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A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens,

Richard Maxwell (Editor/Introduction)

Saniye Güven

Sevil İnan Sönmez (Translator)

3.83 · Rating details · 738,574 ratings · 15,139 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 disreputable but ...more

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Paperback, Penguin Classics (UK/CAN/USA), 489 pages

Published 2003 by Penguin Books (first published November 1859)

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Jan 23, 2008 Melissa Rudder rated it it was amazing

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 ma 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 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." ...more

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Dec 01, 2011 Lyn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Hundreds, thousands of stories long to have a quotable verse, just one.

Tale of Two Cities, Dickens masterpiece as far as I'm concerned, is bookended by two of the most recognizable quotes in all of English language.

This is also the darkest story I have read of his, and no doubt, it's about the bloody French Revolution and Dickens spares none of his acerbic wit to demonize what was rightly demonic. Yet, to his credit and genius, neither does he sugar coat the great social injustices that led ir ...more

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Jan 17, 2014 Sean Barrs the Bookdragon rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, 3-star-reads

Charles Dickens is a demanding writer. The narratives of Great Expectations and Oliver Twist are relaxed and simple when compared to this. Reading Dickens requires concentration, and a will to carry on when sometimes the writing gives you a headache.

This is a historical novel. Dickens tells the story of the storming of the Bastille, some fifty years after it happened. Unlike most of his work, all traces of humour are removed. There are no caricatures and quirkiness within his writing. This i Charles Dickens is a demanding writer. The narratives of Great Expectations and Oliver Twist are relaxed and simple when compared to this. Reading Dickens requires concentration, and a will to carry on when sometimes the writing gives you a headache.

This is a historical novel. Dickens tells the story of the storming of the Bastille, some fifty years after it happened. Unlike most of his work, all traces of humour are removed. There are no caricatures and quirkiness within his writing. This is all very serious material, which, of course, it needs to be. But, for me, this is what Dickens does best. His ability to juxtapose themes of human suffering, poverty and deprivation with ideas of the grotesque, ridiculous and, at times, the plain mad, are where his real master strokes of penmanship come through.

That’s what I like the most about Dickens, so I knew my enjoyment of this very serious novel would be hindered immediately. What we do have though is a strong revenge plot running through the book, and the revolt which occurred two thirds of the way in. And, like the name of the book suggests, this is a tale about two cities: London and Paris. Dickens loved to criticise society, and all its stupid aristocratic nuances. Here he takes great pains to show that London is no symbol of societal perfection. The aftermath of the French revolution placed the British on a pedestal, at least, to their own minds. They could not believe that their own current systems of ruling could cause such a travesty within their own capital. Dickens shows that the men in power were just as corrupt and corruptible wherever they sit, revolution can happen again.

“I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. 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.”

description

The streets of Paris are seen before and after the bloodshed, and all the strands of seemingly unrelated plots are artfully (perhaps slightly forcefully?) woven together. Dickens brings the lives of a huge cast of characters, spanning over two cities, and two nations, all of which have a varied station in life and political beliefs, into one final conclusion. And it’s a strong conclusion, though heavily reliant of coincident. This is nothing unusual for fiction of the Victorian era, though it did feel very much like a construct. The modernists would address such issues in the next century, mainly to criticise them heavily due to their incapability at capturing the essence of life within fiction. Perhaps they have a point here?

So this is a very strong story, one that is highly perceptive and intuitive at times. As a reader, I need a certain degree of entertainment when reading. I find that the wonderfully comic elements that are in some of Dickens’ other books help to break up the more intense moments of the plot. Even Jane Austen would interpose her narrative with moments of scathing sarcasm and wit. For me, this is far from the finest work of Dickens despite the fact that it seems to be his most popular. ...more

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Sep 23, 2018 Nayra.Hassan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, historical

انا بيت قديم جدرانه من الخوف شرخت✒
انا نكتة حلوة اتكررت و اهي بوخت
انا ارض بور اخذها الهم حق انتفاع
انا باب مقفول من سنين ومفتاحه ضاع
اهلا بكم في ☀مدينة سيدني كارتون..حيث للعدل وجهين..و للتضحية معنيين..و للحب لونين..و للثورات منتفعين

كارتون من زعماء الكآبة عبر العالم و هو سبب وقوعي في سحر الروايات منذ درست قصة مدينتين في سن 15 و حتى يومنا هذا ..كارتون بضياعه و رماديته و تجرده و كابته التي اوصلته لاعلى مراتب الحرية ؛ يستحق لقب :اكثر ابطال الادب رومانسية على الاطلاق و لو حظت اي فتاة بمثله في الواقع؛ انا بيت قديم جدرانه من الخوف شرخت✒
انا نكتة حلوة اتكررت و اهي بوخت
انا ارض بور اخذها الهم حق انتفاع
انا باب مقفول من سنين ومفتاحه ضاع
اهلا بكم في ☀مدينة سيدني كارتون..حيث للعدل وجهين..و للتضحية معنيين..و للحب لونين..و للثورات منتفعين

كارتون من زعماء الكآبة عبر العالم و هو سبب وقوعي في سحر الروايات منذ درست قصة مدينتين في سن 15 و حتى يومنا هذا ..كارتون بضياعه و رماديته و تجرده و كابته التي اوصلته لاعلى مراتب الحرية ؛ يستحق لقب :اكثر ابطال الادب رومانسية على الاطلاق و لو حظت اي فتاة بمثله في الواقع؛اذن لقد فازت و كفى

