Difference between revisions of "Le Comte de Monte-Cristo"
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Two English adaptations of the novel were published in 1868, the first by [[Thomas Hailes Lacy]], largely based on Dumas' version, and a more radical version by Charles Fechter ()[]. | Two English adaptations of the novel were published in 1868, the first by [[Thomas Hailes Lacy]], largely based on Dumas' version, and a more radical version by Charles Fechter ()[]. | ||
| − | Fechter's play, with the author as Dante, was first performed at the Adelphi in London in October 1868, and as the inaugural play at the opening of the Globe Theatre, Boston in 1870. In 1883 James O'Neill (the father of playwright Eugene O'Neill) played the lead, going on to perform it more than 6000 times. It became a casue of great content to him, an aspect that his son would incorporate into his semi-autobiographical masterpiece ''[[A Long Day's Journey | + | Fechter's play, with the author as Dante, was first performed at the Adelphi in London in October 1868, and as the inaugural play at the opening of the Globe Theatre, Boston in 1870. In 1883 James O'Neill (the father of playwright Eugene O'Neill) played the lead, going on to perform it more than 6000 times. It became a casue of great content to him, an aspect that his son would incorporate into his semi-autobiographical masterpiece ''[[A Long Day's Journey into Night]]''. |
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| − | 1866: Performed as ''[[Lucretia Borgia]]'' by the [[Le Roy-Duret Company]] in the [[Harrington Street Theatre]], Cape Town, on | + | 1866: Performed as ''[[Lucretia Borgia]]'' by the [[Le Roy-Duret Company]] in the [[Harrington Street Theatre]], Cape Town, on |
= Sources = | = Sources = | ||
Revision as of 06:10, 30 June 2020
Le Comte de Monte-Cristo is the world famous novel by Alexandre Dumas (père, 1802-1870)[1] and also the title given to a number of dramatizations of it.
Contents
The novel
The original text
Written in French by Dumas and his collaborator Auguste Maquet (1813-1888)[2], it was completed in 1844 and serialized (under the name of Dumas) in the Journal des Débats from 28 August 1844 to 15 January 1846.
The novel tells the thrilling story of Edmond Dantès who, falsely accused and imprisoned without trial in the notorious Château d'If on an island near Marseilles, escapes with the help of a fellow prisoner. Having become extremely wealthy, he later returns as the mysterious and wealthy "Count of Monte Cristo", to take revenge he takes on all those who had wronged him.
Translations and adaptations
The novel was translated into many languages, and is widely known in English as The Count of Monte Cristo (sometimes spelled The Count of Monte Christo). The first English version was The Prisoner of If, an abridged summary of the first part of the novel, serialized by W. Francis Ainsworth (Ainsworth's Magazine, 1845). The most commonly utilised English version was a translation by an anonymous author, originally published in 1846 by Chapman and Hall. This was originally released in ten weekly installments from March 1846 with six pages of letterpress and two illustrations by M Valentin.
Dramatizations of the novel
Alexandre Dumas and Auguste Maquet wrote a set of four plays that collectively told the story of The Count of Monte Cristo: Monte Cristo Part I (1848); Monte Cristo Part II (1848); Le Comte de Morcerf (1851) and Villefort (1851).
Two English adaptations of the novel were published in 1868, the first by Thomas Hailes Lacy, largely based on Dumas' version, and a more radical version by Charles Fechter ()[].
Fechter's play, with the author as Dante, was first performed at the Adelphi in London in October 1868, and as the inaugural play at the opening of the Globe Theatre, Boston in 1870. In 1883 James O'Neill (the father of playwright Eugene O'Neill) played the lead, going on to perform it more than 6000 times. It became a casue of great content to him, an aspect that his son would incorporate into his semi-autobiographical masterpiece A Long Day's Journey into Night.
Performance history in South Africa
1866: Performed as Lucretia Borgia by the Le Roy-Duret Company in the Harrington Street Theatre, Cape Town, on
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandre_Dumas
D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)
F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.203-205
Go to ESAT Bibliography
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