Danglars goes to Rome to draw out some of his Thomson and French money. He stays at Pastrini's hotel, is spotted by Peppino and followed. On his way out of the city, Danglars is taken by the bandits. The chapter ends with him being placed in his cell, in an oddly calm state of mind.

I'm loving all the throwbacks to the early settings and minor characters in the novel. It feels like everything is coming full circle.

Discussion Prompts:

1. Did you like revisiting Rome and the bandits? What do you think about these later chapters revisiting earlier places and people?
2. Do you think Danglars is going to get off as lightly as he believes? Will the bandits let him go without demanding the full sum of 5 million?
3. Danglars' abduction seems to contrast Albert's in a lot of ways. Do you think this is deliberate?
4. Danglars seems dismissive of Albert's time with the bandits. Do you think this fits with the Danglars we have come to know? Have we seen any changes in him throughout the novel? Why does he not fear the same level of ruthlessness he has, in others?
5. Do you think the Count will show mercy to Danglars and let him get away from the bandits relatively unscathed? Should he?
6. Do you think this abduction was part of the Count's plan all along? I never picked up on the letters of credit being for the branches of T&F in Italy. Did you predict this outcome, or did you think the Count was finished with Danglars after the bankruptcy and Eugenie incident?
   

Final Sentence:

So, feeling more or less sure that he would survive the adventure, especially since there was no case in which a man had ever been held for a ransom of 5,050,000 livres, Danglars lay down on his bed and, after turning around two or three times, fell asleep, as easy in his mind as the hero whose story Luigi Vampa was reading.

The next reading discussion will go up on Monday.