قصة مدينتين هي ملحمة تاريخية عن الثورة الفرنسية ؛عن ماهية الحرية ؛ درة الادب الانجليزى لأسباب لا تنتهى..ابطال متناقضين ..احداث متلاحقة ..حبكة محكمة..صدف تغيظ
و اخيرا لانني زرت المدينتين: باريس قبل قراءة الرواية بسنوات و لندن تو ما فرغت منها..و اؤكد ان زيارة قبو متحف مدام توسو بعد قراءة قصة مدينتين ؛ كان من اكثر تجارب حياتي سوادا و رعبا

لا تشرق الشمس على منظر اكثر حزنا 💭
من رجل يمتلك عواطف نبيلةو مواهب و قدرات فائقة و يعجز عن تطبيقها او اظهارها او حتى على إسعاد نفسه بل تتاكله التعاسة حتى التلاشي💬ا

هكذا يصف لنا ديكنز : سيدنى كارتون المحامي الملقب"بابن اوى" المنتمى الى ابطال"يشبهونني ببساطة"بشعارهم الابدي: لا استحق اي شيء و كفى

انا متهم و ماليش كمان حق الدفاع✒
انا سهم بورصة في انخفاض مش في ارتفاع

لوسي مانيت ذهبية الشعر و القلب و💫 الحلقة التي تربط بين ابطال الرواية المتعددين؛ يحبها رجلين متطابقي الملامح

و متناقضي الصفات
تشارلز دارني👀 الارستقراطي الفرنسي المهاجر المتمرد على قسوة و سادية طبقته و اسرته
و♥سيدنى كارتون المحامي البريطاني النابه/ اليائس و الذي تزداد كابته من حياته المبددة و جهوده المسروقة بعد لقاؤه بشبيهه دارني الذي يمتلك كل ما يفتقده.. فتتناقض عواطفه نحوه بين الحب و الحسد لفوزه بقلب لوسي و لكنه بنبل و تجرد نادر ..يرى ان "دارني" الاجدر بها و تحولت لوسي في قلبه و عقله لفكرة قد يعيش و يموت من أجلها.

ومابين الثوار والجواسيس..و المتهمين و المحامين و الاطباء و المساجين ..و المقاصل و الرؤوس ..سنسبح في عالم الثورات الرمادى ربما كان الاول من نوعه في عصره و نتمنى رواية في حجمها تؤرخ بصدق و انسانية لثورتنا العربية و تجمع بين مصر و ليبيا او تونس مثلا

انا دمعة نازلة بتغلي في وقت الهزار✒
✒انا جرح ممكن تقفله باي اعتذار
الغريب انني وجدت ابيات شعبية للشاعر المصري💬
محمد الجمال تعبر بدقة عن بطل بريطاني كئيب غريب ولد على الورق في 1859 ليتوج كل ابطال تشارلز ديكنز احد "البناة العظام" في الادب العالمي ..ربما لان سيدنى ببراعته و نحسه و دونيته و مظلوميته يعبر عن حال كثير من شبابنا حاليا

فعزمت ان اقدم له احترامي المتأخر في الريفيو رقم 500 لي على الجودريدز 💯💯💯💯💯 ...more

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Feb 09, 2008 Leslie rated it it was amazing

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 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 his way back from madness under the gen ...more

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Feb 21, 2019 Matthew rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, 2019, book-a-book-club, classic, historical-fiction

“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.”

Another classic down! The copy of this book that I read I have owned since middle ...more

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Apr 13, 2018 Candi rated it really liked it

Shelves: classics-shelf, charles-dickens, book-i-own

"A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!"

It has been quite some time since I’v "A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other. A solemn consideration, when I enter a great city by night, that every one of those darkly clustered houses encloses its own secret; that every room in every one of them encloses its own secret; that every beating heart in the hundreds of thousands of breasts there, is, in some of its imaginings, a secret to the heart nearest it!"

It has been quite some time since I’ve read Charles Dickens, excepting of course A Christmas Carol, which is an absolute favorite of mine, and a handful of his other Christmas short stories. Upon joining Goodreads eight years ago, A Tale of Two Cities was the very first book I entered as ‘want to read’. Well, time flies and here I am finally having picked up my copy and actually reading this beloved-by-many classic. While this one doesn’t take the prize for most cherished of novels on my personal list, I absolutely admired this masterpiece. In fact, it is a work that for me was more appreciated as a whole rather than for its individual parts. I needed to complete this to fully grasp the plot and the overall merit of the novel. The final portion was entirely compelling and quite brilliant, in fact.

This is a novel, as the title suggests, of two cities… that of London and that of Paris. It is a historical fiction work beginning in 1775 which then takes us further into the depths and horrors of the French Revolution. There is an abundance of mystery that I was not expecting, but thoroughly enjoyed. In addition to the juxtaposition of the two cities, we also see the contrasts between good and evil, hope and despair, death and rebirth. As suggested in my opening quote, secrets abound and are slowly revealed. Characters are drawn well, as one would naturally expect from Dickens, although I never quite felt the emotional tug towards any of them, until near the end. But when I did reach this point, gosh it was worth it! Sydney Carton… an unforgettable man… sigh. "I have had the weakness, and have still the weakness, to wish you to know with what a sudden mastery you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire - a fire, however, inseparable in its nature from myself, quickening nothing, lighting nothing, doing no service, idly burning away." This is a love story, a tale of injustice, of human suffering, and of sacrifice.

