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A Tale of Two Cities

by Charles Dickens, Richard Maxwell (Editor, Introduction), Hablot Knight Browne (Illustrator)

365 · rating details · 291400 ratings · 4881 reviews

'Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death; -- the last, much the easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!'

After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille, the ageing Doctor Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There the lives of two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disrep...more

Paperback, 489 pages

Published May 27th 2003 by Penguin Books (first published 1859)

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Feb 10, 2008

Leslie rated it

Most satisfying ending in the English language.

Yes, the last line is a classic ("It is a far, far better thing ..."), concluding, in astonishingly concise language (for Dickens), the peace and redemption of the story's most poignant romantic hero. But this novel delivers such a gratifying experience because there are, in fact, many characters who cover significant emotional ground in their journey to love one woman as best they can.

Lucie's father battles hi...more

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Jun 12, 2008

Laura rated it

Shelves: classic, perennial-favorite, english-lit

Years of teaching this novel to teenagers never dimmed my thrill in reading it — if anything, I grew to love it more every time I watched kids gasp aloud at the revelations! Critics are divided on its place in the Dickens canon, but the ones who think it an inferior work are simply deranged. It has everything: dark deeds, revolution, madness, love, thwarted love, forgiveness, revenge, and a stunning act of self-sacrifice. And melodrama! Oh, how Dickens loved melodrama, but in A Tale of Two Citie...more

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May 29, 2009

Melissa Rudder rated it

Shelves: teach-it

My primary goal when I'm teaching A Tale of Two Cities to my sophomores is to make them realize that Charles Dickens didn't write creaky, dusty long novels that teachers embraced as a twisted rite of passage for teenagers. Instead, I want them them to understand why Dickens was ~~one of~~ the most popular writers in England and America during his time. I want them to see the book as the suspenseful, comedic, and sentimental piece of entertainment that it is. Because, while A Tale of Two Cities is...moreMy primary goal when I'm teaching A Tale of Two Cities to my sophomores is to make them realize that Charles Dickens didn't write creaky, dusty long novels that teachers embraced as a twisted rite of passage for teenagers. Instead, I want them them to understand why Dickens was ~~one of~~ the most popular writers in England and America during his time. I want them to see the book as the suspenseful, comedic, and sentimental piece of entertainment that it is. Because, while A Tale of Two Cities is masterfully written with sly humor, densely meaningful descriptions, a cast of quirky characters only Dickens could create, an endless series of telling binaries and foils, and relevant social commentary about the French Revolution as well as Dickens' time, it is also simply a damn good story. By a damn good storyteller.

I have a difficult time writing reviews about books that I adore because, when I'm not reading them, I hug them too closely to be very critical. (BTW - I frequently hug A Tale of Two Cities in front of my students... and write Charles Dickens' name with hearts around it... They think I'm crazy, but it intrigues some of them just enough to make them doubt the derisive comments of upperclassmen.) I reluctantly admit that Dickens does oversimplify the causes of the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror; however, in doing so, he successfully captures the spirit of a tumultuous period and helps readers sympathize with characters on every side of the developing conflict. I also think that the characters of Roger Cly and John Barsad get a bit messy and may have worked better as a single character. Perhaps the confusion is a result of serialization restructuring. But, really, I read A Tale of Two Cities like a costumed Lord of the Rings fan at a movie premier. I cheer when my favorite characters enter scenes and I knowingly laugh when Dickens cleverly foreshadows future events.

Though I don't think that A Tale of Two Cities is Dickens' best novel--that title I would reserve for either Bleak House or David Copperfield--I do agree with Dickens, who claims that it was his best story. It is artfully written. Dickens introduces a cast of characters, sprawled across two nations and spanning varied social classes and political affiliations, and then effortlessly weaves their stories and secrets together in a masterful way. The Modernist movement painstakingly forced literature to reflect the ambiguities and uncertainties of the real world and that's great, but sometimes it is a real joy to read a story that ends with such magnificent closure. All mysteries are solved and everything makes sense. It is beautiful.

(I have to admit that I was overjoyed when a group of my fifth period girls persistently voiced their disdain for Dickens' angel in the house Lucie and backed Madame Defarge. I think they may have created a Madame Defarge myspace, actually. Oh how the times have changed.)

"Ms. R--, you got me." "What?" "At the beginning of this book, you said you would get some of us. And that we would love it. You got me." I didn't get you G--. Charles Dickens did. I just introduced you.

