A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities

By

4.3125
(16 Reviews)
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Published:

1859

Pages:

355

ISBN:

0141439602

Downloads:

73,867

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A Tale of Two Cities

By

4.3125
(16 Reviews)
Sidney Carton is almost the only case in which Dickens has drawn a hero on the true heroic scale, and his famous act of self-sacrifice is unmatched in fiction. The book must be ranked very high among the great tragedies in literature.

Book Excerpt

Green, by one highwayman, who despoiled the illustrious creature in sight of all his retinue; prisoners in London gaols fought battles with their turnkeys, and the majesty of the law fired blunderbusses in among them, loaded with rounds of shot and ball; thieves snipped off diamond crosses from the necks of noble lords at Court drawing-rooms; musketeers went into St. Giles's, to search for contraband goods, and the mob fired on the musketeers, and the musketeers fired on the mob, and nobody thought any of these occurrences much out of the common way. In the midst of them, the hangman, ever busy and ever worse than useless, was in constant requisition; now, stringing up long rows of miscellaneous criminals; now, hanging a housebreaker on Saturday who had been taken on Tuesday; now, burning people in the hand at Newgate by the dozen, and now burning pamphlets at the door of Westminster Hall; to-day, taking the life of an atrocious murderer, and to-morrow of a wretched pilferer who had robbed a farmer's boy of s

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I think Dickens had an insight into the social causes of the French Revolution which he might have turned into a history book. Using a novel to delve into those causes through the fortunes of individuals glosses the content. He gives the various segments of French society personal catchall names. The aristocracy is referred to as "Monsieur", peasants as "Jacques" etc.
I enjoyed the book for the insight it provided but it is not as easy or as pleasant to read as "Little Dorrit" which also examines human character extensively.
"Greater love than this no man hath; that a man lay down his life for his friends. "

Basically, that's all you need to say. This book was so moving and made me so crazy emotional.

Sydney Carton is one of the best hero-figures I have ever read.
The best book I have ever read that made me a big fan of Dickens. Such a book cannot be written again.
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THIS BOOK OF SELF SACRIFISE POTRAYS THE TRUE MEANING OF WHAT LOVE IS!
Really one of the best stories of all time, beautifully written. Can you think of another novel whose first and last lines are not only famous, but iconic?