The Count of Monte Cristo

Drawing the House Plan

When Caderousse asks Andrea to describe the interior, Andrea protests that such a description would require pen, ink, and paper. Caderousse eagerly produces a sheet of white paper, pen, and ink from an old secretaire, and Andrea—taking the pen with an imperceptible smile—begins to draw. He sketches the house, garden, and courtyard, then proceeds to map out the ground floor and first floor in detail, even marking the position of windows. Caderousse devours every detail, including the location of the famous secretaire in the dressing-room.

Ground Floor Layout

Andrea describes the ground floor as containing a dining-room, two drawing-rooms, a billiard-room, the main staircase in the hall, and a little back staircase. The windows are so magnificent and large that even a man of Caderousse’s size could pass through each frame, though they render the staircase unnecessary. There are no shutters in use, since the Count enjoys looking at the sky even at night. On either side of the gate are stables, and a coach-house on the right contains ladders and, above it, the servants’ rooms fitted with bells that connect to the various apartments.

First Floor Details

The first floor contains an anteroom and a drawing-room. To the right of the drawing-room are a library and a study; to the left, a bedroom and a dressing-room, the latter housing the famous mahogany secretaire whose key is always kept in it. The dressing-room has two windows placed at an angle, drawn on the plan as a small square projecting from the rectangle of the bedroom. Andrea notes that a dog once guarded the yard at night, but it has been moved to Auteuil; he recalls warning Monte Cristo that the house is unprotected when the Count travels to Auteuil, and Monte Cristo replied that he does not care if he is robbed.