The Count of Monte Cristo: Illustrated Classic Series

I knew from the start not to have high expectations for Diamond Books' (India) retelling of Monte Cristo. Because the preview showed that the book's leisurely pace was going to be a problem: 1/4 of the book in, and Dantes hadn't even been sent to Chateau D'if yet! After buying it, I dug in. The text wasn't too bad, although misspellings would creep in and distract me. There are illustrations, but rather amateurishly-done pencil drawings. After taking its sweet ol' time getting to the "revenge preparation" section (2/3 of the way in), the book takes us to Leghorn, where the Count and Jacopo book a luxury hotel and order fine tailored clothes. Wait!!! This sounds very, very familiar! Then it hit me... this is a plagiarism of Mitsu Yamamoto's 1979 very, very loose adaptation in Illustrated Classic Editions/Great Illustrated Classics! There is no way that another author could possibly independently come up with this alternate little excursion! By the last chapter, the rush job becomes increasingly evident. The grammar slips badly, and some sentences are just incomprehensible. It does a terrible job in explaining the Fernand/Ali Pasha/Haydee/Albert duel situation. It has the same ending as Illustrated Classic Editions/Great Illustrated Classics which isn't what Dumas wrote. Then, there's the unintentionally hilarious back cover blurb, which insists that this book "must be read by youth, housewives, students and executives".