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    A Tale of Two Cities
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    A Tale of Two Cities
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    A Tale of Two Cities
    Ebook637 pages8 hours

    A Tale of Two Cities

    By Charles Dickens

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    Trajectory presents classics of world literature with 21st century features! Our original-text editions include the following visual enhancements to foster a deeper understanding of the work: Word Clouds at the start of each chapter highlight important words. Word, sentence, paragraph counts, and reading time help readers and teachers determine chapter complexity. Co-occurrence graphs depict character-to-character interactions as well character to place interactions. Sentiment indexes identify positive and negative trends in mood within each chapter. Frequency graphs help display the impact this book has had on popular culture since its original date of publication. Use Trajectory analytics to deepen comprehension, to provide a focus for discussions and writing assignments, and to engage new readers with some of the greatest stories ever told.

    A Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTrajectory, Inc.
    Release dateMay 6, 2014
    ISBN9781632090041
    Author

    Charles Dickens

    Charles Dickens (1812-1870) is the most popular and, many believe, the greatest English author. He wrote many classic novels, including David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, and A Christmas Carol. Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities are available from Brilliance Audio.

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    Reviews for A Tale of Two Cities

    4/5

    6,671 ratings190 reviews

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    • 2/5
      The French Revolution takes an interest in a family of expatriates.2/4 (Indifferent).There are some good characters (and also some terrible ones who exist purely to be noble or evil). About half the book is spent dwelling on Big Important Historical Tragedy in a way that guarantees the book is regarded as a Big Important Historical Work. A Tale of Two Cities is to Charles Dickens what Schindler's List is to Steven Spielberg.
    • 4/5
      It was my first Dickens, it was not my last. It was summer in Chicago and I was surrounded by lovely albeit unruly children. Oh dear, it was a struggle at times, watching three kids while my wife and their mother were in the city. Still I finished the novel over a long afternoon without drugging my charges.

      It is a story of sacrifice, maybe of redemption. I felt for everyone, zealots and drunkards alike. The concluding scaffold scene engendered tears, it has to be admitted. Is there a better novel about the French Revolution, its aspirations and its contradictions?
    • 5/5
      Suuuuuper glad I read this as an adult. I'm sure I appreciated it a lot more than I would have at 15. Not sure if it was reading via audiobook (Dickens' writing is incredibly lyrical), but I really enjoyed this book.
    • 2/5
      over rated
    • 5/5
      It's been so long since I read this intense love story that much of it seemed new to me when I read it again. That's not bad. I am always attracted to Dickens' dialogue. His characters feel what they say and they distinctly say what they mean. Sydney Carton, of course, is the protagonist, he does the 18th century version of singing the blues and he's a laid back superhero. I don't mean to disdain his performance; Carton perfects his moral life in a bravely spectacular way, and the escape of Evremonde and his family really is one of literature's most unheralded anticlimaxes.For my money, Miss Pross is the heroine, a classic Dickens supporting character, so haughty, so tenderly solicitous of her Miss Lucie, so contentedly secondary, with such genius of physical and moral courage. Madame Defarge never had a chance when she went up against that pride of the English nation.A reading of Dickens is a swirl of characters you'd really like to meet.Read more on my blog: Barley Literate by Rick
    • 5/5
      A Tale of Two Cities with David Copperfield & Great Expectations acclaimed by some as one of the finest of Dickens many superb novels, however, other critics have been much less positive: It really does depend on the reader's viewpoint of Dicken's blend of historical-fiction with very well known events & and cities. It is a story that evokes the thrilling excitement and ghastly butchery of the French Revolution & all the social emotional explosion surrounding it told through the life, love and experiences of French Dr. Manette in Paris, & his daughter Lucie in London. Every student or lover of literature should have read it.
    • 4/5
      A family is caught up in the drama and terror of the French Revolution.Often I can summarize the plot of a classic, even one I have not read, because it's such a touchstone in the general culture. Not so this book. I knew the first line and the last line, but not much about what happened in between (just, blah, blah, blah, French Revolution, blah, blah, blah...). Now, having read it, I still find it a little difficult to summarize. It's a great story, full of love and sacrifice, high ideals and Revolutionary fervor. As with all of the classics I've tackled this year, I'm glad I read it -- and (which is not the case with all the classics I read this year), I'm keeping it on my shelf against the possibility of future rereadings.
    • 4/5
      This is book number 22 of the Kings Treasuries of Literature Series. Beside the text of the story itself, the book contains commentaries on: The structure of the story, the historical basis of the story, a memoir of Dickens and some notes and suggestions for student readers. As with all of these little books, it is a pleasure to hold, to see on your shelf and to read.
    • 2/5
       Just okay. I thought it was mostly boring with a few interesting parts thrown in. Glad I listened to the audiobook rather than read it because I don't think I would have been able to finish it otherwise.
    • 2/5
      Story:
      Okay, so, to be entirely affair, I confess that, for reasons I will go into greater detail about later, I did not manage to pay too much attention to this audiobook. The result of which is that I have only a vague idea of what happened. I mean, I think I have the overarching plot pretty firm in my mind, but if there were subtle beauties here, they were lost to me.

