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MONACO AND THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO : ALEXANDRE DUMAS ’ IMAGINATION RUNS WILD
By Justin Brisk and Julia Belyakova
He wrote captivating escapades surrounding Princes and Kings . His books are everywhere and his plots transferred easily to TV and film . Who hasn ’ t heard of the Three Musketeers and the Count of Monte Cristo ? You can ’ t write such captivating scenes without being on location — and the Mediterranean featured prominently in his novels . It was inevitable that Dumas would light upon the Principality . Twice he did so while researching the Count of Monte Cristo , and on one trip to Florence and Italy he didn ’ t hold back on his ability to fantasize over royal intrigue . In fact , as he was being whisked in his carriage through Monaco with the designer Louis Jadin , who will illustrate his stories and with his future wife , the actress Ida Ferrier , 24 years old , he was thinking up plots as thick as the freak mist and rain storm outside . Not able to focus on the beautiful seascape due to the murky weather he ruminated about Monaco instead . Seizing upon a few local facts and using his formidable intellect he wove them into an extraordinary plot worthy of a novel in itself .
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