When the reader steps through the gates of Paris, one can feel the tension and sense the shadow of what is to come… the atmosphere is so charged with insecurity, suspicion, and dread. "The time was to come, when that wine too would be spilled on the street-stones, and when the stain of it would be red upon many there." The madness of the masses is frightening - there are no apologies and no exceptions. If you are born with the wrong blood, happen to land in the wrong place at the wrong time, or sympathize with the accused and the condemned, your life is in danger. The threat of the Guillotine looms like a monster over the people of the city. "Every day, through the stony streets, the tumbrils now jolted heavily, filled with Condemned. Lovely girls; bright women, brown-haired, black-haired, and grey; youths; stalwart men and old; gentle born and peasant born; all red wine for La Guillotine, all daily brought into light from the dark cellars of the loathsome prisons, and carried to her through the street to slake her devouring thirst. Liberty, equality, fraternity, or death; - the last, much the easiest to bestow, O Guillotine!" It is heartless and pities no one, much like Madame Defarge.

I feel as if I should be providing a more ‘scholarly’ review of this tremendous work, but I’m not quite up to the task; and you can find a plethora of excellent and more erudite reviews all over Goodreads! I’m really just here to express my personal reaction and feelings towards this one. Quite simply, the writing is excellent, but the story itself failed to grab me initially. At this same time last year, I read Les Misérables – an extraordinary piece of literature without a doubt. I could not help comparing this Dicken’s novel with that of Hugo’s. What was lacking in Two Cities for me was the existence of a character like Jean Valjean, a character so vivid and so sharply drawn that it seems I literally spent weeks in the mind of this tortured soul. Probably, it is not fair to make this comparison, but there you have it. I felt distanced from Dickens’ characters quite a bit more… at least for a good portion of the book. I’m very pleased that I persevered, however, as I was able to reap the benefits of my commitment upon finishing the last words. The development of Sydney Carton was rewarding and the ending of this tale was breathtaking. I don’t often re-read novels, but this one is certainly going to fall in the category of ‘even better the second time around’ – I feel certain of this. My rating is at a firm 4 stars, with the hope that someday the re-read will edge it up to the full 5.

"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 licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit according to its kind." ...more

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Sep 25, 2016 Bionic Jean rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 19th-century-ish, charles-dickens, classics, read-authors-c-d

“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 spring of hope, it was the winter of despair”

So begins A Tale of Two Cities, a perennial favourite. It was an instant success when it was first published, and its popularity has remained steady ever since, as one of the best selling novels of all time. For many, it is their most loved novel by Charles Dickens.

A Tale of Two Cities is Dickens’s second shortest completed nov ...more

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Jul 28, 2009 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, fiction, 1001-book, historical, literature, 19th-century

883. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to life in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met; Lucie's marriage and the collision between her beloved husband and the people who caused her father's imprisonment; and Monsieur a 883. A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to life in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met; Lucie's marriage and the collision between her beloved husband and the people who caused her father's imprisonment; and Monsieur and Madame Defarge, sellers of wine in a poor suburb of Paris. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.
عنوان: داستان دو شهر؛ نویسنده: چارلز دیکنز؛ انتشاراتیها: (پیروز، جاویدان، گلشائی، مجرد، درنا، توسن، علمی فرهنگی، سپیده، مریم، فرزان روز، دبیر، افق، سولدوزبایجان) ادبیات؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه نوامبر سال 2003 میلادی
مترجم: گیورگیس آقاسی؛ تهران، پیروز، 1347، در 300 ص
مترجم: ابراهیم یونسی؛ تهران، جاویدان، چاپ اول 1346، در 436 ص، چاپ دوم 1355 ، در 570 ص
مترجم: ابوالفتوح امام؛ تهران، گلشایی، 1362 ، در 520 ص
مترجم: ناظر نعمتی؛ تهران، مجرد، 1363 ، در 197 ص
مترجم: کامران ایراندوست؛ تهران، درنا، 1368 ، در 180 ص
مترجم: امیر اسماعیلی؛ تهران، توسن، 1368 ، در 130 ص
مترجم: مینو مشیری؛ تهران، علمی فرهنگی، 1370 ، در 225 ص
مترجم: مجید سیف؛ تهران، سپیده، 1370 ، در 171 ص
مترجم: مهدی سحابی - متن کوتاه شده؛ تهران، مریم، 1374 ، در 141 ص
مترجم: ابراهیم یونسی؛ تهران، نگاه، 1377 ، در 480 ص
مترجم: مهرداد نبیلی؛ تهران، فرزان روز، 1381 ، در 482 ص
مترجم: مهدی علوی؛ تهران، دبیر، 1389 ، در 96 ص
مترجم: نوشین ابراهیمی؛ تهران، افق، 1389، در 698 ص
مترجم: وحید سهرابی حسنلویی؛ خدیجه سهرابی حسنلویی؛ نقده، سولدوزبایجان، 1393، در 165؛
رمانی نوشته چارلز دیکنز است که داستانش در لندن و پاریس، پیش و در طول انقلاب فرانسه رخ می‌دهد، داستان جوانی کشاورززاده را تحت تعالیم اشرافیگرائیهای فرانسوی، در سالهای منتهی به انقلاب، و خشونتهای انقلابیون را نسبت به اشراف سابق، در سالهای نخست انقلاب فرانسه به تصویر می‌کشد. در این جریانات ماجرای چند تن دنبال می‌شود، از همه مهمتر: چارلز دارنه، اشرافی فرانسوی سابق که علی‌رغم ذات خوبش، قربانی هیجانات ضد تبعیض انقلاب می‌شود؛ و سیدنی کارتن، وکیلی بریتانیایی که فراری است و تلاش می‌کند زندگی ناخوشایندش را با عشق به همسر چارلز دارنه، لوسی مانه نجات دهد. ا. شربیانی ...more

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Jun 12, 2008 Laura rated it it was amazing

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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Jun 29, 2015 Kalliope rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, britain, fiction-english, 2015

A KNIT OF TWO TALES

Reading Dickens’s approach to historical fiction, at first I could not help but remember Romola, which I read recently. And even if Romola seemed to have more of a Victorian than a Florentine Renaissance tone, the story and the context were very nicely woven together.

