Is The Gutenberg Version Of Count Of Monte Cristo Unabridged?

Question

Finished reading the original serial but wondering if the Gutenberg eBook translation by Alexandre Dumas is the complete, full-length novel without cuts, especially for key revenge scenes.

Jane Knight · Answer

I find that most editions of The Count of Monte Cristo on Project Gutenberg are the English translation (by an anonymous person) which is complete but abridged from the original French serial. This is the free version that most people read. For an alternative story with a similarly pensive hero battling to get justice in a world of hidden secrets and deception, you might like The Pensive Gentleman. A scholar is forced into a dangerous game of political cunning and the hero uses his cool, analytical brain to outwit his many enemies in a tense revenge plot of unusual cerebral complexity.

Olivia · Answer

I have read ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ many times in full – including the Gutenberg version of the book. There are abridged versions of the book but they can miss out so much of interest, including some of the slow philosophy and much of the detailed description of Parisian life as it was in the 1840s. But this book is long for a reason. It is a long and complex tale of betrayal and revenge. The author keeps the reader informed of every twist and turn of the main character Edmond Dantès’ long and difficult journey.

The Gutenberg text is utterly faithful to the original — including all the really minor characters who add so much to their respective scenes. Don’t worry that there’s an abridged version of this great novel for you to read; this is the full Monty. It’s a long, slow novel, yes, but it’s also a deeply rewarding one. And it’ll stick with you long after you’ve finished reading it.

Alice · Answer

The 'Gutenberg' version of 'The Count of Monte Cristo' is the unabridged version - the full length story, complete from the Château d’If to the very end of the story for the final confrontation. There's nothing worse than an abridged version of a classic novel such as this, when, by reading the unabridged version from Gutenberg, you get to read the complete story in all its glory.

Wyatt · Answer

I can verify that Project Gutenberg has an unabridged Gutenberg eEdition of The Count of Monte Cristo, the classic 19th century novel by French author Alexandre Dumas, here translated into English in 1846. The complete, intact novel runs more than 1,000 printed pages in some editions; every single chapter is included here, from the arrest of honest young sailor Edmond Dantès and his framing and imprisonment for a crime he did not commit, to his elaborate plan of revenge upon those who ruined his life.

Note that while some abridged editions of The Count of Monte Cristo exclude the stories of the Roman bandits and introduce their own reasons for certain events, also supply the reader with background information on minor characters, the Gutenberg edition is complete in all respects. Because the unabridged version is so very long (over 1,000 pages in this translation), and because the full versions are so very enjoyable, this is the best edition to read. While the translation is from nineteenth century France, it does not always read easily because of some rather archaic language.

Chloe · Answer

Just finished reading the Gutenberg unabridged version of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’. I read it as a complete, full-length story with all the layers of revenge, love and betrayal developed to their satisfying conclusions. Most abridged versions of Monte Cristo delete much of theazio between long scenes of action and, in particular, Edmond’s prison years and his encounters with minor characters but the Gutenberg edition is, word for word, just as Dumas wrote it. So it’s a bit of a commitment but it’s so worth it. You feel every high and every low with Edmond as he navigates his very complicated life.

M Six Ty Jaguar · Answer

I was convinced by the comments to download tonight. I have wanted to read this for years but was afraid that I would get a “butchered” version of it. I have checked the file out from Gutenberg and it seems trustworthy. I love long and meandering stories, so the fact that this is the full length is a huge selling point for me. My Kindle is all ready for a marathon!

Lizzette Mercado · Answer

Most translation talk centers around the Modern Translation, but the original Gutenberg translation is also a wonderful work of Victorian prose, full of flavor from a bygone era. Many old words are used, such as whilst and amongst, and the dialog can be formal and almost dramatic. However, it is a great read for the huge avenger-type character and gives the story a large and old feel.

