The Château de Monte-Cristo is a

writer's house museum Writers' homes (sometimes writer's, author's or literary houses) are locations where writers lived. Frequently, these homes are preserved as historic house museums and literary tourism destinations, called writer's home museums, especially when ...

located at

Le Port-Marly Le Port-Marly () is a commune in the outer western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region, north of Versailles. In 2019, Le Port-Marly had a population of 5,481. Population See also * C ...

in the

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It was originally built as a residence for writer

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

History

The

château A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking re ...

was designed by the architect Hippolyte Durand and built between 1844 and 1847 for writer

, at the cost of 500,000

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' ( King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centur ...

. Dumas named it after his novel, ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

'' (1844). He called the château his personal "paradise on earth". In 1848, short of money, Dumas sold the property for 31,000 francs. Between 1954 and 1964, the château was the site of the

British School of Paris The British School of Paris (BSP) is a coeducational private day school in Croissy-sur-Seine, France, in Paris' western suburbs. Numbering approximately 600 pupils aged between 3 and 18, it is the only British School Overseas in France accredi ...

. It fell into disrepair, and in 1969, its owners applied to replace the château with 400 flats. The local authority bought and renovated the property. Since 1994, the two châteaux and gardens have been restored. The entire property is operated as a public historic museum memorializing Dumas.

Architecture

The château is

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

in style, with three storeys. Its façades are decorated with floral motifs, angels, and musical instruments, with a sculpture of a historical writer above each ground-floor window. Dumas' family shield appears above the main door. Among its rooms is the Moors Salon, restored by

Hassan II of Morocco Hassan II (; 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he was the eldest son of King Mohammed V of Morocco, Mohammed V, and his second wife Princess Lalla Abla ...

. In the garden is a

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

pavilion, which Dumas used as a writing office and named the Château d'If, after another setting from ''The Count of Monte Cristo''.

Gallery

File:Le Port-Marly Château de Monte-Cristo 001.JPG, Château de Monte-Cristo, the main building File:Chateau d'if2.jpg, Separate building for writing studio, which Dumas named the Château d'If File:Le Port-Marly Château d'If 004.JPG, Work place of Alexandre Dumas in the Château d'If File:Maison Dumas chateau d'If 01.jpg, Château d'If File:Le Port-Marly Château d'If 002.JPG, The decorated stairs of the Château d'If File:Le Port-Marly Château d'If 003.jpg, The titles of 88 works of the writer engraved on walls of Château d'If File:Le Port-Marly Château d'If 001.JPG, View of Chateau d'If from the Château de Monte-Cristo File:Maison Dumas passage jardin 01.jpg, The grotto in the garden

References

External links

Official website

– Société des amis d'Alexandre Dumas (in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Monte-Cristo, Chateau de Chateau de Monte-Cristo Châteaux in Yvelines Houses completed in 1846 Historic house museums in Île-de-France Literary museums in France Museums in Yvelines Tourist attractions in Yvelines Maisons des Illustres