While with A Tale I felt I as reading two separate stories. One was a the result of conscientious research, and Dickens in his Preface acknowledges Carlyle’s wonderful book, and the other was a more melodramatic tale with Gothic overtones. The two meanings of the word historia separated: history and story.

May be it was because Dickens was dealing with a convulsive period that was still too close to him and his contemporaries. Its threats must have resonated with a greater echo after the 1848 revolutions that again swept through France as well as other European countries. When he wrote his novel only a decade had passed since that latest wave of violence and political turmoil. These more recent revolutions must have had the effect of a magnifying glass when Dickens read and reread Carlyle’s study, study which had, however, been written before, in 1837. One can certainly feel Dickens alarm at the dangers that loom over humanity. His horror came first, and then he tried to horrify his readers.

And yet, as my reading proceeded, I began to feel how these two axis or needles were pulling out something together. And I think it is Dickens excellent writing, with his uses of repetitions, or anaphora; his complex set of symbols—and I am beginning to become familiar with the Dickens iconography; his idiosyncratic mixture of humour and drama; his use of alliteration and onomatopoeia; his extraordinary development of images—and I think this novel has some of the best I have read by him; and his ability to sustain a positive core within a great deal of drab, that succeeds in making those two needles knit something coherent and consistent.

And indeed my favourite image was the Knitting, which Dickens develops throughout the novel, with all its mythological weight--that binds the threads of fate and volition, of patience and disquiet, of love and hatred--, which became for me also the knitting of the writer. The periodic and steady rhythm of Knit and Purl produced with threads of words, meshing in the melodrama and the emotions, the varying colours with their lights and shadows, increasing or decreasing the episodes with literary tricks such as adding a new thread or character or knitting two stiches in one go by solving a mystery. And this he achieved by handling with shrewd dexterity his two needles of ‘story’ and ‘history’, his two tales.

So, as I came to the end I had to admit that , yes, the Tale of Two Tales has woven for me a magnificent novel. There has been somewhat of a 'Resurrection' in my reading too. ...more

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Feb 03, 2012 فهد الفهد rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 0-favorites, fiction-europe-british

قصة مدينتين

استعرت هذه الرواية من مكتبة الجامعة في بداية الألفية، كان ذلك قبل عالم الانترنت، عندما كنا لا نلتقي ولا نتعرف على الكتب ومشاهير المؤلفين إلا من خلال الصحف أو الكتب التي تسقط بين أيدينا اتفاقاً، ديكنز كان مألوفاً لي حينها، كنت قد قرأت له دايفد كوبرفيلد، وأعرف موقعه كروائي إنجليزي عظيم.

حصلت على الكتاب الضخم، المغلف من قبل الجامعة بغلاف صلب، والمختوم مراراً كجواز سائح كوني، كنت غراً حينها، جديد على كل العوالم التي أمامي، فلذا حملت النسخة الضخمة محاولاً قراءتها خلال مهلة اليومين التي تم قصة مدينتين

استعرت هذه الرواية من مكتبة الجامعة في بداية الألفية، كان ذلك قبل عالم الانترنت، عندما كنا لا نلتقي ولا نتعرف على الكتب ومشاهير المؤلفين إلا من خلال الصحف أو الكتب التي تسقط بين أيدينا اتفاقاً، ديكنز كان مألوفاً لي حينها، كنت قد قرأت له دايفد كوبرفيلد، وأعرف موقعه كروائي إنجليزي عظيم.

حصلت على الكتاب الضخم، المغلف من قبل الجامعة بغلاف صلب، والمختوم مراراً كجواز سائح كوني، كنت غراً حينها، جديد على كل العوالم التي أمامي، فلذا حملت النسخة الضخمة محاولاً قراءتها خلال مهلة اليومين التي تمنحها الجامعة للكتب النادرة – قبل أن تبدأ الغرامات القاسية -، ولكن هذه المهمة كانت أكبر مني، فلذا اضطررت لإعادة الكتاب بعدما عبرت بداياته فقط، فيما بقيت صفحات طويلة وعدت نفسي بقراءتها يوماً ما.

وجاء... ذلك الـ (يوماً ما) جاء، صحيح أنه تأخر قليلاً، ولكن لم يكن ذلك لأن يدي قصيرة عن الوصول إلى مدينتي ديكنز، وإنما لأن نهراً من الكتب جرفني من يومها، لقد تفتق العالم لي بعدها كما يتفتق لطفل قروي، لا يعرف أبعد من بيت أهله، ووجوه أهله، ثم يحمل ذات ليلة ليرمى في ميدان عاصمة، كل تلك الوجوه، كل تلك الألوان، الروائح، الناس الذاهبة والآيبة، كل تلك الأحداث، تربكه، تنزع توازنه، وفهمه لما حوله.

