Most MASTERPIECE series are based on great literature; it’s right there in the name. Often, despite their rarified air, the source material is still somewhat approachable, giving those of us watching along at home a fighting chance to read the original and compare it to the adaptation. The Count of Monte Cristo is a different story. Not only is the original version in French, it’s also a notoriously lengthy and complex novel. Lucky for us, GBH’s Senior Director of Programming Ron Bachman just finished reading the book, and agreed to give us the inside scoop.
GBH Drama: We know “The Count of Monte Cristo” is long, but just how long is it? How many pages is your adaptation, and how long did it take you to read?
Ron Bachman: The edition I read was nearly 1200 pages long. It took me about a month to read.
GBH Drama: With a book that size, there are bound to be a ton of characters and plot threads — did you find that anything notable didn’t make it into the show? If so, did you miss those omissions?
Bachman: With so many plot threads and characters, I was honestly expecting more to be left out of the adaptation. If anything, I was impressed by how much of the original story they managed to preserve. Inevitably, some plotlines were streamlined, and some characters were merged with others, reassigned to different roles in the story, or left out altogether, but it was all done very intelligently and effectively. A couple of characters I expected to be elided from the adaptation were in fact included, much to my surprise and delight.
GBH Drama: What did you think of the casting? Any notable slam dunks or misses?
Bachman: I don’t think there were any real misfires. It’s an international cast, so you have to be willing to accept a range of accents. I was especially impressed by Sam Claflin in the title role. I thought he was magnetic. And Jeremy Irons, while he only appears in one episode, is perfection.
GBH Drama: Obviously the original novel is in French — how did you go about choosing a translation? What do you look for, and what do you avoid?
Bachman: When reading a public domain book that may exist in multiple translations, I tend to do a little research to determine which one is considered the best. In this case, I chose a translation by Robin Buss, published by Penguin Classics, for two reasons: 1) Most of the available English translations date back to the 19th century and tend to feature more stilted prose. Buss’s translation makes for a smoother reading experience for the modern reader. And 2) as I understand it, Buss’s version was the first (only?) one to translate the entire original novel. Previous translations left some passages out, either for reasons of length or, in at least one case, because the content was considered a little too edgy for Victorian sensibilities. (No spoilers here, but I’ll note that this latter material is retained in the adaptation.)
GBH Drama: Given what you found out about the Buss translation being unusual in retaining the entire original novel, it seems likely that a lot of folks have probably read an abridged version of this book, which in itself is a form of adaptation. Would you argue that it’s worth reading the full text? And if so, why?
Bachman: I would absolutely recommend avoiding abridged versions. In the first place, the uncut version moves along at a nice clip, so you don’t feel that you’re drowning in a torrent of unnecessary verbiage. And secondly, while there are many, many plot threads and characters, they do all intertwine in interesting ways. Leaving something out might cause confusion for the reader later in the book. I have a memory of reading an abridged version of this book when I was in my 20s and encountering a reference to a scene from earlier in the book that had clearly been excised from the abridgement. It was very confusing and unsatisfying.
GBH Drama: So it sounds like you would recommend that folks read the novel?
Bachman: Yes, it’s great fun. And even though the TV adaptation is probably the most faithful one that’s ever been produced (at least in English), the book still contains more material than the TV version can include. So reading it will be a different experience.
GBH Drama: Have you read other original novels behind an other MASTERPIECE shows? Which ones would you recommend, if so?
Bachman: I’m sure I’ve read several, but the only one that comes to mind at the moment goes back many years. In the early 80s, MASTERPIECE did an adaptation of a novel by R.F. Delderfield called “To Serve Them All My Days,” about a WWI veteran who becomes a teacher at a boys’ school between the two world wars. I remember loving both the book and the TV adaptation, and while it’s been many years since I read it, I feel confident in recommending that one (which is still in print, I believe).
GBH Drama: Was there anything you were particularly excited to see on the screen when you were reading the novel? If so, did that moment live up to your expectations?
Bachman: Not especially. Perhaps because I’ve seen movie versions of this book over the years, I already knew what to expect when it came to iconic scenes like Edmond’s escape from the Chateau d’If. There’s a storyline in the book that plays almost like a murder mystery (a genre I love), and that thread was significantly condensed for the TV version. They just took a shorter route to the same destination, but part of me wished that had played out in a fashion that was more like the book. Of course, you have to make such decisions when adapting a long work like this, or you end up with a 20-hour series.
GBH Drama: What drew you to reading this giant novel? Did the tv adaptation play any part in that?
Bachman: I’ve been meaning to read the book in its full form for many years, just because I’m a sucker for a large-scale adventure story — and this is one of the best. Knowing that this adaptation was coming prompted me to read the book now, in advance of the TV series.
GBH Drama: What’s your next big reading project?
Bachman: Well, after reading something this long, I tend to take a break with shorter works for a while. (The first book I read after this one was a P.G. Wodehouse novel, both because I love Wodehouse and because you can breeze through one of his books in no time.) Last year, I started a project of reading various books that riff on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby ”— the only novel I’ve read four times — as last year was its 100th anniversary. I got through a few but have a much longer list that I need to return to.
