The Son of Monte-Cristo

Jules Lermina wrote this adventure novel in 1881 as an unofficial continuation of Alexandre Dumas’s Count of Monte-Cristo, following Esperance, the Count’s son, through abductions, rescues, and a long pursuit that runs from France to the deserts of North Africa and the slave markets of Constantinople. When the vengeful Sultan Maldar, an old enemy who once slipped past Monte-Cristo’s justice, carries Esperance off, the Count gathers his allies and gives chase across land and sea. Romance runs through the action in Esperance’s devotion to Jane Zeld, and familiar figures such as Haydée return. Readers who closed Dumas wanting more of that world will find a fast, incident-packed serial that keeps the original’s taste for revenge, disguise, and daring rescue.