وفي ذاكرتي، وعلى مر كل تلك السنوات، تداعت كلمات الكتاب وصوره ومشاهده، تحلل كل ما قرأته، بقي في ذاكرتي فقط وأنا أجذبه من رقدته بين مؤلفات كل أولئك الإنجليز العظماء، وصف مذهل لشارع قديم، كان ديكنز يأخذنا عبره، ليصعد بنا علية ما، حيث يقبع عجوز ما !! كان هذا كل ما بقي.

عانى ديكنز في طفولته كثيراً، لم يتلق تعليماً جيداً، وحتى المدرسة المتواضعة التي ذهب إليها، سحب منها على عجل ليعمل لعشر ساعات يومياً، بعدما سجن والده لتراكم الديون عليه، والتحقت به والدته في السجن، وهو نظام غريب مطبق حينها !! هذه الأم ديكنز يشعر بأنها لا توليه العناية والاهتمام الكافيين، من هذه الظروف، ومن هذه المشاعر نلمس رؤية ديكنز ومواقفه تجاه الفقراء، وحقوق الأطفال، وتجاه المرأة.

في هذه الرواية يبدو ديكنز مقارناً، بين مدينتين، باريس ولندن، نظامين ثوري وملكي، قضاءين ثوري ورسمي، وفي روايته التي كتبها مسلسلة، ونشرها في الصحف كما كان يفعل كتاب عصره، والتي لها سمات وميزات ذاك العصر وأدبه المليء بالأبطال الفروسيين، والنساء الجميلات المعشوقات من الجميع، والمصادفات التي تقبلها بصدر رحب لتستمتع، لتمضي قدماً.

إنه عصر الثورة، تبدأ الأحداث قبل الثورة الفرنسية بقليل، حيث نتعرف على الدكتور مانيت، المسجون ظلماً في الباستيل ولسنوات طويلة – 18 عاماً -، والذي نتابع في الفصول الأولى لقائه بابنته لوسي والتي لم يكن يعلم بوجودها، وها هي تستنقذ والدها بمساعدة الثوري الفرنسي دوفارج وزوجته، وتأخذه إلى إنجلترا.

بعد 5 سنوات يستعيد فيها الأب عقله، وتتزوج لوسي من تشارلز دارني، وهو نبيل فرنسي تخلى عن نبالته وذهب ليعيش في إنجلترا، تقوم الثورة في فرنسا، ويعرض لنا ديكنز حال الفرنسيين قبل الثورة وطريقة تعامل النبلاء معهم بأسلوب مذهل، ديكنز مذهل بحق في سرده، ساخر عظيم، لا ريب أن قراءه كانوا يتشوقون لكل فصل من فصول روايته.

ترد تشارلز دارني وهو هناك في أمان إنجلترا، رسالة من خادم سابق له سجن في الباستيل، فيهرع إلى باريس لينقذه، فيقع بيد الثوريين ويقدم للمحاكمة والإعدام، تسرع لوسي ووالدها لاستنقاذه، خاصة والدكتور مانيت أحد نزلاء الباستيل المخضرمين، وهذا ما يكسبه الاحترام بين الثوار، هذا خلاف خبرته الطبية المفيدة لهم، وشخصيته العظيمة.

تدور القصة، وتتشابك الأحداث ويلتقي ويتصارع الأبطال في تلك البقعة من باريس، وتنكشف الألغاز، وتقدم التضحيات، ويتركك ديكنز في النهاية وفي ذهنك وروحك ذلكم الشعور الملحمي الجميل.
...more

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Oct 13, 2018 Nick marked it as to-read · review of another edition

This is Tessa's favorite. The book that Will grew to love. It must have something special.

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Mar 02, 2018 °°°·.°·..·°¯°·._.· ʜᴇʟᴇɴ Ροζουλί Εωσφόρος ·._.·°¯°·.·° .·°°° ★·.·´¯`·.·★ Ⓥⓔⓡⓝⓤⓢ Ⓟⓞⓡⓣⓘⓣⓞⓡ Ⓐⓡⓒⓐⓝⓤⓢ Ταμετούρο Αμ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: best, dante-deo, humming-closer-no-hesitation-give-m, ΘΑ-ΣΕΒΕΣΤΕ, ΜΕΘΕΞΗ

«Ήταν οι καλύτερες μέρες, ήταν οι χειρότερες μέρες, ήταν τα χρόνια της σοφίας, ήταν τα χρόνια της άνοιας, ήταν η εποχή της πίστης, ήταν η εποχή της ολιγοπιστίας, η εποχή του Φωτός και η εποχή του Σκότους, ήταν η άνοιξη της ελπίδας κι ο χειμώνας της απελπισιάς, είχαμε μπρος μας τα πάντα, είχαμε μπρος μας το τίποτε…»

Είναι ένα αριστουργηματικό μανιφέστο για τη δύναμη της αγάπης, της λύτρωσης και το μεγαλείο του ανθρώπινου πνεύματος.
Δεν είναι ένα απλό μυθιστόρημα.
Μέσα σε αυτό το έργο ζωής και τέχν ...more

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Nov 22, 2008 Jason Koivu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, favorites

Hands down my favorite Dickens' I've read yet! It's got love, sacrifice, revenge, revolt and other exciting verbs! I'm a big fan of a solid marriage between character development and action. A Tale of Two Cities is well-wed. Some criticize Dickens for his trite stories and overblown caricature-esque characters. Yes, the man wrote some less-than-perfect books. He wrote them for a wide-ranging public and he wrote for money. High-minded prose eloquently crafted may garner praise, but it doesn't alw ...more

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Mar 08, 2013 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction, classics

A Tale of Two Cities was the first Charles Dickens novel I read on my own, not because an English class required it (looking at you, Great Expectations). I was going on a cross-country trip and decided this would be a good book to while away the hours.

