The Count of Monte Cristo

The same era, the same France, a completely different angle on injustice — Hugo's Jean Valjean seeks redemption where Dumas's Edmond seeks revenge

Revenge delayed by thought — Hamlet cannot act; the Count acts perfectly. Both pay a psychological price for their relationship with vengeance

Both novels feature men who construct entirely new identities to pursue something lost — but Gatsby wants the past and Edmond wants justice

The psychology of a man who believes he is qualified to act as judge and executioner — Raskolnikov and the Count share the same dangerous idea

Dumas's other great adventure novel — faster, lighter, less morally complex, but sharing the same theatrical bravura and genius for plot architecture

Published 1847 — same era, same concern with identity construction and social performance, but Jane claims identity through moral assertion rather than revenge