Quote:

"A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other."(less)

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Apr 10, 2010

Dee rated it

Shelves: favourites, top-10-read-in-2010, 100-plus-classics-challenge, 1001-books-list, classic-or-literary

Picking up this book was a brave move. The only Dickens I'd ever managed to plod my way through was Great Expectations. My expectations weren't great and unfortunately it didn't exceed them (probably due to having been tainted by the film version with Gwyneth Paltrow where everything is green). I tried Hard Times and didn't get very far (a poor choice for a novice I'll bet--should have known from the title). I know the general gist of many of his other books and have intended to read them, but t...morePicking up this book was a brave move. The only Dickens I'd ever managed to plod my way through was Great Expectations. My expectations weren't great and unfortunately it didn't exceed them (probably due to having been tainted by the film version with Gwyneth Paltrow where everything is green). I tried Hard Times and didn't get very far (a poor choice for a novice I'll bet--should have known from the title). I know the general gist of many of his other books and have intended to read them, but three days ago I had no clue as to what A Tale of Two Cities was about. I read on the back cover that Dickens himself believed it to be the greatest story he'd ever written, so, I figured if I tried and just couldn't do it then it would probably be over between me and him.

As you may have noticed from my rating I did 'have a great one' & am pleased to say that I will now open the next Dickens on the list with a little more eager expectation. :) Yes, there were long patches of dense prose, but they really weren't too bad. Probably because I find the content fascinating. The storming of the Bastille and the Terror. Horrific, both on the part of the nobility pre-Revolution and the citizens of the Republic. Incredibly well written and utterly engaging. I actually enjoyed reading the pages describing the times & the imagery used to describe it. The 'sea of black and threatening waters' that rolled in wave after wave etc. And you've gotta love classic British dry wit & satire (demonstrated perfectly in the first half of the chapter Monseigneur in Town).

A problem I have with many classics (with exceptions like The Count of Monte Cristo which I just could not put down) is that the pacing is all over the show. I was just not that interested in all the time spent in England riding on trains and getting married etc. The real story was in France with Madame & Monsieur Defarge (or at least that's what I found the most interesting). To me the pace began to lag from about half way through until about the last 100 pages where it picked up dramatically. As soon as Sydney Carton came on the scene towards the end I could pick the outcome. Probably because the last line is so well known: 'It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done' etc. Nevertheless, I couldn't wait to see how it played out & I wasn't disappointed. Yay!

So, I am pleased to say that I have made up with Dickens, hooray, and now gladly welcome recommendations as to the next best to read. Just maybe not Hard Times. ;)

...click to follow my 100+ MUST READ CLASSICS CHALLENGE on blogspot...(less)

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Dec 27, 2010

Michael rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, classics, favorites

What a book! After reading this, I've come to appreciate Charles Dickens as so much more than "that guy who wrote the Christmas Carol."

One thing I love is his ability to create a perfect storyline. Everything in this book fits together in the end like a perfect, intricate puzzle. Components that were thought to be gratuitous at first will come back in major ways at later points in the book. Maybe it's just me, but I adore authors who blatantly show that they know exactly wh...more

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Dec 02, 2007

Keith Mukai rated it

This was the only book I remember enjoying from my high school English classes. Re-reading it twelve years later I can see why I liked it so much--and still do.

Dickens lays it on pretty thick in parts and is perhaps trying too hard to evoke the passions and bloodlust of the French Revolution. And as lovely as dear Lucie Mannette is, she's pretty unbearable by modern women's standards. But don't worry, Dickens isn't a misogynist. He more than makes up for Lucie in the characters of Ma...moreThis was the only book I remember enjoying from my high school English classes. Re-reading it twelve years later I can see why I liked it so much--and still do.

Dickens lays it on pretty thick in parts and is perhaps trying too hard to evoke the passions and bloodlust of the French Revolution. And as lovely as dear Lucie Mannette is, she's pretty unbearable by modern women's standards. But don't worry, Dickens isn't a misogynist. He more than makes up for Lucie in the characters of Madame Defarge and Miss Pross. Their strength, resolve, and particularly Madame Defarge's intelligence and leadership leave no doubts that Dickens respects women.

The beginning of the novel is also a bit difficult and choppy. I don't think it's simply a matter of adjusting to his style of English; I think his prose smoothed out considerably after the first few chapters.

He also has this annoying tendency towards intentional obtuseness. The technique occasionally pays dividends, but mostly it's just frustrating as a reader to wait for him to explain what the hell he's talking about.

But all quibbles aside, A Tale of Two Cities is a remarkable novel.

His storytelling is incredibly cinematic--he himself used the term "picturesque" to describe his approach--with many scenes and setups that are perfect examples of the sorts of visual storytelling prescribed by screenwriting how-to books. I'm convinced that had Dickens lived today, he would have been an incredible screenwriter.

And though the novel is set within and inextricably linked to the French Revolution, it is not about the French Revolution. That setting is used as a spectacular backdrop within which Dickens weaves an intricate and tightly plotted tale. It never forgets that first and foremost it is telling the characters' story, not merely recounting history.