      From what I did gather, A Tale of Two Cities is never going to be a favorite Dickens novel for me. Really, it was going to be either his best, most original work or his least good, failed attempt at novelty. His bread and butter was writing about those suffering in England, the poverty, the terrible schools, the diseases, the hypocrisy. Here, he is tackling the French Revolution, which is something rather different.

      My biggest problem, as with so many of the books I do not like, is that I did not connect with any of the characters. The narrative does not really focus on anyone in particular. The omniscient narrator is definitely high above everyone looking down, and, to me, no one looks all that interesting. The bad guys, the good guys...all of them struck me as really blah.

      Sydney Carton is the one I think I'm supposed to sympathize or empathize with. I mean, what could be more romantic than giving up your life so that the woman you love can be happy. Umm, how about you both loving each other and getting to be together? Is that just me? I have never thought tragic, doomed, unrequited, etc. romances were romantic. Romeo and Juliet does not thrill me either. And, really, the reason Sydney doesn't get the girl is that he's kind of an ass. Just sayin'. Also, I really don't get his noble sacrifice. In the real world, would he ever have been able to swap himself in for the guillotine? Because I doubt it.

      From my imperfect trip through this novel, I would recommend going back and watching the Wishbone episode instead of reading it, but, again, I may be wrong.
      Performance:
      Now, you may be wondering how on earth I spent over 14 hours of my life listening to a novel and end up having very little idea of most of what happened within that book. Well, here's how. Simon Prebble has narrated a lot of things, which must mean a lot of people think he's a really great narrator. I do not however.

      Prebble seems to have just the wrong voice for me. I don't know if I'm unique in this or not, but I literally cannot pay attention to his voice. Part of the joy of audiobooks is that you can read and do other things (laundry, your dishes, pet the cat, rake the lawn, grocery shopping, drive, etc.). I have done so with all of the ones I have listened to. With this one, though, I could not pay attention. Desperate, I tried reading along with the audiobook. Even then, it took every bit of brain power for me to focus on this man.

      You may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm really not. Something about Prebble's voice made me tune out, and tuning back in was pretty much impossible. This was just the strangest and most unfortunate experience. There are narrators I've hated more, but I missed nothing. How is that possible?
    • 5/5
      A Tale of Two Cities is at once a factual horror story and a fictional romance.Set in both London and Paris at the time of The French Revolution, it offers a terrifying portrayalof the descent of human beings, both aristocrats and peasants, into murderous anarchy.That Sydney Carton, whose full story we never learn, makes the ultimate sacrifice does not balance or redeem the sheer horror of what Dickens has described.And what of Charles Darnay? - whose reckless trip plunged his family and friends into a blood soaked city - how will he face the days of his life knowing that his stupidity cost his friend his life?Charles Dickens gives us a masterful skewing of the governments of both France and England,as well as toppling their religious leaders.
    • 5/5
      Read this book now.
    • 2/5
      Documentair zeker waardevol, maar als roman echt mislukt.Geen doorlopende verhaallijn: de stukjes lijken nergens naar toe te voeren.Stilistisch: soms opflakkerend, maar over het algemeen flauw; overdreven toepassing van de spiegelingstechniek (Londen-Parijs, Darnay-Carton)nogal doorzichtig-sociaal gedreven
    • 4/5
      My favorite Dickens book!
    • 5/5
      "... all through it, I have known myself to be quite undeserving. And yet I have had the weakness, and have still the weakness, to wish you to know with what a sudden mastery you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire..."

      [sigh]

      My love of books began with this novel. When I think about A Tale of Two Cities, and Sydney Carton in particular, I feel the same ache in my chest that I feel when I think about real people I love.

      Dickens had such a brilliant mind. Even his non-fiction work captivates me. Read his "A Visit to Newgate" if you don't know what I'm talking about, and this novel, well there's simply none better.