From the first immortal words:

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 ...

to the very last ones, it was an absorbing story ...more

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Mar 20, 2018 Adina marked it as abandoned

Shelves: classics, british, 1001

DNF at page 150

Well, I can't believe I am abandoning a Charles Dickens novel but I do not want to go on. It is so different from the other two works that I've read by him and loved. I don't know, I don't like the tone of the story(it might be the translation), cannot connect with the characters and I just don't like it. I thought that something is wrong with me but my mum saw the book on my shelf Today and she confessed that it was the only Dickens she could not read...and my mum finished everyt ...more

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Feb 21, 2016 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

I first read this in high school as a substitute for "Oliver Twist" which was not in my high school library catalog. Come to think of it now, I have never read that book. Weird... If ever I get a chance to meet "high-school-me", I bet she will be over the moon and back to know that the world is her library! Any book, on demand! I guess it would distract her enough not to realize she has no social life. Anyway...

"A Tale of Two Cities" is, once again, one of those books I have read when I was too I first read this in high school as a substitute for "Oliver Twist" which was not in my high school library catalog. Come to think of it now, I have never read that book. Weird... If ever I get a chance to meet "high-school-me", I bet she will be over the moon and back to know that the world is her library! Any book, on demand! I guess it would distract her enough not to realize she has no social life. Anyway...

"A Tale of Two Cities" is, once again, one of those books I have read when I was too young to understand. I still struggle reading this book, but this time around, it generated more empathy from me. Charles Dickens wrote this novel long after the French revolution but it was still timely. Centuries later, in the here and now, it's major themes still hold true. Any generation, in my opinion, could start their story with, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...."

Dickens explores human emotions and reactions that aren’t specific to any one historical event. Human suffering isn’t simply an 18th-century French problem. The novel, with all of the poverty and injustice it displays, is an exploration of conditions that will persist just as long as violence and inequity continue to flourish.

Although this book is a major social critique, it’s also an exploration of the limits of human justice. What is justice really? When does justice start becoming injustice? It provokes big questions and they’re still pretty relevant today. Can you imagine a country in which innocent people are persecuted for their political view? The closer I look, the more the false imprisonment of Dr. Manette or Charles Darnay becomes something that we deal with in the real world, as well as the fictional one.

"A Tale of Two Cities" is also a meditation on some of the most pressing existential questions that trouble humankind. Do we really know anything at all about the people around us, even the people we love? Can a single life make a difference in a world filled with hatred, rage, and violence? Times of strife make these questions all the more pressing to answer, but, as Dickens reminds us, that doesn’t mean that the answers are easy to find.

This was difficult to read but it still managed to captivate me and forgo doing the dishes. I'm quite happy to give this book another chance. Books that disappointed me before might change my mind at some point in my life. As always, I don't confuse my own lack of sympathy with the assumption that, if I don't get it, the book is necessarily flawed. I think that's why classics endure ...more

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Mar 07, 2017 Pouting Always rated it liked it · review of another edition

Some how my review of this got deleted which is good because I think after sitting a while I can appreciate the book more. When I read it it was confusing and slow and then towards the end really picked up and I was kind of disoriented but it gives a really good view into things in the period before the French Revolution. Learning about it was one thing but reading this made me very sympathetic of the peasants and angry on thier behave, honestly surprised they didn't start rioting sooner.

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Jun 08, 2013 Sidharth Vardhan rated it really liked it

Shelves: list-1001, sad-lonely-thinking-of-suicide, list-amazon-readers, list-gr-100, europe

“No man ever really loved a woman, lost her, and knew her with a blameless though an unchanged mind, when she was a wife and a mother, but her children had a strange sympathy with him—an instinctive delicacy of pity for him. What fine hidden sensibilities are touched in such a case, no echoes tell; but it is so, and it was so here. Carton was the first stranger to whom little Lucie held out her chubby arms, and he kept his place with her as she grew. The little boy had spoken of him, almost at

...more

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Jun 25, 2009 Apatt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, fave-classics

It was the best of a far, far, FAR better thing that I do, than I have ever done.

I know that’s lame, but I’m out of ideas for an opening paragraph.

This is my second reading of A Tale of Two Cities and I doubt it will be my last. A lot of people who habitually read for pleasure probably would not consider reading this book because it is required reading in many schools and it would seem like anathema to a good time to read it when you don’t have to. This is unfortunate because I think this — like ...more

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Mar 05, 2010 Stephen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, easton-press, 6-star-books, historical-fiction, audiobook, all-time-favorites, 1800s, love-those-words, classics-european

6.0 stars. This was the first Charles Dickens novel I have ever read and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! After reading this, I immediately decided that I would plan on reading the rest of Dickens books (hopefully one every couple of months until I get through them all. I was completely amazed by his characters who came instantly to life for me and about whose hopes and fears I found myself truly caring. Equally impressive was Dickens' plotting and overall story-telling ability which I thought were noth ...more

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Aug 12, 2017 Pink rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I don't know Dickens. Is it you? Or is it me?