And the last chapter is just incredible. I was crying while reading it on the train this weekend. And the famous last line--"It's a far better thing..."--is well-worthy of its fame; it's the most profound, beautiful last line of a novel I have ever read.

I'll admit that it's not consistently gripping, that a great bulk of the middle of the novel is merely interesting but not engrossing. But as a means to an end--as a means to that ending--it's entirely acceptable.

Took me about 9.5 hours to read. Not a huge commitment. I strongly recommend giving it a try.(less)

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May 22, 2009

Kelly rated it

Recommends it for: Brit lit dorks, history geeks

Shelves: fiction, brit-lit, victorian, owned, 19th-century, grand-opera

Say what you want about this book. Overdone, overblown, overly dramatic. Yes. He drops anvils like Wylde E. Coyote. He's about as subtle as my dog when he needs to pee. Yes. But I love this book anyway. I just adore it, and you can't talk me out of it! It is my favorite Dickens novel.

All of the aforementioned may be completely true, but I think that with the subject and time period that Dickens is dealing with, he can get away with it. Was there anything subtle or restrained about t...more

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Apr 06, 2011

Erik rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classics, absolutely-terrible

A Tale of Two Cities holds the dubious honor of being the first book I ever picked up and failed to finish. The very first.

From there, it's all gone downhill. Just look at my reviews where I casually admit to throwing away classics unread. A Light in August, Lolita, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, etc, etc...

If you enjoy the little things, like being sane and not hating life, then I recommend you never pick this up.

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Jun 19, 2011

David rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: victorian, british-literature, classic, audiobook, literary, historical, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, french-revolution

This is another one of those Charles Dickens classics I was supposed to read as a kid and never did. Since I've never seen any of the movies either, it was actually pretty unspoiled for me, though I did know how it ends (anyone growing up in the English-speaking world can hardly have avoided knowing Sydney Carton's famous last lines: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.".

Once again...moreThis is another one of those Charles Dickens classics I was supposed to read as a kid and never did. Since I've never seen any of the movies either, it was actually pretty unspoiled for me, though I did know how it ends (anyone growing up in the English-speaking world can hardly have avoided knowing Sydney Carton's famous last lines: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.".

Once again, I am in awe of Dickens's ability to craft larger-than-life characters whose defining personality traits and conversational tics carry them strongly through the story, and his depiction of France before and during the Revolution is as vivid and bloody as the Terror, despite his exercising all the expected Victorian restraint when it comes to actually describing bloodshed. He also contrasts Paris with London, and not always in London's favor; Dickens was a marvelous social critic of his time, and with understated clarity he shows the reader how, while the British aristocracy was no longer trampling peasants beneath their horses' feet with impunity, the English court system was hardly more just or less rapacious and corrupt than the French.

The reader can be forgiven for thinking it's just a historical novel about the French Revolution and the thrilling escape of some of its would-be victims. Dickens tells us what the novel is really about in the last chapter:

And yet there is not in France, with its rich variety of soil and climate, a blade, a leaf, a root, a sprig, a peppercorn, which will grow to maturity under conditions more certain than those that have produced this horror. Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious license and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind.

The story itself is typically Dickensian in that it is full of memorable characters who are all brought onstage separately and then brought together by a tightening web of plot threads that ends up tying everyone together one way or another. Once Dickens introduces a character, he means to use that character until the very end, and will use any improbable plot device to make sure everyone is where he wants them to be. So of course the spy who is known to the Defarges is the very same man whom Sydney Carton saw tried years earlier in London; of course the nephew of the Marquis who imprisoned Doctor Manette (who once employed Monsieur Defarge) is the very same man who flees France and marries his daughter; of course Sydney Carton and Jerry Cruncher just happen to be in Paris on business (with the "man of business" Mr. Lorry) when Charles Darnay goes there, etc. And there is the most improbable plot device of all, telegraphed at the beginning of the book when Carton faces Darnay during that London trial. But it all works to create a tense and very enjoyable novel.

One of my chief complaints about Dickens (besides his overuse of coincidence) is his very Victorian view of women: always angels of one kind or another, whether fallen or still high on their pedestals. But he almost redeems himself of that in this book with his Angel of Death, Madame Defarge (and her sidekick, The Vengeance), one of the scariest ladies in British literature. And the final confrontation between Madame Defarge and Miss Pross was all the more epic for that Dickens so rarely resolves a situation with a scene of violence, and this time he did it with two bad-ass women, both of them practically waving their national flags as they went at each other.

Definitely a favorite, and one I should have read earlier.(less)

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Aug 10, 2010

Kaion rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: historical, seen-adapt

Let me tell you, popular culture is not kind about sparing the plot twists of classic literature. If you don't know, say, who stepped out in front of a train, you must have the remarkable preternatural ability to, at a moment's notice, dive under the same rock as those with no idea whose hand was cut of by his dad.

