# Is "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (Chapman and Hall, 1846) is identified by: The first complete English-language edition in book form was published by Chapman and Hall, London, in two volumes, complete by May 1846; it had first appeared in ten weekly illustrated parts beginning in March 1846. A rival Belfast edition from Simms and McIntyre, in their 'Parlour Novelist' series, began issuing volume one - titled Chateau d'If, translated by Emma Hardy - in April 1846, making it the first appearance in English of any part of the novel; however, that three-volume Belfast set was not completed until October 1846, after Chapman and Hall's complete two-volume London edition (finished by May 1846), so Chapman and Hall is generally cited as the first complete English edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first complete English-language edition in book form was published by Chapman and Hall, London, in two volumes, complete by May 1846; it had first appeared in ten weekly illustrated parts beginning in March 1846
- The translation follows the revised 1846 French text, using the 'Cristo' rather than 'Christo' spelling and including the extra chapter 'The House on the Allees de Meilhan.' The two-volume octavo set carries a frontispiece in volume one and nineteen further plates by M. Valentin, twenty illustrations in total
- Publisher imprint reads Chapman and Hall
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Alexandre Dumas |
| Publisher | Chapman and Hall |
| Year | 1846 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first complete English-language edition in book form was published by Chapman and Hall, London, in two volumes, complete by May 1846… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The first complete English-language edition in book form was published by Chapman and Hall, London, in two volumes, complete by May 1846; it had first appeared in ten weekly illustrated parts beginning in March 1846. The translation follows the revised 1846 French text, using the 'Cristo' rather than 'Christo' spelling and including the extra chapter 'The House on the Allees de Meilhan.' The two-volume octavo set carries a frontispiece in volume one and nineteen further plates by M. Valentin, twenty illustrations in total.

## Is this the true first?
A rival Belfast edition from Simms and McIntyre, in their 'Parlour Novelist' series, began issuing volume one - titled Chateau d'If, translated by Emma Hardy - in April 1846, making it the first appearance in English of any part of the novel; however, that three-volume Belfast set was not completed until October 1846, after Chapman and Hall's complete two-volume London edition (finished by May 1846), so Chapman and Hall is generally cited as the first complete English edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Twentieth-century reprint-house editions (Everyman's Library, Collins Classics, etc.) use later, differently structured and more heavily abridged translations unconnected to either 1846 first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Count of Monte Cristo* by Alexandre Dumas a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-count-of-monte-cristo
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.