Book Cover of A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens

Its immortal opening lines, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." set the stage for a sweeping narrative that combines drama, glory, honor, history, romance, brutality, sacrifice and resurrection. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is one of the most widely read and famous works of historical fiction in the English language. Dickens had recently launched his magazine All the Year Round in 1859. In the same year, he began featuring A Tale of Two Cities in 31 weekly installments in his new magazine. The book was eventually combined into a single copy and split into three major sections as it is presented today. In this epic tale of love and tragedy set during the turbulent times of the French Revolution in 1789, the motif of two's appears constantly as opposing sides of the same coin. London and Paris are the two cities, Sidney Carton and Charles Darnay are the two heroes, Lucie Manette and Madame Defarge are the pure and evil women respectively, and these along with shadows and darkness, sacrifice and dishonor, brutality and spirituality form the recurring dual motifs in the novel. Sidney Carton, a young, debauched and dissolute English barrister defends a young French aristocrat Charles Darnay accused of treason in London. The two bear a striking resemblance to each other. Lucie Manette, a lovely young French girl and her father Dr. Manette, who had suffered under the atrocities of the nobility in France, now live a quiet life in London. Charles and Lucie are in love, but Sidney Carton also falls in love with her. Meanwhile in France, the storm of revolution is about to break. A wine store owner and Dr. Manette's former servant, Monsieur Defarge, leads the revolutionaries. His wife, Madame Defarge is a vicious woman who revels in cruelty. She too has suffered under the aristocratic regime and now seeks to destroy all those who persecuted her. Charles Darnay returns to Paris to rescue an old servant of his who has been captured by the revolutionaries. He is captured by the rebels and condemned to be executed by guillotine. The story then takes several dramatic twists and turns before reaching its final and most unexpected conclusion. As one of the most exciting and deeply moving stories penned by a brilliant and gifted story teller, A Tale of Two Cities is indeed a riveting and unforgettable experience for readers of all ages.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

English

Published In

1859

Authors

Charles Dickens image

Charles Dickens created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 18...

Books by Charles Dickens

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

The Deerslayer Cover image

The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper

The Deerslayer, or The First War-Path (1841) was James Fenimore Cooper's last novel in his Leatherstocking Tales. Its 1740-1745 time period makes it t...

O Pioneers! Cover image

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather

O Pioneers! is a 1913 novel by American author Willa Cather, written while she was living in New York. This is her second published novel.

Vital Question, or, What is to be Done? Cover image

Vital Question, or, What is to be Done? by Nikolai Chernyshevsky

'What Is To Be Done?' is a novel by Nikolai Chernyshevsky, written during his imprisonment in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. The novel...

Lost Continent Cover image

Lost Continent by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne

The book tells the tale of decline and fall of Atlantis, which for centuries had been the center of the world. The tablets’ author, Deucalion, chronic...

Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages Volume 2 Cover image

Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages Volume 2 by George Hodges

This book explores the lives of fourteen prominent figures in Christian history, ranging from the Reformation era to the 18th century. Each chapter fo...

Sämtliche Schriften 1911-1921, Teil 6 Cover image

Sämtliche Schriften 1911-1921, Teil 6 by Carl von Ossietzky

This volume, part of a larger collection of Carl von Ossietzky's writings, focuses on his work from 1911 to 1921. It contains articles, essays, and cr...

The Lives of the Queens of England Volume 6 Cover image

The Lives of the Queens of England Volume 6 by Agnes Strickland

From the shadows of obscurity, Agnes Strickland emerged as a queen who defied the limits of her time. With her fierce intellect and unshakable resolve...

Bible (WEB) NT 02: The Good News According to Mark Cover image

Bible (WEB) NT 02: The Good News According to Mark by World English Bible

Mark's Gospel is certainly the shortest, and possibly the earliest of the four canonical gospels. It covers Jesus' life from his Baptism to his Resurr...

The Chronicles of America Volume 12 - Washington and his Comrades in Arms Cover image

The Chronicles of America Volume 12 - Washington and his Comrades in Arms by George Wrong

Embark on a captivating journey into the heart of the American Revolution, as "Washington and his Comrades in Arms," Volume 12 of "The Chronicles of A...

The Mormon Battalion, Its History and Achievements Cover image

The Mormon Battalion, Its History and Achievements by B. H. Roberts

This is a captivating book that delves into the remarkable journey of the Mormon Battalion, a unique military unit composed of Latter-day Saint volun...

Reviews for A Tale of Two Cities

ALL REVIEWS: Really Favorable (2)

Melchizedek

Posted: 1 year ago

Recommended

Different Era

Thought provoking

Umer T.

Posted: 2 years ago

Recommended