A Tale of Two Cities

By Charles Dickens

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. . . .”

Lucie Manette had been separated from her father for eighteen years while he languished in Paris’s most feared prison, the Bastille. Finally reunited, the Manettes’s fortunes become inextricably intertwined with those of two men, the heroic aristocrat Darnay, and the dissolute lawyer, Carton. Their story, which encompasses violence, revenge, love and redemption, is grippingly played out against the backdrop of the terrifying brutality of the French Revolution.

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Nov 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9780735253476

Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens (1812-1870) was an English writer and social critic. Regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era, Dickens had a prolific collection of works including fifteen novels, five novellas, and hundreds of short stories and articles. The term “cliffhanger endings” was created because of his practice of ending his serial short stories with drama and suspense. Dickens’ political and social beliefs heavily shaped his literary work. He argued against capitalist beliefs, and advocated for children’s rights, education, and other social reforms. Dickens advocacy for such causes is apparent in his empathetic portrayal of lower classes in his famous works, such as The Christmas Carol and Hard Times.

Reviews for A Tale of Two Cities

[eyejaybee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am not sure that anything I can say will add any value to the wealth of critical comment already available for this classic novel. I first read it towards the end of the last millennium (to lend an appropriately archaic feel) as one of the set books for my English Literature O level (the predecessor of what we would today call GCSEs). I was fortunate to enjoy the support of some excellent English teachers throughout my time at school, yet even their attentive ministrations failed to save this book from falling prey to the fate of most works that are encountered as compulsory reading. As a fifteen-year-old I found it very tedious and longwinded, and could not then imagine I might ever read it again for pleasure.To be fair, I think that tedious and longwinded are not always unfair when applied to Dickens, and would cite either Barnaby Rudge (surely there is an initial D missing from that surname) or Our Mutual Friend as evidence for the prosecution. (Indeed, it is quite a feat on Dickens’ part to make tedious a novel that starts so promisingly, with bodies being dragged from the Thames late at night.)They are not, however, fair for A Tale of Two Cities. Going off at another tangent, I have been struggling to think of another book which has such famous first AND last sentences: there are plenty that can offer one or the other, but few that manage both. The story is, of course, well known, so I won’t waste everyone’s time with a synopsis of the plot. There are some excellent characters: Jarvis Lorry, the serious solicitor who has given his professional life in service of Tellson’s Bank is a paragon of probity, always clad in various shades of brown. Not a man overburdened with humour, and perhaps not one with whom one might wish to be closeted on a long journey (although that fate befalls various people throughout the book). Jerry Cruncher is a hardy perennial from the Dickens stable: a Cockney, salt of the earth type, vaguely reminiscent of Silas Wegg, though better served in the leg department, or less chirpy Sam Weller, who is always on hand to do Mr Lorry’s or Tellson’s bidding, but who has a dark secret. C J Stryver, the pompous, overbearing barrister is brilliantly drawn, hyperinflated with his own self-importance and clothed in obtuseness as in armour of triple steel. Paradoxically, the more central figures seem less substantial. Charles Darnay (another man with a secret) is rather two dimensional, and the reader almost wishes that his lookalike, the diffident and dissolute lawyer Sidney Carton, whose nocturnal efforts keep legal Stryver’s practice afloat, but with precious little acknowledgement of that debt) had won Lucie Manette’s love.Like most of Dickens’ n ovels, this was published in weekly or fortnightly instalments, a fact reflected in the peaks and troughs of action throughout, as the writer carefully regulated the flow to leave sufficiently gripping cliff-hangers. Dickens was a master at conflicting tone. The chapter in which Jerry Cruncher’s sun follows his father on a nocturnal expedition, expecting to see him go fishing, is hilarious, although the mirth is in sharp juxtaposition with a chapter of huge sadness.This is a novel that repays reading for pleasure. It is also a more manageable length for modern taste than some of his heftier tomes. I read it in the excellent Penguin Classics edition which offers extensive background notes throughout the story, and an introduction full of insight (possibly aimed more at informing a re-reading, than for someone coming to the story for the first time.

[barb_h_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

 Just okay. I thought it was mostly boring with a few interesting parts thrown in. Glad I listened to the audiobook rather than read it because I don't think I would have been able to finish it otherwise.

