A Tale of Two Cities (Bantam Classics)
'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...' Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities portrays a world on fire, split between Paris and London during the brutal and bloody events of the French Revolution. After eighteen years as a political prisoner in the Bastille the aging Dr Manette is finally released and reunited with his daughter in England. There, two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette. From the tranquil lanes of London, they are all drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror and soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine. This edition uses the text as it appeared in its first serial publication in 1859 to convey the full scope of Dickens's vision, and includes the original illustrations by H.K. Browne ('Phiz'). Richard Maxwell's introduction discusses the intricate interweaving of epic drama with personal tragedy. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Community Reviews
I thought I read this as required reading in high school, but now I'm doubting I read something that hinged around a sexual assault. All the characters except Dr. Manet seem very underdeveloped and this leaves the story feeling like an allegory about the injustice of both the royal system of government and the subsequent French Revolution, and possibly the kindness and rationality of bankers (ha!).
Serious question though: why do we celebrate the excessive vengeance of the Count of Monte Cristo, and condemn Madame Defarge? "Then tell wind and fire where to stop, but not me." Is it just because the Count feels a bit of chagrin that he went too far, or is it because we're not reading this from Defarge's perspective?
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