"The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas

The theme of The Count of Monte Cristo is one of vengeance and forgiveness, power and powerlessness. When Dantes is unfairly given a life-prison sentence by his enemies (Villefort, Danglars, and Fernand), he spends every waking moment planning his revenge. As soon as Dantes miraculously escapes and returns to the world with riches, he sees it as a sign that God has opened for him the door of revenge.
No longer does the reader recognize the pre-prison Dantes. Fourteen years behind bars in a dark cell has given him a criminal's mind. …