The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics)

In February, Dumas wins a libel action against the author of a book accusing him of plagiarism. Some events in the story are so well-known that they exist apart from the novel, like Robinson Crusoe’s discovery of Man Friday’s footprint, or incidents and characters from Treasure Island and Frankenstein. She was astonished, not at being disinherited but at the feeling which usually dictates such an action. Finally she felt his heart beat, a barely perceptible breath passed his lips and the young man’s whole body was shaken by that slight shudder which indicates returning life.