The Countdown of Monte Cristo
Welcome to The Countdown of Monte Cristo, the daily podcast where we break down one of literature’s greatest adventures, bite by bite. For the next four years—yes, you heard that right—host Landen Celano will be reading a passage from Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo every single day. Each episode offers a short escape into this timeless tale of betrayal, revenge, and redemption, paired with Landen’s reflections, insights, and occasional forays into 19th-century oddities. Never read The Count of Monte Cristo? Perfect—you’re not alone. This show is for first-timers, seasoned fans, or anyone who’s curious about exploring a literary masterpiece one small morsel at a time. Along the way, we’ll dig into historical tidbits, unpack the story’s twists and turns, and maybe even stumble over a French pronunciation or two. (Phonetics are hard, okay?) Whether you’re a lover of classics, a casual listener looking for a daily dose of culture, or just someone who needs a momentary escape from the noise of the modern world, this podcast has something for you. So grab your metaphorical ticket to Marseille, and let’s set sail on this absurdly ambitious journey together. Subscribe now on your favorite podcatcher or find us on YouTube. And don’t forget to support the show at https://patreon.com/gruntworkpod. Join us as we count down The Count!
Episodes
Six days later, La Jeune Amélie returns.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25, Edmond plays the part of a wounded man, feigning weakness as the smugglers recount their narrow escape from a guard-ship. They regret his absence and the fifty piastres profit he might have earned, but Dantès, secretly heir to untold millions, conceals even the faintest smile. That evening he leaves Monte Cristo behind, sailing back toward Leghorn — ...
Day breaks over Monte Cristo, and with it begins Edmond’s transformation.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 25, Dantès conceals the treasure with painstaking care — restoring the cavern and hillside until they appear untouched by human hands. But he cannot remain a dragon hoarding in solitude. His heart burns to rejoin mankind, to wield the rank and influence that wealth alone commands. The treasure is hidden, but a new destiny...
Ecstasy, terror, and gratitude overwhelm the new heir of Spada’s fortune.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Edmond staggers between disbelief and frenzy, frightening the goats of Monte Cristo with his wild cries before falling to his knees in prayer. At last he begins to measure his fortune: gold ingots, crowns bearing the effigy of Alexander VI, pearls, diamonds, and jewels beyond reckoning. That night he keeps watch at th...
The moment of revelation arrives.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Edmond bursts open the chest sealed for centuries and beholds its wonders: heaps of golden coin, heavy bars of unpolished gold, and cascades of diamonds, rubies, and pearls that clatter like hail in his hands. Frenzied with amazement, Dantès rushes through the grotto and onto the rocks, gasping at the immensity of his discovery. He is alone with the Spada t...
At last, the moment of truth.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Dantès digs into the farthest corner of the second grotto, and his pickaxe strikes against wood and iron. With torchlight he clears the earth to reveal a massive oaken coffer, bound in steel and bearing a silver plate engraved with the arms of the Spada family. After years of hope and fear, the treasure has taken form.
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Proof grows stronger, yet Edmond nearly faints under the weight of hope and fear.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Dantès forces himself onward, prying loose the carefully disguised stones to reveal a hidden chamber. At last he enters the second grotto — a low, gloomy space, heavy with stale air. His eyes adjust, but the darkness yields nothing. The treasure chamber is empty… or so it seems.
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The cardinal’s words echo in Edmond’s memory: “In the farthest angle of the second opening.”
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Dantès realizes he has only uncovered the first grotto and resumes his search. At last, a hollow sound answers his pickaxe. Chipping away the surface, he discovers the wall is only stucco, painted to resemble granite — a careful disguise hiding the entrance to something deeper. The true path has bee...
At the edge of despair, Dantès decides to descend.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Edmond steels himself, imagining Borgia’s hand upon the same steps centuries before. He braces for darkness — but instead finds a cavern shimmering with dim blue light and walls of glittering granite. Smiling bitterly, he thinks these must be the only treasures left: illusions mistaken for riches, dreams mistaken for reality.