... So how is it that I upon cracking open the front cover, I knew nothing of A Tale of Two Cities other than it took place in the French Revolution and the very famous, ve...moreLet me tell you, popular culture is not kind about sparing the plot twists of classic literature. If you don't know, say, who stepped out in front of a train, you must have the remarkable preternatural ability to, at a moment's notice, dive under the same rock as those with no idea whose hand was cut of by his dad.

... So how is it that I upon cracking open the front cover, I knew nothing of A Tale of Two Cities other than it took place in the French Revolution and the very famous, very abridged opening line? Wikipedia tells me that it is the most printed original English book at 200 million copies. Certainly some of those copies can be attributed to decaying away on impressive foyer bookshelves next to, say, The Satanic Verses, but really, this should be all be open knowledge.

Though of course I couldn’t recognize it yet, the answer to my question lay in that opening line. Because Charles Dickens lays it all up front, and manages to tell the reader more story before his first period than most authors manage to say in a whole novel. Granted, it's a monstrous sentence and reproduced unabridged for those of us used to the short version, e.g. myself, after which we can go into some quick thoughts about it:

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

- You don’t have to look very far today to see the same injustices and inequalities— downright human pains that drive drastic social upheavals. It’s no coincidence it’s been made into a musical that transplants the action to the Russian Revolution… we see it again and again, then is now.
- It’s so not about the characters (they appear neither here nor in the entire first chapter). Sure they are our points of entry into the story, but in the larger picture they are swept in the swells of the time (and so their archetypical and sometimes downright thin characterizations are intentional).
- To have power, the French people become an unseeing mob under the thrall of symbol (extremes and "superlative"s), but the heroic act the forms the climax is individual and alone and transcendent—both equally representative of ideals, one twisted by hope and another by vengeance. Is it a naïve construction that our “protagonists” are such reactive victims?

Quite simply, there’s a rare passion and ambition to the scope of A Tale of Two Cities that makes it so easy to forget the some flaws of pacing (notably the end is dizzyingly terse with plot developments that could have been dispatched to focus the middle more) or short characterization. At the end of the day, I’m going to remember when Dickens hits the mark spot on. As readers, we remember the breathlessness of a giggle (oh the frequent scathing irony), the echo of a mental refrain (“a life you love”), the shudder down a spine (“Tell the Wind and Fire when to stop, but don’t tell me.”)… the sudden dustiness in the room ([Redacted:] for my modicum of self-respect) … And that’s real storytelling, folks, no shortcuts.

And I mentioned it was really crazy quotable, right? Rating: 4.5 stars(less)

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Mar 27, 2008

Tammy rated it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I dont' know how to summarize my feelings about this book. It's title suggests the tale between England and France, a tale between london and Paris - and perhaps that's how Dicken's intended it. But as I got further and further into the story, to me, it begins to symbolize the tale between two sides - between mercy and vengeance, love and hate, aristocrat and peasant, freedom and oppression, and generations of poverty and tyrany. France goes from Monarchy to Anarchy to Empire in a span of 20 yea...moreI dont' know how to summarize my feelings about this book. It's title suggests the tale between England and France, a tale between london and Paris - and perhaps that's how Dicken's intended it. But as I got further and further into the story, to me, it begins to symbolize the tale between two sides - between mercy and vengeance, love and hate, aristocrat and peasant, freedom and oppression, and generations of poverty and tyrany. France goes from Monarchy to Anarchy to Empire in a span of 20 years, and the turmoil, bloodlust, and hysteria of the French Revolution serve as the backdrop to some of the most engrossing chacracters I have ever encountered in Literature. The main characters, Lucie and Darney, are simple and under-developed. But Doctor Manette (incidently, I could not help but draw parallels between Manette and Hugo's Jean ValJean), Sydney Carton, Madame Defarge, and Miss Pross grow from tragic backgrounds into the strength of the novel. They rise from ashes to bring about intense and remarkable ends.
I struggled through the first part of the book, and then somehow got to a point where I couldn't put it down, and it all came down to the last chapter, for me. It was an ending I did not see coming, and found myself actually tearing up (which I have rarely done with a book) as Carton stood in line, holding the hand of a young girl, stoic and brave to face the guillotine. And his last line - "It is a far, far better thing that I do..." is one of the most beautiful and moving last lines of a book I have ever read.
I also cheered when Miss Pross stood before Madame, fiercly giving her line "I am your match". I could see it in my mind, two women - one aggresive and unrelenting in her power and leadership, dangerous and horrifying in her manical desire for revenge, and the other - defiant and protective, and unmoving because of love for her Lucie, and her will to protect her at all costs.
I have loved reading a novel where weak ones become strong in character, and where women are so portrayed in strength.
I don't think I will ever forget two moments in this book - when Monseignor's carriage kills a child, and he stands harassing the people for their carelessness, and all around look down, cowered and not meeting this gaze, except for Madame Defarge, who stands, steadily meeting his eye with a look of stone resolve. One begins to understand how the people of France emotionally came to a place where they could rise up in frenzied revenge, without mercy or pity. (Interesting, also, that Dicken's portrays two kinds of aristocrats here - Monsiegnor, who you feel deserves the anger and uprising from the people, and his fate, and Darnay, who is innocent, and even sympathizes with their plight, and who does not deserve to be targeted - two types of high society, and from both sides, thousands sent to the guillotine).
The second is when Carton has arranged his plans, and has set in motion his path to save Darney, and thus, the heart and life of Lucie, and the night before he sacrifices himself in one last great act of selflessness and love, he stands in the darkness before her window, closes his eyes, and whispers a blessing, resolved and redeemed.
This is the kind of love you hope to be able to experience - where your love and care and all that you do and feel is so strong and motivating for another, that you can set aside all you hold dear, even your own life, for the preservation of their happiness and all that THEY hold dear.
This is truly love - a pure, peaceful, life-changing love that, to me, upholds every one of Christ's teachings and ring's true the RS motto - Charity never faileth.
(less)

