Château de Monte-Cristo

I took my mother in law to visit this 'château' yesterday, just a short drive from our home.

In 1844, after his success with 'The Three Musketeers' and 'The Count of Monte-Cristo' Alexandre Dumas wanted to set himself up in a quiet area out of town where he could write in peace. He chose a hill in Port-Marly for his new home and employed Hippolyte Durand as his architect. Between them they designed and built this renaissance château for him to live in, as well as a gothic castle nearby for him to work from. He moved into the château in 1847, but it was short lived, as he was forced to sell it in 1849 - being so much in debt. He did somehow manage to live on in the château until 1851 however, when he left France to go into exile in Belgium.

The building was later bought over and renovated by the local communes and is open to the public for visits and theatrical events.

[Lynne]

Beautiful and works well in B&W

[Jo]

Wonderful shot and the b&w is a great effect.

[Graham Thresher]

A very grand capture

[Margaret Brown]

Just stunning on black, love all the detail and comp, fav

[Jo]

How funny I watched 'The Count of Monte-Cristo' last night, so its rather fitting to see this image today!

[Paula W]

What a grand building, looks so perfect.

[Junan Heath]

Beautiful shot! Love it in b&w!

[Milanie]

Great b&w for this - you see all those details so well. Imagine designing something like this to live in - it's gorgeous.

[KWind]

What a great building! You've taken a stunning shot of it!

[Taffy]

/a fascinating read -- and such a good composition. Has the feel of an classic post card.

[Issi Bannerman]

@jo13 How's that for coincidence?! :-)

[Kathy]

I like the style of your image. It looks as if it could have been taken in 1800's.

[Lee]

Beautiful building, but how sad that it was lost after what must have been a lot of thought, effort and cash put into its construction. You've taken a lovely shot of it too.