[santhony_35 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I read this novel many years ago in high school and have seen at least one movie version over the years. I recently purchased an mp3 player with 100 classic audio novels pre-loaded and this was the first I sampled.This is quite simply one of the finest novels ever written in the English language, by an author who has several other classics to his credit. With the French Revolution as a backdrop, the story revolves around the life and family of a French aristocrat, a young man who has essentially abandoned the trappings of his hereditary titles and estates, relocated and settled in England, only to be drawn back and consumed by the fires of the Paris mob. Many faces of humanity are displayed in this work, from the cold, vengeful visage of Madame DuFarge to the selfless sacrifice of the unlikely hero, Sydney Carton.This novel has everything you could ever want, and is as deep or as simply entertaining as you want to make it. I can wholeheartedly endorse this novel as well as most others penned by Mr. Dickens.

[kraysaulis · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful plotline. Beautiful descriptive paragraphs.

Way too long of a read for me. I like my books to flow quickly. Beautiful book for anyone with patience. I'm glad I can say I've read it, but I don't want to put myself through that again!

[clara53_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A number of fine points of the "Tale" were brought up by the reviewers - and I do agree with most of them - but for me (even though I am in no way an expert on Dickens), this historical novel just didn't seem one of the author's best. There was an engaging plot with an admirable, noble sacrifice at the end, the haunting description of French Revolution, with a lot of figurative language involved, fight between good and evil, with some of the evil even on the Revolution's side (represented by Theresa Defarge character), but the Revolution details were much too gory; and though most of the characters were quite vivid, Lucie Manette was a bit too perfect, angel-like, and melodramatic even for Dickens's times; and even Charles Darnay didn't have much of a personality, except for the fact that he denounced his inheritance. Maybe because it was just one of the two historical fiction works that Dickens produced, and it wasn't his forte, the narrative didn't flow as well as, say, in "David Copperfield". But here is my favorite quote from the book: " ...every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.... every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; ... every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; .... every beating heart in hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!! "

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A fascinating story about the parallels between Paris and London during the French revolution particularly with respect to class differences. An eminently quotable book.

[blake.rosser · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I re-read this after first reading it about 12 years ago in high school. I remembered it as a slow burner, taking a while to build momentum but having an unforgettable ending, and I was pleased to find that I like it more on the 2nd read. I'm now in a position to appreciate the more subtle literary flourishes that Dickens employed -- all of the wonderful foreshadowing, and social commentary through satire and irony. It's an intensely satisfying read, with a wonderful story and memorable characters, less cartoonish than any of his previous works. Sydney Carton is the tragic hero of modern times, and his devotion to Lucie is a beautiful thing to witness. The characters help make the emotional impact of the story stronger than almost any other book I've ever read. Sure it's cheesy, and very contrived in all of the coincidental meetings among characters, but it's toned down as far as Dickens go. The last two pages equal those of 100 Years of Solitude as my favorite all-time endings.

I'm almost done with reading all of Dickens' later works. And of Bleak House, Hard Times, Little Dorrit, and this, Tale is my favorite, followed closely by Bleak. List subject to change, as I still have Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend to go.

