Surprising similarities: before Monte Cristo and Pierre Niney, the history of Quetton Saint-Georges, of the Engarran castle, at the gates of Montpellier

Laurent Quetton Saint-Georges, born in Vérargues and died in Orléans, bought and offered the Engarran to his wife, Adèle de Barbeyrac.

At the Château de l'Engarran, near Montpellier, where the film Monte Cristo was partly filmed, the story of Edmond Dantès strangely recalls that of the third owner of the estate.

“Love, fortune, betrayal, revenge, they had the same path and they could have crossed paths.” For Diane Losfelt, this dive into the universe of Alexandre Dumas' hero brought back another story: that of the third owner of the Château de l'Engarran: the knight Laurent Quetton Saint-Georges.

Exile and fortune

"He was born in Vérargues and died in 1821, says Diane Losfelt. He was a royalist. After the Revolution, he took refuge in England and the English sent him to colonize Ontario. He made his fortune there by trading with the pioneers, particularly with imports."

With this fortune in his pocket, the man returned to France and married Adèle de Barbeyrac. He was rich and somewhat noble, she was noble and not very rich. From their union Henry was born.

Betrayal and revenge

“The Barbeyrac family will ask him for a present, he will buy the Engarran and offer it to his wife, continues Diane Losfelt. There is fortune, love, that's where revenge comes in. Quetton Saint-Georges had an illegitimate child. For the in-laws, it was a catastrophe, a betrayal, it was not possible to share the inheritance that was supposed to go to Henry, they took revenge and poisoned Quetton Saint-Georges. He died in 1821." Henry did not stay in France and followed in his father's footsteps in Canada, selling the Château de l'Engarran along the way.

He rests in the chapel of the château

"Fortune, love, betrayal, revenge, exile, we find the same themes as around Monte Cristo, it's exceptional", underlines the current owner of the château. The remains of Laurent Quetton Saint-Georges still rest at Engarran, in the estate's chapel.

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