The novel "The Count of Monte Cristo" was originally written in which language?

"The Count of Monte Cristo" (French: "Le Comte de Monte-Cristo") is an adventure novel by French author Alexandre Dumas (père) completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with "The Three Musketeers".

"The Count of Monte Cristo" was originally published in the "Journal des Débats" in eighteen parts. Serialization ran from 28 August 1844 to 15 January 1846. The first edition in book form was published in Paris by Pétion in 18 volumes with the first two issued in 1844 and the remaining sixteen in 1845.

The first appearance of "The Count of Monte Cristo" in English was the first part of a serialization by W. Francis Ainsworth in volume VII of "Ainsworth's Magazine" published in 1845, although this was an abridged summary of the first part of the novel only and was entitled "The Prisoner of If". Ainsworth translated the remaining chapters of the novel, again in abridged form, and issued these in volumes VIII and IX of the magazine in 1845 and 1846 respectively.