號的船長，同時迎娶心愛的女人美茜蒂絲為妻，卻在訂婚宴當天被密告為拿破崙支持者的 密探被捕入獄。鄧蒂斯原本相信檢察官會為自己證明清白，卻不幸被檢察官犧牲。他也因此被關到伊夫堡的地牢，面臨痛苦的冤獄生涯。

　　鄧蒂斯在隔離且不見天日的地牢生活中，因緣際會結識了法利亞神父，並且得到基督山島上有寶藏的秘密。鄧蒂斯成功從伊夫堡逃走後，成功取得寶藏。

　 　他回到故鄉後得知自己的父親因病身亡，而未婚妻嫁給仇人之一。他的三位仇人如今在巴黎皆為上流社會中顯貴之人，而對他有恩的船主卻瀕臨破產危機。重獲自 由又擁有財富的他自稱為基督山伯爵，精心策畫復仇的每一步。不管是採取直接或間接的方式，基督山伯爵利用每個人的個性與弱點，開始展開打擊與報復對方的行 為。開始了一連串報恩與復仇的計畫。而巴黎的上流社會也出現了讓社交圈驚奇不已且討論不盡的流言蜚語——死亡，罪行與醜聞。

　　本中文簡介取自中譯本<<基督山恩仇記>>由高寶出版

　　The Count of Monte Cristo is the ultimate novel of retribution. Based on a true story, it recounts the story of Edouard Dantes, his betrayal and imprisonment in the sinister Chateau d’If. Years later, Paris is intrigued by the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, who bursts onto the Paris social scene with his millions. He encounters the three principal betrayers of Dantes who have prospered in the post-Napoleonic boom and, one by one, their lives fall apart. The book was a huge, popular success when it was first serialized in 1844, and remains the greatest tale of revenge.
Abridged, with an afterword by Marcus Clapham.

　　Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector’s Library is a series of beautifully bound gift editions of much loved classic titles. Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, Macmillan Collector’s Library are books to love and treasure.

大仲馬(1802-1870)

　　於一八○二年七月二十四日，誕生於法國北部的維萊—科特雷鎮。年幼 喪父，長大 後到巴黎工作，並閱讀大量文學、歷史、哲學和自然科學等書籍。因為看了倫敦劇團在巴黎演出的莎士比亞戲劇而受到很大的衝擊，開始了他戲劇與小說的創作生 涯。他的第二個戲劇《亨利三世及其宮廷》，不僅以「歷史劇」的文體開創新的文學領域，也奠定了浪漫主義戲劇的創作原則。這是大仲馬在法國文學發展史上的一 大貢獻。

　　大仲馬是十九世紀最多產而且最受讀者歡迎的作家之一。其作品保守估計至少有九十部戲劇以及一百五十部小說。其中最著名小說有《基督山恩仇記》，《三劍客》(1844)，《瑪歌王后》（1845）等等。

　 　Alexandre Dumas was born in 1802. After a childhood of extreme poverty, he took work as a clerk, and met the renowned actor Talma, and began to write short pieces for the theatre. After twenty years of success as a playwright, Dumas turned his hand to novel-writing, and penned such classics as The Count of Monte Cristo (1844), La Reine Margot (1845) and The Black Tulip (1850). After enduring a short period of bankruptcy, Dumas began to travel extensively, still keeping up a prodigious output of journalism, short fiction and novels. He fathered an illegitimate child, also called Alexandre, who would grow up to write La Dame aux Camélias. He died in Dieppe in 1870.