[nmhale_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of Dicken's best known stories, set amidst the bloody chaos of the French Revolution, and deftly spanning two countries, multiple generations, and a myriad of characters, in less space than any of his other novels occupied. The story begins with a rainy journey of Mr. Jarvis Lorry, a banker, who has received a mysterious message and is setting off to France. He picks up a beautiful young girl en route, and together they meet a poor prisoner who has recently been released from the Bastille. The deranged man is Dr. Manette, once a renowned physician in France, and the beautiful girl is Lucie Manette, the doctor's daughter who had believed her father dead until her visit with Mr. Lorry. The doctor is quite undone from his countless years in prison, locked away as a secret prisoner, and is fixated on the shoe making he took up during that time. Nonetheless, Lucie manages to make an impression on her father where all others had failed, and she and Mr. Lorry spirit him back to England, where Lucie had been living, before he can be locked up again by the anonymous antagonist who had him imprisoned in the first place.The story then jumps some years into the future, picking up in the middle of an intense trial against a supposed traitor to the British crown. Charles Darnay has been accused of being a spy for France, and despite the unsavory and untrustworthy nature of his chief accuser, the proceedings don't look good for the noble Darnay. The reader meets Lucie Manette and her father again, this time as unwilling witnesses against the defendant. Exposition reveals that Alexandre Manette has recovered his intellect and strength of character while living in England with his daughter, and that Lucie is clearly in love with the prisoner rapidly heading to a death sentence. However, a last minute reveal by Darnay's lawyers, motivated by the genius of dissolute Sydney Carton, saves the man and frees him from all charges against him!A peaceful interlude for the main protagonists then ensues, although the author intersperses scenes from back in France, where dark rumblings suggest the horrible events that are about to unfold. In England, however, all is well. Lucie and her father have found a small house in a peaceful pocket of London, where they visit with Mr. Lorry, who has become an intimate of the family. Charles Darnay also frequently visits, as does Sydney Carton and Mr. Stryver, the lawyer who was in charge of Darnay's case. A handful of minor characters are also introduced and developed. such as Mr. Lorry's every man Jerry Cruncher, and Lucie's attendant Miss Pross. Dickens uses this space to weave his masterful characterization, painting these people with varied and complicated personalities, and observing several humorous episodes along the way. Eventually, Lucie and Charles marry, they honeymoon and return, never knowing that Lucie's father had a complete breakdown while they were away, and then the novel again fast forwards to a future point in time.Charles Darnay is concerned. Although he lives happily under his assumed name in England, rumors of the unrest from his home have reached him, and he feels an obligation to the peasants. It is revealed in the novel that Darnay is actually an aristocrat, in a family who he despises for their cruelty and greed. Now that his malicious uncle is dead, his estates have been abandoned. Darnay learns about the signs of a peasant revolt and believes he can go to them and help ease their hard situation in life; he has always sympathized with them, but been able to help because his father and then uncle ruthlessly suppressed all compassion. Of course, Darnay is deluded in his imaginations of how the peasants will receive him; as soon as he arrives on French soil, he is apprehended, brought to the Bastille, and locked away. During his long voyage over sea, the revolution had surged to a pinnacle of bloodshed and overthrow, but since he couldn't receive news on the ship, he had no idea how bad everything had become. From this point on, the reader is immersed in the terror and suspense of the French Revolution.

[justagirlwithabook · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read this one on a plane on the way to England and actually enjoyed it. It isn't my favorite of all the Dickens I've read but it was valuable in and of itself. Everything really leads up to the last moments, which are insanely devastating in so many ways but touching. It didn't bring tears to my eyes - it didn't touch me on a deeply emotional level - but it was good. Definitely recommend.

[gayla.bassham · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The least Dickensy of Dickens's novels. Not my favorite, but still better than Barnaby Rudge.

[amante_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My favorite Dickens book!

[judithrs · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A Tale of Cities. Charles Dickens. Open Road. I haven’t read any Dickens since high school and I enjoyed this as it was quite a change from the books I usually read even for book club. I enjoyed the love story and the description of life in France before and after the revolutions. Faults on both sides, friends, and Dickens showed them. I was only familiar with the first and last paragraphs of the book before I read it. And those are still the best lines. If you like to sink into Dickens, this is a good one.

[kaulsu · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wordy, yes. It is Dickens, after all! It has been very worthwhile reading and listening to these classic books. Not only does it put the quotable phrases we all know into their proper place, but it gives us the entire quote. Best of time and worst of times: yes, but so much more. And It is a far far better thing I do than I have ever done....I'm not sure I ever realized that was also from "A Tale..."Superbly narrated by Simon Vance.

[meredithyvonne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What can I say, it's a true classic of unrequited love. Tis a far far better thing. . .

[unreachableshelf · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

First of all, Dickens deserves some credit for creating the popular image of the French Revolution. Its portrayal in movies and other books such as The Scarlet Pimpernel series is based far more on A Tale of Two Cities than on reality. He also earns some points for the fact that, being Dickens, he shows remarkable sympathy for the poor in France leading up to the revolution. Even if once the revolution begins he tends to depict them as fiendish vultures and the the entire period of the republic as just as bloody as the most intense weeks of the Terror, he shows the justification for the revolution more than many of the authors who followed him did. The story itself is serial melodrama, but it's very good serial melodrama, and holds up to rereading.

