Chateau - Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas is possibly the most widely read French author, ever. His writings number 100,000 pages and are translated into many languages. As an avid reader I am very familiar with his books The Three Musketeers, the Count of Monte Cristo and of course,writings on the Man in the Iron Mask.


Dumas was immensely popular and became very rich, for a time, until his various business interests eventually failed (such as his theatre and newspapers), his profligate spending on friends, entertaining, travelling and his reputed 40 mistresses. He had enough money to build a very extravagant house in Port-Marly, near Saint Germain-en-Laye outside Paris. In 1844 he found just the right section which could accommodate a park, writing house and also a grandiose residence. He knew what he wanted and hang the cost.

It has beautiful carving in stone and is very tall, with two towers, a staircase in each. The exterior features carvings of famous literary giants, such as Shakespeare, and Dumas's initial also feature. None of the rooms are especially large and it  must have been a tight fit for crinolined ladies to negotiate the staircases. The back of the chateau has a basin with dragons feeding it but it's not full of water and isn't working, alas.

Almost none of his luxury furniture remains as he was obliged to sell it all only a year after he moved in. He put the house on the market later on and negotiated to stay there for two years, busily writing.

This is a house of imagination. I think he must have wanted to live the lives in his books and plays. The Moorish room is particularly finely done and I can imagine the Count of Monte Christo and his lovely Haydee living there.

Inside the house they have tried to put furniture of the times. Inside a cabinet is a lovely set of porcelain decorated with scenes from the Count of Monte Christo.

Also in the house are posters, books written by the author, scenes from his travels abroad and rather a lot of drawings of his mistresses, plus his official son who is known as Alexandre Dumas le fils (son) who was also a writer and playwright.





Dumas was a political animal and his actions got him into trouble. Things were Ok while he was working for the future King Louis-Philippe but he ended up having to go into exile later, in Belgium, until the heat died down, much as another outspoken writer, Victor Hugo, had to when he upset Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (Emperor Napoleon III) after 1851. After years in Belgium he moved to Russia where French was spoken in posh circles. He was popular there. He also got involved with Garibaldi who was trying to unify Italy. The man certainly had plenty of his own adventures.

Dumas was the grandson of a minor French noble plantation owner and a female black slave from what is now Haiti. His father went into the French army. Alexandre suffered discrimination because of his mixed ancestry. On the 30th November 2002, Alexandre Dumas was given a national tribute and he was laid to rest in the Panthéon alongside Victor Hugo.

It's such a shame, I think, that Dumas wasted the money he earned on stupid spending on things that would never last. After changing hands many times and falling into decay the chateau's then owner, a private development company that had rented out the chateau for a number of years, planned to build 400 new homes on the site. Demolition loomed in 1969. In an emotional response, two preservation groups came together to save this heritage from the threat of the speculators. The property has been restored. The Moorish salon has been renovated by Moroccan craftsman with the patronage of King Hassan II of Morocco.

This property is well worth a visit if you are near Paris. Stroll the beautiful park, peek in the window of his extravagant turreted study named Chateau d'If (for the prison where Edmond Dantes escapes, in the count of Monte Cristo).

After my visit I felt newly inspired to re-read some of his stories and to find a copy of Twenty Years After - a sequel to the Three Musketeers.

 Wander through the house but switch off photo flash if you want to take photos.

Parking is available onsite.

https://www.chateau-monte-cristo.com/main/en/