I keep reminding myself that this isn't typical fare of his. Much shorter, written weekly, full of plot, tight on character development, short on the waffle. Does this make it one of his best, or one of his worst?

I have to admit, that for the majority of my time listening to this on audiobook, I kept forgetting what novel it was. I've recently read The Count of Monte Cristo, so in my head Manette was morphing into the Count, but a lesser version. The ...more

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Nov 13, 2013 Duane rated it it was amazing

Shelves: english-calssics, rated-books, reviewed-books, 5-star-books, guardian-1000

One of the greatest novels ever written. I've never seen a ranking that didn't include this novel. If you have ever wondered what it was like to live through the French Revolution, then read this novel. Through Dickens' words you feel the anger, the hopelessness, the insecurity, and most of all the fear that enveloped everyone. It was a pleasure and a privilege to read this masterpiece.

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Apr 11, 2017 Paul E. Morph rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-read-in-2017, books-read-in-2019

This was a re-read of an old favourite for me. It's been about 25 years, though, so long overdue. I'm not even going to try to review this masterpiece but let me just say one thing:

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...'

Arguably the best opening line of any book ever written... but wait!

'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...'

Definitely the best closing lines of any novel ever written an ...more

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Jun 25, 2014 Lisa rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, charles-dickens

"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."

It leaves me wondering: are there ever any other times? Isn't each era full of everything that is best and worst, full of hope and despair, of improvement and destruction?

What makes me feel hope?

Reading Dickens! ...more

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Aug 12, 2016 peiman-mir5 rezakhani rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: داستان-و-رمان

دوستانِ گرانقدر، میتوان گفت که این کتاب ارزنده ترین اثرِ زنده یاد «چارلز دیکنز» است... من تا پایانِ داستان نمیدانستم که کدام یک از شخصیت هایِ داستان را به عنوانِ شخصیتِ اصلی انتخاب کنم... و حتی در این موضوع تردید داشتم که موضوعِ داستان را چگونه انتخاب کنم... که البته دوست دارم بگویم که موضوعِ آن از خودگذشتگی در راهِ عشق و مهربانیست
عزیزانم، داستان از 20 فصل و 300 صفحه تشکیل شده است که گیراییِ داستان سیرِ صعودی دارد، بدین معنا که فصل هایِ ابتدایی کمی کسل کننده است، ولی هرچه به پایان نزدیک میشویم، ‎دوستانِ گرانقدر، میتوان گفت که این کتاب ارزنده ترین اثرِ زنده یاد «چارلز دیکنز» است... من تا پایانِ داستان نمیدانستم که کدام یک از شخصیت هایِ داستان را به عنوانِ شخصیتِ اصلی انتخاب کنم... و حتی در این موضوع تردید داشتم که موضوعِ داستان را چگونه انتخاب کنم... که البته دوست دارم بگویم که موضوعِ آن از خودگذشتگی در راهِ عشق و مهربانیست
‎عزیزانم، داستان از 20 فصل و 300 صفحه تشکیل شده است که گیراییِ داستان سیرِ صعودی دارد، بدین معنا که فصل هایِ ابتدایی کمی کسل کننده است، ولی هرچه به پایان نزدیک میشویم، جذاب تر و گیراتر میشود.... چکیده ای کامل از این داستان را برایتان مینویسم، میتوانید تا هرکجایی را که صلاح دانستید بخوانید.. ولی سرانجامِ داستان را برایتان در ریویو ننوشته ام
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‎داستان از آنجایی شروع میشود که دختری به نامِ «لوسی مانت» به شهرِ پاریس میرود تا با نمایندهٔ بانکی به نامِ آقای «لوری» که کارمندِ بانکی بوده که پدرش در آنجا حساب داشته و اتفاقاً با این نمایندهٔ بانک نیز رفاقتی صمیمی داشته است، دیدار کند و از پدرش که در زمانِ کودکی به او گفته شده که مُرده است، اطلاعاتی کسب نماید... البته باید بگویم که پدرِ لوسی، زندانیِ سیاسی بوده و در زمانِ غیبتِ پدر، همین آقایِ لوری، خرجِ زندگیِ او را داده است
‎در ادامۀ داستان، این دخترِ جوان متوجه میشود که پدرِ پیرش زنده میباشد و تا حدودی حافظه اش ضعیف شده و خلاصه پدرش را که به حرفهٔ کفش دوزی روی آورده را پیدا میکند و همراه با پدرش به انگلستان سفر میکنند... در لندن با مردی به نامِ «چارلز» آشنا میشوند كه او نیز یک زندانیِ سیاسی است و وکیلی به نامِ «سیدنی» دارد که از قضا بسیار به یکدیگر شباهت دارند و وجودِ این شباهت در داستان بی دلیل نمیباشد... خلاصه «سیدنی» به کمکِ «لوسی» و پدرِ پیر و باتجربه اش، «چارلز» را از زندان آزاد میکنند
‎ بعد از گذشتِ زمان، سیدنی و چارلز، هر دو عاشقِ دوشیزه لوسی میشوند... چارلز از رفیقش پیشی گرفته و با لوسی ازدواج میکند و حاصلِ این ازدواج دختر بچه ای زیباست
‎در ادامهٔ داستان، چارلز به فرانسه میرود تا بدهی هایِ مردمی را که عمویش ثروت آنها را بالا کشیده است را به آنها برگرداند... ولی در فرانسه به زندان می افتد
‎اینبار بازهم دوستِ وکیلِ او یعنی سیدنی به همراهِ لوسی و پدرش، دوباره به فرانسه بازگشته و او را نجات میدهند و البته بعد از اتفاق های دیگری که می افتد، یکی از کسانی که عمویِ چارلز پیش از انقلابِ فرانسه، ثروتش را بالا کشیده بود با قدرت و برشی که دارد، چارلز را به زندان انداخته و حکمِ اعدامِ چارلز صادر میشود

