A Prisoner Of Birth – modern version of the Count of Monte Cristo

A Prisoner Of Birth by Jeffrey Archer is a modern version of the classic “The Count of Monte Cristo”. However, it does not lack in originality and has been well researched. For example, Japanese knotweed can indeed destroy a building site and bring down the lands real estate value considerably.

The similarities between the “The Count of Monte Christo” and “A prisoner of Birth” are many such as the following:

1. Cartwright is the first prisoner to escape from Belmarsh while Dantes is the first to escape from Chateau dlf.
2. Sir Nicholas, a fellow prisoner teaches Cartwright to read, write and the manners of polite society, while Abbe Faria does it for Dantes.
3. Cartwright escapes as Sir Nicholas on the death of Sir Nicholas while Dantes escapes as the dead body of Abee Faria.
4. Both Cartwright and Dantes make use of a title after escaping from prison.
5. Cartwright gets a huge treasure in the form of stamps from Nicholas’s grandfathers will while Dantes gets the treasure hidden by Abbe Faria.
6. Both Cartwright and Dantes set out to exact revenge on those who led to their unlawful imprisonment.
   

Jeffrey archer has also included many of the features of the musketeers and makes known to all off his admiration for Alexander Dumas and his works. Although the book is continuous and believable for the most part, the part where the trial of Cartwright is dismissed based on the discussion between Spencer Craig and Sir Marshall is rather sudden.