    • 5/5
      Plenty has been written about A Tale of Two Cities so I’ll keep my synopsis short. The two cities are London and Paris during the French Revolution and we get wrapped up in the stories of sacrifice and redemption surrounding some extraordinary characters. During the first Book I was hesitant as to how much I would like A Tale of Two Cities, but it is now my favorite Dickens by far! There were a lot more characters introduced initially so it wasn’t clear who the protagonist was. This was also historical fiction, a departure from the Dickens I am fond of, and I felt a little lost with my lack of knowledge about the French Revolution. But I persevered and am so glad I did. The characters were remarkable and memorable, the prose was very atmospheric and beautiful, and there was adventure and twists and turns that I barely saw coming. I cringed, I cheered, I laughed, I cried.
    • 5/5
      One of my favourite Dickens novels, with a gripping plot and memorable characters, and an ending that will make the strongest man sob like a child.
    • 3/5
      Listened to this on CD. 20 CDs. I am a Dickens fan, but this one was too much for me. To romance-y and not hilarious like Pickwick, and often kind of stiffly moralistic and prune-faced. So far this is my least favorite Dickens, by about a mile. It's still better than 90% of everything else, of course. Dickens' characters are so rich, so real, and ultimately so believable.
    • 2/5
      Okay, so technically I haven't finished reading it but as far as I am concerned I have. Let's not be pedantic about this - I read over half and found it so excruciatingly tiresome that I couldn't force myself through the remaining pages. I looked up what happened next on wikipedia and concluded that nothing much happened next that would validate me wasting more hours or days dragging myself through a book I did not like.For a book that is "One of the most beloved of Dickens' stories" according to the quote on the front cover or "The greatest of his historical novels" I feel very cheated and rather sad too.This book starts with the famous opener: "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."That is fantastic! Reading that I thought I was going to be onto a good 'un! However, just shows that you can't judge a book by its opening paragraph.I have loved Bleak House, Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol so it's a shame I find myself giving two stars to an author I have loved in the past. I'm glad this was not my first Dickens as I do not think I would have read any others. I am very disappointed in this book as well as in part, myself for not finishing it. This would have made a much better short story I believe. There was not a plot worth speaking of and the characters were all very thin and one dimensional. Much of the French revolution was described in metaphors and complex symbolism unravelling it all was a bit like trying to find your way through a maze.I have loved Dicken's writing style, it is beautiful, humorous and full of heart, soul and humanity. However, this time it felt like digging my way through a lot of surplus words which had lost their effect long before I could appreciate them. I don't know what got into Dickens when writing this book. It felt very empty and devoid of his usual humour and interesting characters. I can't wait to read another one of his and put this one firmly at the back of my memory so that I can once again hold a high opinion of Charles Dickens.
    • 4/5
      A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is an interesting book with defined characters, nice use of dialect, good setting descriptions when it can, and (most important of all) a vigorous story that taps into a well of raw emotion; rage against wrongful injustices and empathy for the noble characters who never rest in their battles.We start the story slowly, with a few characters: A banker by the name of Jarvis Lorry, his assistant Jerry Cruncher, a young Frenchman known as Charles Darnay, a scarred doctor named Alexandre Manette, his daughter Lucy, her friend Miss Pross, and an attorney’s assistant named Sidney Carton. Sidney and Darnay are unconnected with the others’ social group until both fall in love with the fair Lucy. Lucy chooses to marry Charles, but Sidney stays by her side, friend-zoned until the end of his days. Soon after, Charles receives a letter from an old friend named Gabelle, who has been captured by revolutionaries (Charles & the gang were in England, but during this time the French Revolution had broken out and the normal people were taking over France from the aristocrats) and needs Charles to come right now to bail him out by saying he’s a good guy and shouldn’t be executed. Because in the French revolution, the rebels executed everybody for every crime, even if they had made it up themselves just to get more people to kill, and they did that a lot too. Up to 40 people a day, I think, were fed to the Guillotine (referred to as the “Barber”). And so Charles went on his way, but even Admiral Ackbar couldn’t have saved him, as IT’S A TRAP! Yes, Charles Darnay came into France, was taken to a town, forced to pay for “escorts”, and was “escorted” to La Force prison. The family came out and tried to help him, the doctor being especially persuasive as he was a Bastille prisoner (and was therefore wronged by the rich), but there was no way out. Charles was to be executed the next day. But then Sidney showed up and made an incredibly heroic (though a bit predictable) move for love. And that’s pretty much it.In my personal opinion it was interesting as I’ve already said. I noticed a few pages written in first person as opposed to 3rd person. Not to mention almost the whole last chapter being written in present tense and not past-tense. There was no defined main character. There was a doctor who wanted to be a shoemaker for no apparent reason. London (one of the 2 cities, the other being Paris) was hardly part of the story. And in the first few chapters, it features normal people doing normal things, such as reading the paper, drinking coffee, taking a walk or even talking about the weather. Those are the things that annoy me about it, setting the otherwise spectacular writing back a few steps. But I feel generous. I’ll say 4 out of 5 stars to A Tale of Two Cities