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Jan 25, 2008

Sarah Beth rated it

Shelves: fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've never really gotten the hang of the classics - I don't know if it's that I don't make enough of an effort to really get into the language or if I haven't tried reading enough of them or if I just tend to prefer contemporary styles and topics.

So, I decided to read this on DailyLit (which is why it took me a full three months to read, a few sections at a time, first thing in the morning). And it took me a long time to get into - I didn't mind reading it, but I wasn't terribly mov...moreI've never really gotten the hang of the classics - I don't know if it's that I don't make enough of an effort to really get into the language or if I haven't tried reading enough of them or if I just tend to prefer contemporary styles and topics.

So, I decided to read this on DailyLit (which is why it took me a full three months to read, a few sections at a time, first thing in the morning). And it took me a long time to get into - I didn't mind reading it, but I wasn't terribly moved by the people or stories... until, that is, about the last quarter or so of the book when it turns into a romantic's dream - and here's where the spoiler starts - ultimate sacrifices in the name of love (and not just romantic love), the irony of the oppressed becoming that which they hate, the excitement of a daring escape!

Charles returns to France, from which he long ago fled to escape the horrors of his aristocratic family. Even his wife doesn't know about his family's heritage, though, because he uses an assumed name, and his father-in-law asks him, as a wedding day favor, to keep it mum... we later learn why...

So Charles returns to save a former servant who has been condemned to die, as so many have as the oppressed peasants become to oppressors in the name of the Republic. He, of course, is imprisoned; when his wife and father-in-law learn of his fate (intimately involved with the guillotine), the rush to rescue him and do, for a moment, until the loving FIL's own, and ancient, words are used against them.

But a long-forgotten suitor-hopeful of Charles' wife returns and sacrifices himself in Charles' stead so that his love won't know life without her beloved husband - he even has to trick Charles into the swap!

I'll admit, I was all blubbery at the end... as much as I love DailyLit, I think it's true purpose - to encourage people to go out and buy the books - has worked on me - now I want to curl up with an actual copy and burn through it - maybe I'll see the compelling parts of the first chunk that way...(less)

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Jun 27, 2007

Brad rated it

Shelves: novel

A great multi-sited novel centering on the French revolution.

My generic comment about Charles Dickens:
First of all, although I am a partisan of Dickens' writing and have read and relished most his works, I concede to three flaws in his oeuvre that are not insignificant. First, while he seemed to develop an almost endless variety of male social types, his female characters are much less well developed. Second, although he portrayed the stark brutality of economic and class inequ...more

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May 24, 2011

Sps rated it

Shelves: book-club, story

Awfully witty and fun. Though I'll admit to sometimes getting lost and confused in descriptive passages, and that the thunderheads of the French Revolution are teetering between melodrama and the Donner Party. If Jacques is going to take down the nobility, then do it already. Quit with the gloomy, meaningful knitting, my good madame.

Frequently there are these wonderful strings of words that are undoubtedly Statistically Improbable Phrases. (Amazon's are the fairly unremarka...more

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Dec 20, 2009

Michelle rated it

First of all, I'd like to give this book 4.5 stars. (Why is it so hard to be confined by the one-star increments?) It is a great book, I just can't give it my very highest rating. I wonder if it is suffering somewhat in comparison to The Count of Monte Cristo, which I read right before A Tale of Two Cities, and I loved that one SO much.

In any case, I'm just thrilled that I finally read this book! I have been suffering for some time now as the result of not having read it. I have felt...more

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Jan 11, 2011

Cinnamon rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-for-school, own, classics, historical-fiction, reviewed, 2011, 4★-delightfully-scrumptious

This review may also be found on A Thousand Little Pages.

