February 2, 2009
The Count of Monte Cristo
Written by Alexandre Dumas
There is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world; there is only the comparison of one state with another. Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss.”
—Chapter LXXII, pg. 531
Fun Facts
- In his lifetime, Dumas wrote approximately 250 books however, he often used assistants to help him finish them.
- He had about 73 different assistants throughout his lifetime including August Maquet who helped Dumas write The Count of Monte Cristo.
- Dumas was well-known in Paris at the time of The Count of Monte Cristo’s publication as both a celebrated playwright and as a master of “romans feuilletons,” which were the serialized novels that were extremely popular in nineteenth-century Paris.
- The Count of Monte Cristo was published as a “romans feuilletons” in Paris’ Le Journal des Debats between 1844 and 1846. This explains the “cliff hanger” endings of most of the chapters that would have been used to keep readers reading from week to week.
February 10, 2009
The Awakening
Written by Kate Chopin
“The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clearing, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in the abysses of solitude; to lose itself in mazes of inward contemplation. The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft, close embrace.”
—Chapter VI, pg. 18
Fun Facts
- The Awakening was first published in 1899 but the publisher decided to stop printing it after one printing because of the scandal it caused. It would not be republished until 1969.
- The book was originally criticized as indecent and unwholesome for its open portrayal of Edna’s sexual desires. Upon its republication, it was hailed as an early vision of woman’s emancipation.
- Chopin began writing as a way to support herself after her husband died which was unusual for a woman at the turn of the century.
- The vehement responses to The Awakening cast a shadow over Chopin and she only published 3 more short stories before her death but no other novel.
February 17, 2009
Crime and Punishment
Written by Fyodor Dostoevsky
“Nothing in this world is harder than speaking the truth, nothing easier than flattery.”
—Part VI, Ch. 4, pg 471
Fun Facts
- Crime and Punishment was originally published in 1866 as a serialized novel in a literary journal known as The Russian Messenger.
- Dostoevsky came up with the idea for Crime and Punishment after losing all his money at a casino in Germany and being unable to pay his bill or afford meals.
- In the epilogue, the description of Raskolnikov’s time in prison is based on Dostoevsky’s own experiences at a Siberian prison camp, which he wrote about in The House of the Dead.
February 25, 2009
Great Expectations
Written by Charles Dickens
“That was a memorable day to me, for it made great changes in me. But it is the same with any life. Imagine one selected day struck out of it, and think how different its course would have been.”
—Chapter 9, page 75
Fun Facts
- Great Expectations first appeared in serialized form in All Year Around from 1860 to 1861.
- Charles Dickens wrote two different endings for Great Expectations. The majority of versions contain the first ending, or both.
- Great Expectations is considered semi-autobiographical because many incidents are taken from Dickens’ own life.
