"The Count of Monte Cristo" in Switzerland, for example, plays with a 50-piece orchestra and 30-piece choir.

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He has less vindictive motives than Edmond Dantes of The Count of Monte Cristo for inserting himself in the society of those he knew when he was penniless, but Gatsby throws his wealth around as a point nonetheless.

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Tom Reiss' biography of French aristocrat Alex Dumas, The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, won the Pulitzer Prize for biography.

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Biography: "The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, " by Tom Reiss (Crown), a compelling story of a forgotten swashbuckling hero of mixed race whose bold exploits were captured by his son, Alexander Dumas, in famous 19th century novels.

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Presumably Hughes isn't literally locked up in a dungeon like his Count of Monte Cristo namesake, but the "Breakfast Club" guru has become such a recluse it can't be discounted entirely.

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