    • 3/5
      I'm not really sure what to say about this; parts of it were really good, but huge chunks felt like filler. It's rather obvious that this was published as a serial; a substantial amount of it has the feelings of a "penny a page" hack type work. The overall story was good, but just so.much.crap in the middle of it.
    • 4/5
      First of all, Dickens deserves some credit for creating the popular image of the French Revolution. Its portrayal in movies and other books such as The Scarlet Pimpernel series is based far more on A Tale of Two Cities than on reality. He also earns some points for the fact that, being Dickens, he shows remarkable sympathy for the poor in France leading up to the revolution. Even if once the revolution begins he tends to depict them as fiendish vultures and the the entire period of the republic as just as bloody as the most intense weeks of the Terror, he shows the justification for the revolution more than many of the authors who followed him did. The story itself is serial melodrama, but it's very good serial melodrama, and holds up to rereading.
    • 4/5
      Less flowing and coherent than I expected. Sections are good (and highly quotable) reads but the frequency of quotations from this isn't a reflection of the prose throughout - overall it is very uneven. Different for Dickens, in that it is historical, but the same in that his reliance on outrageous coincidence and the Victorian trademark sentimentality are strongly present. The city hopping makes it still more bitty.
    • 2/5
      A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens is a venerated classic that I'm sure will forever stand the test of time as one of the all-time great novels. But I have to wonder, how many have actually read it? I labored through to about the halfway point before deciding it wasn't worth torturing myself over anymore."It was the best of times..." This is one of the best opening lines you'll ever read. It's so powerful—so famous—that you can't help but sense you're at the precipice of something extraordinary. After that, get comfortable. An oblivion of rambling narration and unmemorable characters awaits. Maybe A Tale of Two Cities suffers from too great an expectation? (Sorry, couldn't resist.)I'll grant that I probably wasn't in the right state of mind, or that I didn't approach this particular work of Dickens' from the right vantage point, so perhaps I'll try again when I'm older and wiser. Until then, pass.
    • 4/5
      My only recorded comment while reading this was: "Dickens writes in a Victorian style, even if he is a big author." I think the reason I remember the story is not because I read the book but because I heard it dramatized on Cecil B. DeMille's Lux Radio Theater before I read the book.
    • 5/5
      A classic for all ages.
    • 5/5
      This book has one of the greatest opening statements and also one of the greatest closing statements in all of literature. I've read it more than once, and every time the ending leaves me in tears. Each time I read it, I discover something I overlooked in my previous readings. It hadn't sunk in until this time through how long a time span is covered in the book – from the American Revolution to the French Revolution, a period of 15-20 years. I always had a mental image of Lucy as a young woman, but she must be approaching middle age by the end of the book.I think Dickens' real genius is in his characters and the world they inhabit. Although the plot details grow fuzzy between readings, the characters remain alive: Dr. Manette and his shoe bench; Mrs. Cruncher and her floppin'; Madame Defarge and her knitting; Sidney Carton, ever conscious of his moral weakness, yet capable of one great act of courage and sacrifice. This novel is on my top ten list, and it's one that I think everyone should read at least once.
    • 4/5
      Though typically assigned as part of the curriculum in American high schools, most readers at this stage of their lives won't appreciate the spectacle and may walk away thinking they've learned a history lesson. However, Dickens was known to play fast and loose with historical facts, molding them as needed to suit his story, and what a story it is. France is boiling over, the common folk have been bled dry, financially, physically, politically, by the elite, aristocratic class. Owning no property, they can barely raise enough food to sustain themselves, and often, when the taxman cometh to claim the right of the landowners and obtain their due, the common folk may well starve. Conspiracies are hatched, freed prisoners are exploited, lists are kept.Against this backdrop, a Frenchman escaping his family's past marries a woman who has only recently found that her father is very much alive and did not perish in a political prison in France. Residing in England, the happy family should be able to escape the terribly bloodletting about to overwhelm the Gallic countryside. Alas, this is a Dickens tale, so contrivances and surprise, almost incredulous plot points are the rule and our heroes find themselves caught up in the Revolution and a possible date with the guillotine.Less socially critical than his earlier work, Dickens still manages to blame the Terror on the hubris of the wealthy elites; after all, you can only keep a populace oppressed for so long. Yet, the overexuberance of the reprisals and the score-settling of the tribunals and executioners is also cast in a murky light.Read it as the romantic adventure it was meant to be, not as the erroneous historical narrative which has assumed mythological proportions. Fun? Yes. Accurate? In a broad, overly generalized way. As a fine example of the cliffhanger storytelling which dominated mid 19th century English literature, it rightfully assumes its place amongst the classics.
    • 4/5
      Heart strings definitely pulled on this one. I never had to read this in high school, and I'm actually glad because I don't think I would have appreciated it as much. I enjoyed the blend of history, drama, and romance. The characters are all so richly developed, you really become vested in their respective journeys. I practically cried reading the last paragraph. Awesome.
    • 4/5
      It's good. Who knew?