A Tale of Two Cities: Collins Classics

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and grew up in poverty. This experience influenced 'Oliver Twist', the second of his fourteen major novels, which first appeared in 1837. When he died in 1870, he was buried in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey as an indication of his huge popularity as a novelist, which endures to this day.

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Doctor Manette, a prominent French Doctor, must flea Paris in the midst of the chaos that has ensued in what became known as the Reign of Terror. Fearing further persecution from his 18 maddening years of imprisonment in the Bastille of Paris, Doctor Manette hurriedly leaves France to be with the daughter he's never met.

Opening with the famous lines, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Charles Dickens', A Tale of Two Cities is perhaps one of the most celebrated and popular novels of its time. Weaving together the narratives of vastly different but equally profound characters against the backdrop of political revolution and strife, A Tale of Two Cities is a tale of human perseverance. Throughout the novel, Charles Dickens is able to portray the hardships of each social class during the trying times of the French Revolution in a way that is both profoundly elegant and heartbreaking at the same time. Becoming known as the perhaps the epitome of Dickensian writing and style, A Tale of Two Cities measures the boundaries of human will in the fight for what is right during a time when that just might cost your life.

 

"It is really one of his best. There are passages so spattered with violence and blood that you look out for the red blotches on the page in front of you...brilliantly plotted" -- A.N. Wilson Daily Telegraph "Dickens's story of love, espionage and Anglo-French relations" Scotsman "When I was very much younger I used to think that A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens was the most wonderful book in all the world. I was particularly moved by Sydney Carton dying in the place of Charles Evremonde and thought this was a wonderful act but, in fact, of course in later years if you read it, it becomes an incredibly selfish act" -- Anne Widdecombe Independent "Dickens writes about Parisian and London society with such grittiness and truth, you become immersed" -- Anne Charleston (Madge From Neighbours!!) "Dickens's magnificent account of the revolution and one of his best (and shortest) novels" Observer

It was the time of the French Revolution a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was met by a lust for vengeance, and rarely was a distinction made between the innocent and the guilty. Against this tumultuous historical backdrop, Dickens' great story of unsurpassed adventure and courage unfolds.
Unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille, Dr. Alexandre Manette is reunited with his daughter, Lucie, and safely transported from France to England. It would seem that they could take up the threads of their lives in peace. As fate would have it though, the pair are summoned to the Old Bailey to testify against a young Frenchman Charles Darnay falsely accused of treason. Strangely enough, Darnay bears an uncanny resemblance to another man in the courtroom, the dissolute lawyer's clerk Sydney Carton. It is a coincidence that saves Darnay from certain doom more than once. Brilliantly plotted, the novel is rich in drama, romance, and heroics that culminate in a daring prison escape in the shadow of the guillotine."