Schoolwork is rarely pleasant, only mandatory and often mind-numbingly boring. I was expecting such when my English teacher announced the next book in our curriculum. With the memory of my attempt ~~and failure~~ at staying awake while viewing the movie adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities in History class last year still fresh in my mind, I flipped to the first page of my shiny new paperback feeling like I was participating in the beg...more

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Jan 09, 2012

Hazel rated it

Recommends it for: Meredith

Shelves: literary-fiction

A colleague of mine recommends reading one of Dickens' novels every year. I thought that was a splendid idea, and I remembered it today when I found the 1958 movie on tv. This is the one with a perfectly cast Dirk Bogarde, as Sydney Carton. Very good supporting cast, too; a too-thin, but chilling and convincing Madame Defarge, Donald Pleasance as the oily little informer, Bas(t)ard, Ian Bannen and Christopher Lee and Leo McKern, all perfect in small roles. I started weeping when the first tumbri...more

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Oct 01, 2008

Lori Anderson rated it

***** SPOILER ALERT -- IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK, GO NO FURTHER! ******

"A Tale of Two Cities" is one of those books that a lot of people THINK they've read, but never have, because it has an ending that nearly everyone knows -- one man trades his life for another under the guillitine. I knew how it ended, but also knew I'd never read the book, and felt it was high time to get on with it.

There's a lot more to it than just swapping Man A with Man B. Th...more

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Mar 22, 2009

Brad rated it

Shelves: most-hated, classic

A painful beast of a book. It took me five attempts to get past page one hundred, and when I finally did break that barrier I pressed on until the very end so that I didn't have to suffer ever again.

Dickens is a problem for me. I admit it freely.

There was a time, many years ago, when I was a fan. I read Great Expectations for the first time in grade four, and I was in love with the book and Dickens. And I imagine that some part of my social consciousness, which wasn't a g...moreA painful beast of a book. It took me five attempts to get past page one hundred, and when I finally did break that barrier I pressed on until the very end so that I didn't have to suffer ever again.

Dickens is a problem for me. I admit it freely.

There was a time, many years ago, when I was a fan. I read Great Expectations for the first time in grade four, and I was in love with the book and Dickens. And I imagine that some part of my social consciousness, which wasn't a gift from my parents, was planted with the seeds of Dickens.

Over the years, though, Dickens and I have grown apart.

I don't mean that I have "outgrown" him in any sort of condescending manner. It's not the sort of thing I expect anyone else to do, nor is it something that I blame fully on Dickens. No, we've grown apart as many couples do when one person changes through life and experience and the other remains constant.

I have become a radical over the years, and Dickens...well, he's still as bourgeois left as ever, and we're not compatible any more. He venerates the comforts of the middle class; he expounds the virtues of law and order and charity; he attacks the indignities of the abuses of power but only offers imaginary methods for overcoming them, mythologizing the bourgeoisie's ability to overthrow the things that ail us; he vilifies those who seek more radical solutions; and, whether he admits it or not, he still believes in the superiority of nobility and noble blood.

So when he starts to attack the revolutionaries in Paris and uses it to illustrate the "superiority" of civilized English behavior, when Dickens' moral soapbox weighs heavier than his plot, I begin to tune out of his lecture, and A Tale of Two Cities makes me increasingly angry from page to page.

I recognize Dickens' talent. I still love his prose. And I get why people love this book, and maybe even why you do, kind reader, but I can't stand it (and I am finding it increasingly difficult to like any of his work anymore).

I may burn this someday. But I have fully annotated the version I own and while I can burn the words of others (it's the radical in me), my lovely inner narcissist simply can't burn words of my own (unless it is for catharsis). So A Tale of Two Cities will likely survive on my shelf until I die, mocking me from its high perch in my office, whispering that a catharsis that may never come just may be necessary.(less)

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Mar 27, 2009

Werner rated it

Recommends it for: Fans of 19th century fiction

Shelves: classics, historical-fiction

Most of Dickens' novels were set in his own time; this was one of only two forays he made into historical fiction (both of which are set in the time of the generation immediately before his own, for which he could still draw on the impressions of living witnesses) but in it, he managed to produce one of the genre's timeless classics. All of the best traits of his writing are here: his unequaled characterizations, his mastery of plotting, his passionate sense of justice, his ability to evoke the...moreMost of Dickens' novels were set in his own time; this was one of only two forays he made into historical fiction (both of which are set in the time of the generation immediately before his own, for which he could still draw on the impressions of living witnesses) but in it, he managed to produce one of the genre's timeless classics. All of the best traits of his writing are here: his unequaled characterizations, his mastery of plotting, his passionate sense of justice, his ability to evoke the atmosphere of his settings, and his capacity, as one critic has said, "to make us care about the things that matter." This is also probably the one novel, besides A Christmas Carol, that most clearly reflects his nondenominational but heartfelt Christian convictions --not so much because of the one passing narrative mention of Christ as "our Saviour," though that type of reference is rare in his writing, as because of the unmistakable Christian symbolism of the novel's climax, which is all the more powerful because its implications are left clear but unstated.

