A Tale of Two Cities

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”


The two cities are London and Paris. The background is the French Revolution, descriptions of which Dickens obtained from his friend Thomas Carlyle.


A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens has sold more copies than any other individual book in history. Almost twice as many as the first Harry Potter book. Over two hundred million copies and counting.


The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period. It follows the lives of several protagonists through these events.

The most notable are Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. Darnay is a former French aristocrat who falls victim to the indiscriminate wrath of the revolution despite his virtuous nature, and Carton is a dissipated English barrister who endeavors to redeem his ill-spent life out of his unrequited love for Darnay's wife.


This powerful, compelling portrait of the results of terror and treason, love and supreme sacrifice continues to captivate readers around the world. Dickens’ unforgettable characters—the ever-knitting Madame Defarge, the lovely Lucie Manette, her broken father, the honorable Charles Darnay, and the sometimes scurrilous Sydney Carton—burst from the pages, full of life and passion. The book provides a highly-charged examination of human suffering and human sacrifice. Private experience and public history, during the French Revolution.


This new digital edition of A Tale of Two Cities includes original John McLenan illustrations from the 1859 Harper’s edition.