[thefink_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a great story; artfully crafted, beautiful imagery, powerful emotions. It is a tragedy that Dickens never knew that he would touch so many, but such is the life of the unknown artist. I was drawn (as many are) to Sydney Carton, the embodiment of tragedy and beauty. I also listened to the audio book read by Frank Muller. I thought the story couldn't be more moving until it was performed by an extraordinary vocal actor.

[joles_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although in general I find books from Dickens's era tough to read a Tale of Two Cities is such a classic I couldn't help but enjoy it a little more than most. The comparisons made are very nice. It is a classic and should be read by everyone.

[jlelliott_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This may be the only Dickens novel I can stand, probably because it would be difficult to render the French Revolution boring or preachy. The story, full of the lucky coincidences and chances for redemption that make it a Dickens novel, is rather unbelievable, making it more of an allegory than a true tale of human characters. However the backdrop of revolutionary France is fascinating. The story of an oppressed people rising up and quickly turning to brutality has been repeated oft enough in history to be worthy of interest.

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is nearly twenty years since I previously read this novel of the French Revolution and I had forgotten how wonderful it is. It is more accessible for the general reader than many other Dickens novels, with a dramatic narrative full of colour and incident, no significant sub-plots and a much less extensive cast of minor characters than probably any other full length Dickens novel. The author's voice rings out strongly against all forms of oppression and tyranny, whether of the ancien regime, whose representatives such as the Marquis St Evremonde treat the peasantry with less consideration than they do their dogs and horses; or of the revolutionary authorities and their local representatives such as Mme Therese Defarge, with their implacable thirst for vengeance and retribution against all members of aristocratic families, regardless of those members' individual guilt and innocence for acts of oppression. It is a warning against endless cycles of bloodfeuds and vengeance, and the tendency of many political and social movements in extremis to view and judge people en masse, and not as living, breathing individuals. As powerful today as it was when first published in 1859. Wonderful stuff.

[paperpuss · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

over rated

[kirmuriel-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The ending was the best!!! Of course it was a little predictable, but nevertheless beautifully written. However, the language doesn't have true a realism, I feel it is more a tale than a novel, hence the title.

[krista.rutherford · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Charles Dickens created a vivid picture of the chaos and massive bloodshed of the French Revolution in this book. Most of the characters basically possess one main characteristic (a remarkable physical feature, odd habit, catchphrase, personality trait, etc.) with the exception of the lawyer Sydney Carton who had a personality several layers deep. The awesomely grim vision of La Guillotine just makes you hate the thing, which you might as well.

[tomohiro9n · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The very last scene was moving. Inearly cried.

[bontley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's good. Who knew?

[jms001 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another great book by Dickens. I haven't read a Charles Dickens book since high school, and I felt that it was time to get back into it. After reading a couple easier books, I wanted a challenge. So this is what I picked.

It definitely wasn't an easy read. Took me a couple weeks to get through. But I especially loved the themes presented in the book. The love triangle, for instance, between Lucie, Charles Darnay, and Sidney Carton, is quite heartwrenching at times. The idea of loving someone and doing anything for them, even sacrificing your own life, is a timeless theme that is constantly expressed in many current pieces of literature.

And of course, just like the title implies, the story is about a tale of two cities. Not just literally, but if you look at it from a caste system point of view, Dickens does splendid work in expressing this. Or, if you prefer to focus on the characters themselves, then you can find that in them as well. Everyone has their good and their bad sides, and each character must figure out themselves before they can be of any use to others. This battle within the character is illustrated throughout the text.

Overall, I really liked the book. Kinda slow in the beginning, but got really exciting by the third book. Sparknotes also helped me a lot in the analysis of the story, so at least that's always available for those that want a classroom translation of the text.

