the novel was first published in the "journal des débats" in 18 parts from august 28, 1844 to january 15, 1846. it was first published in paris by pétion in 18 volumes (1844-5). it was published in english in 1846 by chapman and hall. it has been translated many times since 1846, and into many languages. dumas wrote a set of three plays that told the story of "the count of monte cristo": "monte cristo" (1848), "le counte de morcerf" (1851), and "villefort" (1851). the book inspired the plot for other novels, including lew wallace's "" (1880).