So an “unabridged” Gutenberg edition is an unabridged edition of the full story in a particular historical language or in this case even more specifically a particular historically interesting English voice i.e. that of how Dumas’ works were read by 19th century English readers. The style of language is a feature not a bug of the unabridged edition – the complete narrative is intact. If you can read the older language then it makes for a wonderfully immersive read.

Tiffany Falor · Answer

Not all things labeled ‘Gutenberg’ are created equal. The version you can download directly from Project Gutenberg’s website (www.gutenberg.org) is the full, unabridged version. Many free ebook sites, as well as some versions listed in the Kindle Store, use the name of this magnificent project in their title to mislead you into believing you are downloading the complete version. But no! They are severely abridged or even badly formatted in order to make a quick buck. I downloaded what I thought was the ‘Gutenberg’ version of The Count of Monte Cristo from a free ebook site, and it was missing many pages of Franz’s adventures in Rome. The revenge of the Count on Danglars was very badly done and, therefore, not very interesting.

The best thing to do is to search for ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ on Gutenberg.org for the full unabridged novel by the correct author, Alexandre Dumas. It is a large download in plain text that exceeds 1000 pages. Usually an abridged version is slim. Committing to reading the full novel is the best way to experience the slow build up of revenge towards Danglars in the second half of the book. It is meticulous and does not benefit from being abridged.

Johannes Willem Lekay · Answer

So to answer your question, check the file size and page count. An unabridged edition of “The Count of Monte Cristo” as a plain text file should be approximately 1.5MB to 2MB in size. I’ve uploaded a copy of the Gutenberg plain text edition to test, and the file is approximately 1.7MB in size (around 1,900 pages). The first chapter begins with the arrival of the ship Pharaon at the port of Marseille where the main character Edmond Dantès is. The abridged editions that I have read begin with Edmond Dantès in prison. The full, unabridged edition from Gutenberg begins with the arrival of the ship at Marseille, establishing the setting for the reader.

So, yes, by any standard, it is complete and unabridged. It is the complete novel as written by the author in the 1840s. It reads a bit archaically at times, but that is part of its charm. This book is long, but it is completely worth the time to read it in its entirety. It is one of those few books that will change your life if you read it completely. This version from Project Gutenberg allows you to read this great work for zero cost and it is completely free of restrictions.

Sirat Praween · Answer

I’ve found a full, unabridged, and very reliable free ebook of The Count of Monte Cristo on Project Gutenberg. This is one of the most polished free ebooks that I’ve found on any site. I’ve read many free ebooks on other sites where the formatting wasall screwy, paragraphs had gottenall run together, and diacritical marks were missing. But all of these problems were absent from this version of The Count of Monte Cristo on Project Gutenberg.

I can assure you that Gutenberg’s full, unabridged text provides plenty of foreshadowing and character development. For example, Haydée’s past is fully disclosed in order to bring down one of the book’s greatest villains. Most importantly, all of the long dialogues in which Dantès expounds upon the moral ambiguities of his actions are included in full. So, in contrast to the abridged versions of the book in which Dantès is portrayed as a simple avenger, in Gutenberg’s unabridged edition he is a very complex, almost divine, yet very human character. And he is developed fully, page by page.

Rae Min · Answer

I’m playing the devil’s advocate here for a second. Gutenberg is offering unabridged English text. But Dumas wrote in French. Thus any translation is more or less an interpretation. The 1846 translation was more or less condensing/expanding in places compared to the original. Hence for purely literary reasons some literary scholars might claim no translation can ever be truly ‘unabridged’.

From a purely practical perspective, however, all scenes, chapters and plot lines are included in the Gutenberg version of the text. It can, therefore, be considered to be complete or ‘unabridged’ for most readers. Indeed, as a free online book, it is almost certainly the complete version of the novel for the vast majority of readers, and, for them, it is the full length of the doorstopper of a novel as written by Dumas.

Is The Gutenberg Version Of Count Of Monte Cristo Unabridged?

11 Answers

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