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With a final heave, Dantès topples the massive rock into the sea.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, he discovers beneath it an iron ring set into a flagstone — the entrance to a hidden grotto. Yet even as he pries it open and reveals steps vanishing into darkness, Edmond hesitates. Fear and doubt strike him: what if Faria’s dream was nothing, or worse, already plundered by another hand? At the edge of discovery, hope and dr...
At last, the secret yields to Edmond’s hand.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, Dantès uncovers the artifice that held the circular rock in place. Unable to move it with strength alone, he turns to powder and fire. The explosion shatters the wedge stone and lifts the rock, sending a snake slithering from the darkness like a guardian spirit. Beneath lies the promise of Cardinal Spada’s hidden treasure.
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Reassured by the sight of departing sails, Dantès turns his attention back to the island itself.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, he follows the faint marks toward a secluded creek, hidden like a secret harbor, and imagines how Cardinal Spada might have concealed both his boat and his treasure. Returning to the great circular rock, Edmond realizes the truth — it was not lifted into place, but lowered to conceal what lies b...
Alone at last, Dantès stands beneath the burning midday sun on Monte Cristo.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 24, he feels the eerie sensation of being watched, even in solitude. Gun in hand, he climbs to the highest rock to survey the horizon — not gazing at Corsica, Sardinia, or Elba, but fixed on the departing ships that had left him free to pursue his destiny.
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The ruse complete, Dantès watches the smugglers sail away—his feigned weakness leaving him “abandoned” on Monte Cristo. Alone at last, he lets slip a smile: among hardened men of contraband, he has found loyalty and kindness. But the charade is over. Rising with sudden strength, more agile than a wild kid leaping among the myrtles, he seizes his gun and pickaxe and hurries to the rock where the mysterious marks had led him.
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Dantès’ feigned injury deepens, his cries of pain convincing even the strict patron of La Jeune Amélie to consider breaking his rule of never delaying a voyage.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 23, Edmond insists he be left behind with food, weapons, and tools, declaring that death on the island is preferable to the agony of movement. The crew hesitates, torn between duty and loyalty, while Edmond quietly edges closer to the s...
Edmond’s search for the treasure takes a sudden turn.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 23, while bounding across the rocks toward his comrades, Dantès slips and falls heavily down a slope. Found bleeding and in pain, he insists on being left to rest while the sailors eat. Alone again, his body weakened but his mind resolute, Edmond presses himself against a mossy rock — still guarding his hidden purpose.
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Exploring Monte Cristo alone, Dantès follows a narrow cleft carved by a torrent, searching for the grottos of legend.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 23, he discovers faint marks scratched into stone, hidden under moss and myrtle, and dares to believe they were left as guides by Cardinal Spada himself. But the trail ends abruptly at a great round rock, leaving Edmond uncertain whether he has reached the beginning of the path ...
Feigning a hunting trip, Dantès sends Jacopo back to the crew and climbs alone into the heights of Monte Cristo.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 23, Edmond gazes down on the smugglers below, reflecting that their small fortunes, soon squandered, mean nothing beside the treasure he seeks. Once content with liberty alone, he now craves wealth with a passion he can hardly control — a hunger Providence itself seems to have placed...
Dantès presses Jacopo about the hidden grottos of Monte Cristo — only to be told that none exist.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 23, Edmond wrestles with doubt and resolves to delay his search until morning. Meanwhile, a phantom-like vessel arrives, and the smugglers set to work. Even as he labors alongside them, Dantès fears his eagerness may betray him, masking his restlessness beneath the sadness prison has etched into hi...
At last, the island itself comes into view.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 23, Edmond guides the course toward Monte Cristo, his emotions rising and falling with each glimpse of its rocky silhouette. By nightfall, La Jeune Amélie drops anchor, and Dantès leaps ashore, barely able to conceal his fervor. Under the silver light of the moon, he questions Jacopo about where they will pass the night on this long-awaited island.
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Dantès’ command of the crew grows so complete that even the old patron yields to him.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Chapter 23, Edmond takes the helm through the night, guiding the vessel beneath the stars with Monte Cristo rising on the horizon. Alone at sea, his thoughts crowd the silence — dreams of treasure, vengeance, and freedom keeping him awake even as dawn approaches.
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