Readings Classics: A Tale of Two Cities

Description

Dickens’s classic story of the French Revolution.

Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens’s most popular and dramatic stories.

A Tale of Two Cities, a story of revolution, revenge and sacrifice, is one of Charles Dickens’ most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past.

Dr Manette, wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for eighteen years, is finally released and reunited with his daughter Lucie who, despite her French ancestry, has been brought up in London. Lucie falls in love with Charles Darnay, who has abandoned both wealth and title in France because of his political convictions. When revolution breaks out in Paris, Darnay returns to the city to help an old family servant, but is soon arrested because of the crimes committed by his relations. Lucie, aided by young lawyer, Sydney Carton, follows him across the Channel, thus putting all their lives in danger.

Author Biography

Charles Dickens was born in Hampshire on February 7, 1812. His father was a clerk in the navy pay office, who was well paid but often ended up in financial troubles. When Dickens was twelve years old he was send to work in a shoe polish factory because his family had been taken to the debtors’ prison. Fagin is named after a boy Dickens disliked at the factory. His career as a writer of fiction started in 1833 when his short stories and essays began to appear in periodicals. The Pickwick Papers, his first commercial success, was published in 1836. In the same year he married the daughter of his friend George Hogarth, Catherine Hogarth. The serialisation of Oliver Twist began in 1837 while The Pickwick Papers was still running. Many other novels followed and The Old Curiosity Shop brought Dickens international fame and he became a celebrity in America as well as Britain. He separated from his wife in 1858. Charles Dickens died on 9 June 1870, leaving his last novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished. He is buried in Westminster Abbey.