Tale of Two Cities, A by Charles
Dickens
A Tale Of Two Cities
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. After finishing A Tale of Two
Cities, Dickens said It has greatly moved and excited me in the doing. One
of his most haunting novels, it has, since its first serial publication in 1859,
continued to exert a grip on the popular imagination. Set during the French
revolution in a lethal, vengeful Paris and a leafy, tranquil London, the two
cities of the title are only a part of the novels stark dichotomies, which are
continued as Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay are drawn towards their
separate destinies--their lives touched by the same woman. In his
absorbing introduction, Richard Maxwell discusses the novels intricate
design, in which Dickens magnificently interweaves epic drama with
personal tragedy. Comparing it to Carlyles French Revolution and Hugos
Les Miserables, Maxwell argues that A Tale of Two Cities stands as
Dickenss most memorable effort to see a world in a very small space; a
work short by its nature...yet at ease among giants.

Personal Review: Tale of Two Cities, A by Charles Dickens
Was Charles Dickens a poet? Conversely, perhaps his structure and style
are no longer suited to today's rushed lifestyle, as some reviewers lament.
I believe Dickens is one of the most magnificent story tellers ever to put
pen to paper, portraying vivid landscapes that are often as vital as his
characters in affecting events. Dickens, like Shakespeare, could never be
told in TV length segments, or using today's best seller pablum.
'A Tale of Two Cities' is one of my favorite books by one of my favorite
authors. The prose is lyrical, the story telling awe inspiring, the tale simply
unforgettable. It left a mark on my soul.
I remember my first reading of Shakespeare, and stumbling hopelessly
through the pentameter and 'backward' structure. Thankfully a wonderful
metamorphosis occurred and somewhere along the way I realized my
mind had assimilated both meter and verse, and my unconscious brain
was giddy with the beauty of it. I experience Dickens the same way. His
unfamiliar style blends into the rich tapestry of his work, adding a depth
and clarity that is difficult to imagine without it. And like Shakespeare, we
are most assuredly on a journey of wondrous descriptive and emotional
insight.
'A Tale of Two Cities' is a definitive description of the French Revolution,
although it is a work of fiction. Dickens intricately weaves these
momentous, earth shattering events through the lives of a small chorus of
individuals, all hoping to cope with a world threatening to devour them at
any moment. His strength in describing how each acts within such
tumultuous times creates a fantastic story all its own. But Dickens is only
getting started. In his own ingeniously inevitable style, he compels events
and characters together in a climax of towering suspense. With a
courageous act of human spirit our true hero takes center stage as he
equals the desperate call that only rebellion and war can advance.
Through it all, Dickens remains himself; constructing beautifully intricate
foundations, dropping seemingly innocuous small details in the midst of
sub chapters which at the time are much more important, slowly
composing the story with the sense of a trickle of a stream leading to the
river and the rapids and the waterfall, gaining an urgency and crescendo
until the sound and the fury of the story becomes a palpable beating in
one's chest. Is the book a love story? Is it historical fiction? Is it the tale
of rabid crowds taking over noble causes? Is it man vs. nature, or a story
of a man who rises to his destiny? Yes, it is.
"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."
With arguably the most famous first sentence of a book in all of literature, I
shall leave you with one more thought if you are not sure if you like
Dickens. Or perhaps you already tried to read him and felt unconnected;
but perhaps you were too young then, or too busy, or distracted. And
perhaps you're ready now, to leave everything behind, to curl up in a chair,
preferably with a warm fire and a glass of wine, and rediscover him. Read
`A Tale of Two Cities' when you are ready, with an open heart. Dickens
will inspire you to song and tears. For I assure you, that somewhere along
the way, you will make a start, or you will stand up and stretch, and you will
realize that he has somehow profoundly altered your view, and that you
will never really be quite the same again. And you will cherish him, as I do,
and the beauty with which he writes, and his faith, win or lose, of the
human spirit to endure all else.
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