The Count of Monte Cristo (Bantam Classics)

Set against the turbulent years of the Napoleonicera, Alexandre Dumas's thrilling adventure storyis one of the most widely read romantic novels ofall time. In it the dashing young hero, EdmondDants, is betrayed by his enemies and throwninto a secret dungeon in the Chateau d'If -- doomedto spend his life in a dank prison cell. The storyof his long, intolerable years in captivity, hismiraculous escape, and his carefully wroughtrevenge creates a dramatic tale of mystery and intrigueand paints a vision of France -- a dazzling,dueling, exuberant France -- that has become immortal.