[theokester · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Somehow I managed to get through Junior High, High School and even College (as an English major) without ever reading A Tale of Two Cities. Since I'm about to graduate, I figured it was time to read this classic and see what it's all about. I knew from a high level that it was about some of the dynamic between London and Paris at the time of the French Revolution, but not much beyond that.I can honestly say that I wanted to give up a few times as I started. The famous opening lines were interesting ("It was the best of times it was the worst of times…"), but as the story went on, it was a balancing act. For the first 50 or 60 pages, I had to readjust myself to Dickens style. I had to try to care about a myriad of characters without knowing who was going to be important or what their importance would be. I was tossed around between a few locations and seemingly random stories. The writing was gorgeous, the characters were full and the situations were interesting, but the overall pacing of the story felt like it was crawling very slowly. I felt like I was turning page after page and gathering data that felt insignificant. I felt as though I had no clear understanding of the overall plot or the prospective arc of the story and thus I had no way of knowing how quickly (or if at all) I was progressing along that arc towards any type of intrigue, climax or conclusion.Still, I loved the language and I was intrigued by the characters and wanted to find out how they would interact and where their paths would lead. So, I pushed through. As I passed into the 100+ page mark, I had a clearer idea of the relations of the characters and could start to guess at upcoming events. Halfway through the novel, the intensity really took off and for the last 150-200 pages, I had a hard time putting the book down because I was so invested in what was going on and truly NEEDED to know what was going to happen.I felt that Dickens did a wonderful job creating vibrant characters that I could intimately invest myself in. I felt great compassion for Doctor Manette and Lucie. I had genuine concern for Charles. I literally shuddered as I got closer and closer to Madame Defarge. Even the peripheral characters and their more minor stories were engaging. I was worried about Cruncher and Miss Pross as they tried to escape Paris. It was interesting the way seemingly minor characters would wind in and out of the story taking on larger roles at times and even becoming highly pivotal characters.In addition to the wonderful tension in the story and the amazingly vivid characters, I think one of the amazing aspects of this novel is the portrayal of the French Revolution itself. I'm not a historian by any stretch. My knowledge of the Revolution is largely limited to a brief history lesson in High School and reading and watching The Scarlet Pimpernel and Les Miserables. (I kept expecting the Pimpernel to swoop in and save the day…alas, he didn't)So I have no idea how accurate Dickens portrayal is. But I did find that his descriptions of the buildup and eventual explosion of the Revolution is amazing. I loved that he showed some of the actions that led up to the hatred. As the book went on, the atrocities of the upper class became more and more heinous to the extent that I could relate and empathize with the Revolutionaries to some degree. But as the powder keg erupted into the absolute thirst for blood and vengeance, it became frightening how all-encompassing the hatred was. I really felt the sense of the flood that flowed through Paris and the absolute horror of the thing. While this is a work of fiction, I think this portrayal of the Revolution was absolutely amazing.Now that I've finally read this novel, I feel really bad that it took me so long to get to it. I also feel like, now that I know the trajectory, the first ~50-100 pages would be more intriguing. I can truly understand why this book is considered a classic and is so open for discussions. It provides plenty of conversation about humanity and history. It also displays lots of intriguing literary techniques that are very cool.I absolutely recommend that everyone makes time to read this book at least once in their life. *****5 out of 5 stars

[technodiabla · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I am not sure what I can add given the extensive literary critique available on A Tale of Two Cities, so I'll try a modern perspective. Of course this is one of the finest literary works ever, not to mention historically important, but how does it read today? I have to say I found it a bit melodramatic-- both the writing style and the plot. At times, almost laughably so. However, Dickens makes it work somehow and you read to the end to find out what happens even though it's fairly obvious what's going to happen. It was more accessible than his other novels and I think everyone should read this book, but it is showing it's age-- no writer today could get away with such an overblown style.

[linyarai · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A great classic.

[chlebo_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Dickens, a page-turner? Who knew? Absolutely fantastic, although a little confusing in parts. However, the end completely makes up for any slow-going or confusion in the beginning.

[pepys_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I waited much too long—two months—to write this review, so that it's difficult for me to put things together. What subsists is only the flavour of the book. But finally, isn'it the most important?I found difficulties to enter the story, and I suspect I'm not the only one who noted the incredibly slow pace of, say, the first half of the book. One really needs to know that Dickens first published it in episodes in a newspaper to understand why he keeps to phrases like "in the year seventeen-hundred-and-eighty-nine"—just to make one more line, at least it seems to me.Then, everything precipitates, collapses, rushes in a tremendous pursuit up to the end. Being French, I thought I would appreciate the atmosphere of the French revolution in Paris at the time of the Terreur. Dickens is rather deceptive on this point. The revolutionary Paris he depicts is just fake, and one doesn't believe even a second in the bloody events his imagination reports. But anyway, the story is there, Dickensian and unbelievable as it should be. I owe that I read the last pages much quicker than the first. I've only read three of Dickens's novels up to now. I continue to put David Copperfield first, then A Tale of Two Cities, and Great Expectations in third position.