A Tale of Two Cities is also the Dickens novel most charged with socio-political relevance for today, because the present-day hard-core, totalitarian Left was born in the French Revolution (it's not at all surprising that Arthur Koestler's Stalinist characters in Darkness at Noon frequently make comparisons between themselves and the architects of the Terror!) Whole volumes could be written about the connections; but those wouldn't be strictly relevant to a review of a novel by Dickens, whose own perspective was circumscribed by the 19th century. What is relevant, though, is to note that he pegged and delineated the "humanitarian with a guillotine" mindset perfectly, in all of its stark, nauseating ugliness: its vicious self-righteousness, its utter absence of anything resembling compassion or human decency, its mindless group-think, its messianic zeal to create hell on earth in the chimerical pursuit of an imagined heaven on earth, and above all its fundamental moral springs of unbridled psychopathic hate and envy. A reading of this novel could furnish a better understanding of 20th and early 21st century political forces than most "standard" textbooks! (less)

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Oct 16, 2007

Meghan Davison rated it

I started reading this book in an effort to whittle away at my ever-growing "classics to read" list and expected it to be a completely perfunctory experience, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I rarely read anything that is older than I am, so the style and syntax were a bit off-putting at times. Dickens' sentences are long and littered with commas, but that was honestly the only thing that made the novel feel dated. Dickens is funny and sarcastic-- and his sarcasm is the...more

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Sep 25, 2008

Erin rated it

Recommended to Erin by: Dad

I have learned SO much about the French revolution through reading this. It has given me totally new perspective on government and the lack of it. I just never truly realized that the French revolution was so horrible. I always thought it needed to happen and that Marie Antoinette and the King and the aristocracy needed to go. I never knew how blood hungry these peasants were. Dickens doesn't have one good word to say about those involved in the Revolution; yet he doesn't truly blame them e...more

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Oct 18, 2008

Patty rated it

Admittedly, I'm not much of Dickens fan. Talk about getting a ton of mileage out of a bad childhood...BUT this book, to me, was riveting. One of the greatest opening lines in ANY novel, one of the greatest anti-heroes of all time, Sydney Carton, and one of the greatest villianesses of all time, Madame LeFarge. And, there have been excellent film adaptatations of this book which is not something I have said more than two or three times in my life. Also, 5 stars automatically to the author that pe...more

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Aug 09, 2008

LitMom rated it

I'm not positive, but am pretty sure that Dickens was living in Venezuela for this past decade when he wrote the book. Apart from that, what memorable characters he created! Who can forget the "honest tradesman" with his spiky hair, rusty fingers, and "flopping" wife? Or dear, dry, dusty Mr. Lorry, still with a twinkle lurking in his eyes in spite of all the years tucked away in dry, dusty Tellons? And the question, "I hope you care to be recalled to life?" O.K.,...more

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Jun 12, 2008

Jessica rated it

Recommended to Jessica by: the canon

Um. Wow. The last six chapters were especially amazing. I ride (and read on) the bus every day, and I don't think I've ever missed my stop - until today, deep into the conclusion of this tremendous work. I really like Dickens as a suspense writer. The whole book was very well done, but it was the second half that really did it for me. The way he portrayed the barbarism and perverted law of the French Revolution will stick with me; he made the Guillotine a character.

Plus, there is a w...more

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Jun 22, 2009

Robin rated it

Synopsis: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..yadda ,yadda, yadda......................'tis a far, far better thing I have done than I have ever done before or something like that.

The first line is the best of lines and the last line is memorable.... it's the part in between I've had trouble wading through. I skimmed and scanned and I think I get the idea: Life is short, brutal and I am grateful beyond belief to be alive today instead of the 1700's or even the 180...more

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Oct 21, 2010

Dhara Mehta rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: everyone

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Disckens is an age old English classic about the French Revolution. Charles Darnay is son of a cruel French aristocrat, Mr St Evremonde. Mr. St Evremonde has raped a peasant woman, killed a baby while driving his carriage and imprisoned a noble doctor, Dr Mannette, for testifying against him. His son is the exact opposite, a gentle, kindred spirit who gave up name and fortune to try rebuilt his life in England. Dr Mannette is imprisoned in Paris and finally rele...moreA Tale of Two Cities by Charles Disckens is an age old English classic about the French Revolution. Charles Darnay is son of a cruel French aristocrat, Mr St Evremonde. Mr. St Evremonde has raped a peasant woman, killed a baby while driving his carriage and imprisoned a noble doctor, Dr Mannette, for testifying against him. His son is the exact opposite, a gentle, kindred spirit who gave up name and fortune to try rebuilt his life in England. Dr Mannette is imprisoned in Paris and finally released 15 years later. After his prison sentence, he is hiding in a vine maker shop (Defarge) and working a senile shoemaker. His old banker, My Lorry, finds him and reunites him with his daughter Lucy.

