{"id":4997,"date":"2018-04-05T22:18:14","date_gmt":"2018-04-05T20:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/?p=4997"},"modified":"2025-09-07T00:37:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T22:37:06","slug":"mein-prunkunikat-von-der-graf-von-monte-christo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/2018\/04\/my-magnificent-copy-of-the-count-of-monte-cristo\/","title":{"rendered":"My magnificent copy of \"The Count of Monte Cristo\""},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

As many of you readers probably already know, I have a weakness for beautiful books. About two years ago, I gave in to this and treated myself to a very handsome unique edition of “The Lord of the Rings”<\/a> by Anna<\/a>. Now I\u2019ve gone back to her again and am the proud owner of a deluxe edition of The Count of Monte Cristo<\/em>. Of course, I don\u2019t want to miss the chance to introduce you to this masterpiece, both in terms of content and its outstanding visual design.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The Count of Monte Cristo<\/em> by Alexandre Dumas is one of the great novels of the past centuries, and thanks to numerous adaptations\u2014such as the film starring G\u00e9rard Depardieu\u2014it\u2019s a widely known story. However, probably not that many have actually read this hefty tome, even though in my opinion the book easily outshines any film version. I found it absolutely captivating, even though Dumas uses some tried-and-true devices to build suspense, which might seem overused today. Much like Balzac, he has a gift for drawing readers in and creating characters that feel truly real and deeply layered. It\u2019s a genuine adventure story\u2014timelessly good and one that can be reread again and again.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

When I last read the book a few years ago, there was only one unabridged edition available, the paperback from dtv Verlag. It looks decent enough, but it\u2019s still just a paperback. There\u2019s also a hardcover edition from Anaconda Verlag, though that\u2019s more of a low-budget option and only somewhat suitable for bibliophiles. Barnes & Noble offers a very beautiful English-language edition, but as so often happens, there\u2019s nothing comparable in the German-speaking market. Since I love this book, it was clear to me that my collection was missing a deluxe edition worthy of such a magnificent story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Anna is a professional bookbinder who specializes in custom-made leather-bound editions, and she showcases her beautiful creations on annabuchwunder.de<\/a>. She mostly presents examples since the exact design and finish of each book are customized to the client\u2019s wishes. I\u2019ve spent plenty of time browsing her gallery<\/a>, and Kathrin from phantasienreisen.de also had a unique edition of War and Peace<\/em><\/a> bound by her, which looks absolutely stunning. Anna truly serves a niche here\u2014I don\u2019t know of any other bookbinders who specialize in such beautiful projects. Her work really speaks to me, and I could think of a whole bagful of books that would look fantastic as leather-bound editions. Of course, these beautiful editions come at a price (you can find examples and pricing on her website<\/a>), but that\u2019s understandable. These books are painstakingly handcrafted using high-quality materials, and they\u2019re absolutely worth the investment.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Of course, the question also came up as to how my Monte Cristo edition should look. What I liked about the dtv paperback was the color of the cover and the painting of the Ch\u00e2teau d\u2019If, the prison island where Edmond Dant\u00e8s is held. For the binding, Anna used smooth leather in a very similar shade of blue. It works beautifully\u2014neutral, yet perfectly complementing the painting on the front cover. Personally, I prefer smooth leather to suede, since it has more of that \u201cold book\u201d charm and feels pleasantly refined to the touch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

She placed the painting in a circular frame on the front cover\u2014a design choice that worked wonderfully in some of her The Lord of the Rings<\/em> editions. It\u2019s especially fitting there, as the round hobbit doors suggest a small glimpse into the world within the book. The painting\u2014with its dramatic sky, storm-battered rocks, and the old fortress\u2014already promises a great adventure, even more so if you know the story. The artwork is bordered by a raised frame that adds visual depth, making it quite the eye-catcher when you pull the book from the shelf.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The raised bands on the spine\u2014just like in my The Lord of the Rings<\/em> edition\u2014are a lovely touch. They give the book a classic look without feeling overdone. Otherwise, the spine might have looked a bit plain. The title is embossed in gold only on the spine, which looks even more elegant in person than in the photos. Since the Count is at the center of the story, the book should radiate a bit of nobility\u2014and gold suits that perfectly.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This aristocratic touch continues on the endpapers, which feature fleur-de-lis patterns, hinting at the noble circles the Count moves in. I\u2019ve always thought that endpapers add a lot to a book\u2019s character\u2014when they contrast or complement the binding colors nicely, the result feels just right. Anna nailed this again: it\u2019s subtle and elegant without being kitschy. She even embossed her logo, her personal seal of quality.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The two ribbon bookmarks pick up the colors of the cover\u2014the blue and the brownish-gold tones of the artwork and spine embossing. Both are beautifully braided and slightly more saturated than the book\u2019s cover, another detail I really appreciate, as it harmonizes perfectly with the overall color scheme.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In terms of content, the book naturally corresponds exactly to the dtv edition<\/a>. It\u2019s excellent\u2014nothing to complain about there. Since the book is printed on thin paper due to its size, it works especially well in this deluxe version. Altogether, it\u2019s a wonderfully supple, hefty tome that feels just right in your hands.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Anna also sent me a few making-of photos that I naturally don\u2019t want to withhold from you. The following picture shows the book in the bookbinding press.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Another picture shows the type set that Anna used to emboss the gold lettering on the spine.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

This is true craftsmanship, and I find it very impressive when someone masters their trade as well as Anna does. I\u2019ve even thought about trying bookbinding myself, but with my two left hands, I\u2019d probably injure myself just preparing the tools.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

In conclusion, I can say that this book turned out wonderfully again and gave me that \u201cwow\u201d effect the moment I unwrapped it. Owning this masterpiece of world literature in such a stunning deluxe edition feels like Christmas and a birthday rolled into one. Anna has done an outstanding job once again. I\u2019ve had The Count of Monte Cristo<\/em> on my reread pile for quite some time, but now it\u2019s moved right to the top. It\u2019s an entirely different tactile experience to hold a book of this caliber in your hands. For anyone curious, I can only recommend browsing through Anna\u2019s gallery<\/a> to see her many examples of truly beautiful books.<\/p>\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As many of you readers probably already know, I have a weakness for beautiful books. About two years ago, I gave in to this and treated myself to a very handsome unique edition of “The Lord of the Rings” by Anna. Now I\u2019ve gone back to her again and am the proud owner of a … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “My magnificent copy of “The Count of Monte Cristo””<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Mein Prunkunikat von \"Der Graf von Monte Christo\" - lesestunden","description":"Wie viele von euch Leser bestimmt schon wissen, habe ich eine Schw\u00e4che f\u00fcr sch\u00f6ne B\u00fccher. Vor etwa zwei Jahren habe ich dieser nachgegeben und mir ein sehr schm"},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"_slim_seo_primary_term_category":0,"_slim_seo_primary_term_post_tag":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-art"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/monte_beitrag_neu.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lesestunden.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}