Charles Dickens's a Tale of Two Cities

by Harold Bloom (Editor)

-- Presents the most important 20th-century criticism on major works from The Odyssey through modern literature -- The critical essays reflect a variety of schools of criticism -- Contains critical biographies, notes on the contributing critics, a chronology of the author's life, and an index

146 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1988

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did some research on a Tale of Two Cities as I read it without a class. Some of them were better than others.

Catherine Gallagher's The Duplicity of Doubling in A Tale of Two Cities is awesome. It explored historical issues regarding executions. She did a lot of research. It was fascinating.

Other good ones are
-Alter's Demons of History
-Marcus' Carylean Vision
--Charles Darnay and Revolutionary Identity.

Bloom's article was weak. Too much psychology.

It's possible better criticism has taken place now. The study guide seems pithier. Catherine Gallagher's article is the best in it.