A Tale of Two Cities

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Description

A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel published in 1859 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 live in London with his daughter Lucie whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. In the Introduction to the Encyclopedia of Adventure Fiction, critic Don D'Ammassa argues that it is an adventure novel because the protagonists are in constant danger of being imprisoned or killed. As Dickens's best-known work of historical fiction, A Tale of Two Cities is said to be one of the best-selling novels of all time. In 2003, the novel was ranked 63rd on the BBC's The Big Read poll. The novel has been adapted for film, television, radio, and the stage, and has continued to influence popular culture.

First Sentence

DEPENDING ON WHO you listened to, it was either the best of times, or it was the worst of times.

Description

A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature. The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period. It follows the lives of several protagonists through these events. The 45-chapter novel was published in 31 weekly instalments in Dickens' new literary periodical titled All the Year Round. From April 1859 to November 1859, Dickens also republished the chapters as eight monthly sections in green covers. Dickens' previous novels had appeared only as monthly instalments. The first weekly instalment of A Tale of Two Cities ran in the first issue of All the Year Round on 30 April 1859. The last ran thirty weeks later, on 26 November. (Summary by Wikipedia)

Subjects

Other Editions

• A Tale of Two Cities, eBook - 1859 - Feedbooks, No place, unknown, or undetermined
• Shuang cheng ji: Zai ban - 1948 - Luo tuo shu dian, Shanghai, China
• A tale of two cities. - 1969 - F. Watts, New York, New York (State)
• A Tale of Two Cities: printing (41), Mass Market Paperback - 1980 - Signet Classic, New York
• Tale of Two Cities - 1981 - Penguin Canada
• A Tale of Two Cities (Unabridged Classics for High School and Adults): MP3 edition, Audio CD - 2003-12-01 - In Audio
• Tale of Two Cities - 2017 - Blurb
• Tale of Two Cities - 2020 - Independently Published
• Tale of Two Cities - 2020 - Independently Published
• Tale of Two Cities Annotated - 2021 - Independently Published
• Tale of Two Cities Illustrated - 2021 - Independently Published
• Tale of Two Cities - 2021 - Independently Published
• Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - 2021 - Independently Published
• A Tale of Two Cities: Version 5, Audiobook - 2021-04-11 - LibriVox
• Tale of Two Cities Illustrated - 2022 - Independently Published
• 1817 other editions not shown