The Count of Monte Cristo ALEXANDRE DUMAS Translation first published by Chapman and Hall ( 1846 ) . The name of the translator was never revealed . With an Introduction and Notes by Keith Wren , University of Kent at Canterbury The story of Edmond Dantès , self - styled Count of Monte Cristo , is told with consummate skill . The victim of a miscarriage of justice , Dantès is fired by a desire for retribution and empowered by a stroke of providence . In his campaign of vengeance , he becomes an anonymous agent of fate . The sensational narrative of intrigue , betrayal , escape , and triumphant revenge moves at a cracking pace . Dumas novel presents a powerful conflict between good and evil embodied in an epic saga of rich diversity that is complicated by the hero's ultimate discomfort with the hubristie implication of his own actions .