During the life of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas:
- 1793: Thomas-Alexandre Dumas is promoted to the rank of general in the army of the First French Republic.
- 1794: He disapproves of the revolutionary terror in Western France.
- 1795–1797: He becomes famous and fights under Napoleon.
- 1802: Black officers are dismissed from the army. The Empire re-establishes slavery.
- 1802: Birth of his son, Alexandre Dumas père.
- 1806: Thomas-Alexandre Dumas dies, still bitter about the injustice of the Empire.
During the life of Alexandre Dumas:
- 1832: The only son of Napoleon I dies.
- 1836: Alexandre Dumas is famous as a writer by this time (age 34).
- 1836: First putsch by Louis Napoleon, aged 28, fails.
- 1840: A law is passed to bring the ashes of Napoleon I to France.
- 1840: Second putsch of Louis Napoleon. He is imprisoned for life and becomes known as the candidate for the imperial succession.
- 1841: Dumas lives in Florence and becomes acquainted with King Jérôme and his son, Napoléon.
- 1841–1844: The story is conceived and written.
- 1844–1846: The story is published in parts in a Parisian magazine.
- 1846: The novel is published in full and becomes a European bestseller.
- 1846: Louis Napoleon escapes from his prison.
- 1848: French Second Republic. Louis Napoleon is elected its first president but Dumas does not vote for him.
- 1857: Dumas publishes État civil du Comte de Monte-Cristo
