For some reason, some editions of The Count of Monte Cristo are missing exactly half of one chapter, and it's a pretty important sequence. (I'm not sure if I need a spoiler warning on a book this old, but yeah, if you haven't read it I'm about to give away some important plot info.)

Chapter 112 is called 'The Departure,' and in some versions, 113 is called 'The House in the Allèes de Meillan,' while in others (like the Penguin Classics version) 113 is called 'The Past.'

In the versions where it is called 'The House in Allèes de Meillan,' chapter 112 ends when The Count and Maximilian leave Paris. In 113 they arrive in Marseille, The Count visits Mercedes in the house where his father once lived, and then he visits Maximilian in the cemetery before leaving for Rome.

In the Penguin Classics version, Edmond visits Mercedes in chapter 112. Then in 113, he takes a boat to visit his old prison cell. There he finds new inspiration to carry out his revenge and he obtains the old Abbé’s book on the Italian monarchy. Then he returns to the mainland and meets Maximilian at his parent’s graves.

For years I have wondered why some versions omit the trip to the prison cell. For starters, it's one of my favorite parts of the book. It’s also really important: After Edouard’s death the Count questions if he is right to have taken his revenge. It’s the sight of his cell, where he tried to bash his own head in, and where he remembers the horror he endured and how his last prayer was just that he be strong enough to remember, that reaffirmed to him that he was right all along. Take that away and the story loses something. So why print a 1,000-plus page book and leave off half of one chapter?

Every time someone says they just read it for the first time this sub goes off with other fans talking about how much they love it, so I thought you guys would like to know about the missing sequence, and just maybe someone could explain where it went.