A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, is a captivating narrative set during the French Revolution, focusing on the lives of central characters Lucie, Dr. Manette, and Charles Darnay, amidst a diverse cast. The novel effectively portrays the injustices of the ancien régime and the horrors of the Revolution, while also showcasing the character development of Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton. Despite some criticisms regarding dialogue and pacing, the book concludes with a powerful and memorable final line that resonates deeply with readers.
A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, is a captivating narrative set during the French Revolution, focusing on the lives of central characters Lucie, Dr. Manette, and Charles Darnay, amidst a diverse cast. The novel effectively portrays the injustices of the ancien régime and the horrors of the Revolution, while also showcasing the character development of Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton. Despite some criticisms regarding dialogue and pacing, the book concludes with a powerful and memorable final line that resonates deeply with readers.
A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, is a captivating narrative set during the French Revolution, focusing on the lives of central characters Lucie, Dr. Manette, and Charles Darnay, amidst a diverse cast. The novel effectively portrays the injustices of the ancien régime and the horrors of the Revolution, while also showcasing the character development of Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton. Despite some criticisms regarding dialogue and pacing, the book concludes with a powerful and memorable final line that resonates deeply with readers.
A Tale of Two Cities, published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, is a captivating narrative set during the French Revolution, focusing on the lives of central characters Lucie, Dr. Manette, and Charles Darnay, amidst a diverse cast. The novel effectively portrays the injustices of the ancien régime and the horrors of the Revolution, while also showcasing the character development of Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton. Despite some criticisms regarding dialogue and pacing, the book concludes with a powerful and memorable final line that resonates deeply with readers.
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Book Review: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Overview: Published in 1859, A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens' most iconic novels. Although I have seen screen adaptations of Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol before, A Tale of Two Cities was the first of Charles Dickens’ novels I’ve read. I was not disappointed. A Tale of Two Cities is a beautiful story of two lovers and their circle of loyal friends and family in the time of the French Revolution. There is a diverse cast of characters from varying classes, ages, professions and ideologies across two nations. Although the maiden Lucie, her father Dr Manette, and her husband Charles Darnay, are the central characters of the plot, the narrative sweeps back and forth between Paris and London, from character to character, giving you an intimate feel for the diversity of people’s experiences and lives in the world of the 1760s to 1790s. The most extraordinary and captivating character’s story is of course the story of Dr Manette, who was imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille and close to lost his mind in the process. His character’s arc, from the lowest of lows to the highest of highs (and, briefly, rapidly down again), is the most satisfyingly plotted in the novel. Other characters won my heart in their several ways, most of all the heroic Sydney Carton but also the wonderful pantomime villain, the terrifying Madame Defarge. Some characters, though, could have done with being given more attention and development, such as Barsad and Cly.
The book also evokes its setting in the time of the French Revolution quite expressively. It exposes the injustices and outrages of the ancien régime, and then lays bare the horrors of the French Revolution and its bloody, fevered Reign of Terror. A roguish Revolutionary Tribunal condemns scores of the denounced to the Guillotine daily. Drunken, liberated Citizens dance the frenzied Carmagnole through the streets of Republican Paris. The cream of the overthrown nobility—gentle men, women and children—are corralled in La Force Prison like cattle awaiting slaughter. It’s a simplistic, picture book representation of the pre- and post-Revolutionary conditions in France, but it’s what the story calls for—A Tale of Two Cities is, after all, basically a Victorian YA novel penned by a consummate writer and storyteller, not a serious work of literature.
My only criticisms of the book would be that the dialogue of some of the characters is somewhat contrived and unrealistic, although this is forgivable in pre-modern, Victorian literature. The Second Book (of three) also drags a bit, but the Third Book (which includes the storming of the Bastille and Darnay’s imprisonment and trial) more than makes up for it.
I was not ready for it, I was not expecting it, but the final line of the book is one of the most powerful and moving I’ve read in any book: “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.” Those who’ve read the book know. As the climax of the events leading up to that line, and as the climax of the arc of the character who spoke it, it just hits the right spot. Since I finished the book yesterday I’ve been reciting it over and over in my head, so perfect it was. The perfect, if tragic, ending to a wonderful story.
