The Count of Monte Cristo

On the day of his betrothal, the young sailor Edmond Dantès is denounced by jealous rivals and buried alive in the island fortress of the Château d'If, with no trial and no hope. Years into his imprisonment he meets a fellow inmate, a learned abbé, who gives him two things: an education, and the secret of an immense treasure hidden on the isle of Monte Cristo. What follows is the most satisfying revenge plot ever constructed, executed by a man who returns to Paris rich, unrecognizable, and infinitely patient.

Dumas wrote it as a serial, and every chapter still snaps shut like a trap. Yes, it's over fifty hours long, and it earns them, plot twist by plot twist. This is the definitive case for turning a doorstop novel into a long, luxurious listen.

At roughly 464,500 words, The Count of Monte Cristo runs about 51½ hours at 1x narration speed. That figure is an estimate based on a typical narration pace. The exact length depends on the voice and the playback speed you choose.

The edition linked here is available from Project Gutenberg under its US public-domain listing. Check the edition, translation, completeness and copyright rules where you live. LoudReader lets you browse and download Gutenberg books; they are not all stored on installation. To listen:

1. Install LoudReader on iPhone or iPad, or its iPad app on a compatible Apple Silicon Mac.
2. Search for “The Count of Monte Cristo” in the built-in catalog and add it to your library.
3. Press play. A natural offline voice reads the book while each word highlights on screen, and your place is saved between sessions.

Speech is generated locally without uploading the book for narration. Download the book and check your chosen voice before travelling offline. Available voices depend on your device; check the in-app voice list. Try every available voice for your first 8 hours of listening. Afterwards, keep a free English voice selection and unlimited book listening. No LoudReader account or word quota.