The Count of Monte Cristo

By: Alexandre Dumas

Narrated by: Andrew Timothy

Length: 50 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

The Count of Monte Cristo is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas.

Published in 1844, it is often considered one of the great thrillers of all time and, along with The Three Musketeers, Dumas' most popular work.

Falsely accused of treason, the young sailor Edmund Dantes is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned in the island fortress of the Chateau d'If. After staging a dramatic escape, he sets out to discover the treasure of Monte Cristo and catch up with his enemies.

Alexandre Dumas (1802 - 1870) was a French writer, best known for his numerous historical novels of high adventure, which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world.

Please note: This is a vintage recording. The audio quality may not be up to modern day standards.

Public Domain (P)2009 RNIB

Great voice but too much stuttering

What did you love best about The Count of Monte Cristo?

This is a great story and the narrator's voice is fantastic.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Dante, obviously.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator stutters or stumbles over words frequently. Often several times in a paragraph. It is very disrupting to the flow of the story. The book appears to have had absolutely no editing. All mistakes and stumbles are left in place. There is also noise from pages turning or being rustled. The voice and acting is fantastic other than these porblems. It is a shame that such a good voice didn't have an equally good audio editor.

Also, the narrator seems to ad-lib the introduction of each chapter adding his own little spin instead of simply stating the chapter number and name.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

You might try one of the other versions of this book due to the poorly edited reading of this version.

A great novel

Where does The Count of Monte Cristo rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Excellent. It kept me entertained for 50+ hours which is quite an accomplishment.

What about Andrew Timothy’s performance did you like?

His voice was perfect. I enjoyed his rendition and even liked that I could, at times, hear him turn the pages. It seemed authentic.

A classic novel that deserves the title "Classic"

I had only seen the movies before listening to this book. That usually spoils a book for me. This book, though, has all the elements that make a REAL classic! The characters are well developed and I loved and hated them. The lessons were not didactic, but easy to relate to my own circumstances. The scenes are well painted and interesting. The language is inspiring.

There were some minor imperfections in the reading-but those all made it more cozy in my opinion. I love, love this narrator! I love his style, I love his voice, I would love to sit at his knee and listen to him all day! I kind of did.

Classic story - great Narrator

I've always loved Dumas' classic story of the Count of Monte Cristo - but I feel in love with again after hearing Andrew Timothy narrating it. Mr. Timothy could read the dictionary and I would enjoy it.

Classic Story

Classic story. Good narration regarding voice and accent. Many fumbled words and lost moments, but tolerable given the rest of it.

One of the greatest books ever written

Edmond Dantes is an incredibly complex character, and this story will suck you in. As long as this book is, it moves very quickly and doesn't have much "fluff". You'll look back at this book as one of your favorites.

Fantastic

This is one of my top five favorite books I have ever read. Hearing this audio version felt like someone was actually reading to you; the sounds of paper being turned and the slight stumbles didn't once pull me away from such a wonderful tale of revenge. All the little things like that put me in a mind set of sitting in a bookstore or library and listening to someone read to me as a child. The narrator has no problem switching voices between characters as he reads, and each sentence is heard as clearly as the previous one. For how long this audiobook is, and for how well it is read, you get more than your money's worth and this should be in every listener's collection.

Flawed Performance cannot Flaw a Classic

Narrator added so much time to the reading by introducing each chapter with book title, author, and a brief summary that we could have saved almost 2 hours of listening. He also did not edit his recordings of any mispronunciations or mistakes, of which there were many. When he misread a word, or struggled with the pronunciation, his mistakes are recorded and plain for all to hear. Great book! Great story! Wished for an improvement of narration.

if you thought Les Misarables was just too short,

than this is the story for you. so many characters, so many details, over such a long period of time gives the story the flavor if a genuine history. I like the narration BECAUSE it is not perfect. occasionally you can hear the pages of the book being turned. and every few chapters there is a place where the narrator, who is marvelous, will may a slight error and correct himself. and they don't edit it. it somehow makes more personal to me. like a friend or father who is a great story teller is relating it to me.

Incredible!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because I believe that the main reason classics like this aren't as universally read in the unabridged version is because people may be intimidated by the length (this audio book, for instance, clocked at an astonishing 77 hours!) But the time i've spent listening to it has just flown by.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Count of Monte Cristo?

The moment the Count reveals his true identity to the assassin Caderousse. I was chilled to the bone.

Have you listened to any of Andrew Timothy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have never listened to one of Mr. Timothy's recordings but I was so impressed by his performance that I will without a doubt do so again soon.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

the moment the Count and Mercedes spent walking through the garden. You knew what Mercedes knew although she never said it. Her emotion touched me deeply.

Any additional comments?

What words can I say? The book was just...incredible!