 Like many of his novels, it was expanded from plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet.Another important work by Dumas, written before his work with Maquet, was the 1843 short novel "Georges"; this novel is of particular interest to scholars because Dumas reused many of the ideas and plot devices later in "The Count of Monte Cristo".The story takes place in France, Italy, and islands in the Mediterranean during the historical events of 1815–1839