‎گنه کرد در بلـــــــــخ آهنگری، به شوشتر زدند گردن مسگری

‎و امّا عزیزانم، اینجاست که سیدنی، مردانگی و رفاقت را کامل کرده و یا بخاطرِ عشقی که به لوسی دارد، به جای آنکه صبر کند تا چارلز اعدام شود و او به عشقش برسد، به دلیلِ شباهتی که با چارلز دارد، جایِ خودش را با او عوض میکند
‎بهتر است خودتان این داستان را بخوانید و از سرانجامِ این داستان آگاه شوید
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‎امیدوارم این چکیده، جهتِ آشنایی با این کتاب، کافی و مفید بوده باشه
‎«پیروز باشید و ایرانی» ...more

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Feb 24, 2011 Debra rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorite-books

"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."

I still remember being assigned to read this book in the 11th grade by Mr. Stahler. I can still see him up there in front of the room, leaning on the lectern, talking about Dickens and this particular book. Thinking back on this time, I can say this is the first Classic book that I loved. I loved the romance, heroism, the courage, the sacrifice. As a teenage girl th "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."

I still remember being assigned to read this book in the 11th grade by Mr. Stahler. I can still see him up there in front of the room, leaning on the lectern, talking about Dickens and this particular book. Thinking back on this time, I can say this is the first Classic book that I loved. I loved the romance, heroism, the courage, the sacrifice. As a teenage girl this book seemed so sad yet so romantic. When I think of Dickens I think of Mr. Stahler and the discussions of this book in his classroom.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.." Really, it was the time of the French Revolution. A time of intrigue, bloodshed, danger, love, romance, terror, betrayal, hunger, and vengeance. The social classes in France are at war. The poor seeking revenge against the aristocracy. Dickens explains this in a simple fashion. His gift is giving us people on both sides of the battle. We can be sympathetic to the individual characters. Who is innocent? Who is guilty? And at the end of the day, does it even really matter?

Mr. Mancette is released from prison. He has been wrongly/unjustly imprisoned for 18 years and is now free to unite with his daughter, Lucie. They go to England where they hope to live and be free of the past. But their plan is not to be as the pair is summoned back to Paris where they have to testify agains Charles Darnay. Darnay, like Mancette, has been wrongly accused of treason. Let it be said that Darney also looks almost exactly like another man in the proceedings, Sydney Carton.

Today we might say "really looking exactly like another person? how contrived? How cheesy!" But it works in this book. Boy does it work.

True, this was written years and years ago. Yes, some of the language and writing might seem hard to digest. But perhaps, if you give this a go, stick with it, you will see the beauty of this book. Brilliant tale with brilliant storytelling. A Pleasure. I have read this three times, each time enjoying it more and more. Each time finding something else to love about it. Each time I am in awe.

A favorite! ...more

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Jan 15, 2008 Teresa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I first read A Tale of Two Cities as a high school sophomore. I have a vivid memory of my English book laid flat on my desk, though it seems odd to me now that the whole story was in a textbook. Though it wasn’t my introduction to Dickens (that came from a book of stories I didn’t realize till later were not the ‘real’ stories, but that’s a different story), I remember being stunned by the language, the characters and the atmosphere. Especially due to the characters of Sydney Carton (what teenag ...more

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Feb 16, 2010 Erik rated it did not like it

Shelves: classics, bottom-shelf

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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About Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

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Charles John Huffam Dickens was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Dicke Charles John Huffam Dickens was a writer and social critic who created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime, and by the twentieth century critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories enjoy lasting popularity.

Dickens left school to work in a factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. Despite his lack of formal education, he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms.

Dickens was regarded as the literary colossus of his age. His 1843 novella, A Christmas Carol, remains popular and continues to inspire adaptations in every artistic genre. Oliver Twist and Great Expectations are also frequently adapted, and, like many of his novels, evoke images of early Victorian London. His 1859 novel, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris, is his best-known work of historical fiction. Dickens's creative genius has been praised by fellow writers—from Leo Tolstoy to George Orwell and G. K. Chesterton—for its realism, comedy, prose style, unique characterisations, and social criticism. On the other hand, Oscar Wilde, Henry James, and Virginia Woolf complained of a lack of psychological depth, loose writing, and a vein of saccharine sentimentalism. The term Dickensian is used to describe something that is reminiscent of Dickens and his writings, such as poor social conditions or comically repulsive characters.

On 8 June 1870, Dickens suffered another stroke at his home after a full day's work on Edwin Drood. He never regained consciousness, and the next day he died at Gad's Hill Place. Contrary to his wish to be buried at Rochester Cathedral "in an inexpensive, unostentatious, and strictly private manner," he was laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey. A printed epitaph circulated at the time of the funeral reads: "To the Memory of Charles Dickens (England's most popular author) who died at his residence, Higham, near Rochester, Kent, 9 June 1870, aged 58 years. He was a sympathiser with the poor, the suffering, and the oppressed; and by his death, one of England's greatest writers is lost to the world." His last words were: "On the ground", in response to his sister-in-law Georgina's request that he lie down.

(from Wikipedia) ...more