Here there is a chance encounter between Charles Darnay and Lucy Mannette. They are married after Darnay’s is released from prison for presumed treason. Darnay’s release is orchestrated by Attorney Stryver and Sidney Carton (his intelligent yet drunk associate). Sidney loves Lucy, although she is getting married to Darnay. Darnay is called to France to rescue a former royal employee as he is tried in jail for a crime he did not commit. Darnay is caught in the mist of the French Revolution. All aristocratic families are sent ‘guillotine’. The leader of revolutionaries is the vindictive, vile, and revengeful Madame Darfarge (vine maker wife). Her goal is too purge France of any person of a noble heritage. She attempts to murder Lucy and her child but is killed Lucy devoted house keeper, Mrs Pross. Charles Darnay is accused of being an aristocrat thus his fate is doomed. Sidney Carlton exchanged places and dies instead for is love for Lucy.

The theme according to the venerable, Mr Cliff are the following: the disparities between the rich and poor thus leading the poor to revolt against the ‘haves’ , use of rape as theme violence, the corrupting effect of money, the irrationality of mob justice and finally the victory of good over evil. From my perspective, one should add paying of crimes of one’s ancestors as atheme. What responsibility does Darnay have for crimes that were committed by his father and uncle. I say NONE. Also Carlton, is portrayed as good for nothing fellow, yet is the noblest of them all. A Dickensen Christ!

This is by all means a difficult book to read and requires a great deal of concentration.

Favorite Quotes
The is a great crowd coming one day into our lives (p103)
A multitude of people yet solitude (p103)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,,,,, it was the age of reason, it was the epoch of incredulity ( p1)
Earnestness in you is anything but alarming to me (p 208)
As a whirlpool of boiling water has a centre point, so all this raging around Defarge (p 217)
This is a desperate time when desperate games are played for desperate stakes (p 305)
Tell the wind and fire to stop (p 346)
I am the resurrection and the life saith the lord; he that believeth in me, he shall never die.
Not one among them to be dreaded then this ruthless one
Eye to eye, voice to voice, hand to hand, these 2 children of the universal mother (p 379)
It is a far, far, better thing that I do than I have ever done…….
(less)

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May 30, 2008

Sean O'Hare rated it

Yeah, I know we all had to read Dickens when we were too young and it scarred us for life. Get over it. The guy had mad skills and this is his best (imo) work. Another of the books that I've read more than twice (4 times and counting). If you don't know the story then you have no idea what anyone is talking about when they mention Madame Defarge or Sidney Carton and that's a shame.

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Feb 03, 2012

Shanna rated it

I remember really engaging with the plot of ATOTC when I was in high school. Now that I teach it, and I truly understand the complexities of the story, I realize that I missed so much then. The story is brillant, but I still love Dickens character-based work more than his plot based work. Nevertheless, ATOTC stands as one of the most quoted books in history and is a must read.

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Jun 12, 2011

Jan-Maat rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century, fiction, historical-fiction

This book is interesting for the wrong reasons. On the one hand there are elements that work very well and you feel confident in the author's skill but on the other hand the sequence of events that sucks one character after another back into France feels entirely unconvincing.

Weak moments like the fight between the good English woman and the bad french woman cast a shadow over the book for me, in part because good and english as well as bad and french become virtually synonymous ter...more

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The History Book ...: * 1. A TALE OF TWO CITIES ~ February 6th - February 12th ~~ INTRODUCTION, BOOK THE FIRST, I, II, AND III ~ (ix - 24) No Spoilers Please	35	33	37 minutes ago
The History Book ...: A TALE OF TWO CITIES - TOC AND SYLLABUS	37	104	21 hours, 43 min ago
The History Book ...: GLOSSARY - A TALE OF TWO CITIES - SPOILER THREAD	24	23	07 fév. 15:25
Scared	40	219	07 fév. 03:49
Classics for Begi...: A Tale of Two Cities - Book 1, Chapters 1-6	23	42	05 fév. 00:14
does it get better?	53	272	03 fév. 21:05
Classics for Begi...: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens	22	48	01 fév. 06:11

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About Charles Dickens

A prolific 19th Century author of short stories, plays, novellas, novels, fiction and non; during his lifetime Dickens became known the world over for his remarkable characters, his mastery of prose in the telling of their lives, and his depictions of the social classes, mores and values of his times. Some considered him the spokesman for the poor, for he definitely brought much awareness to thei...more

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