The Complete Works of Charles Dickens: A Tale of Two CitiesIt is impossible to overstate the importance of British novelist CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870) not only to literature in the English language, but to Western civilization on the whole. He is arguably the first fiction writer to have become an international celebrity. He popularized episodic fiction and the cliffhanger, which had a profound influence on the development of film and television. He is entirely responsible for the popular image of Victorian London that still lingers today, and his characters-from Oliver Twist to Ebenezer Scrooge, from Miss Havisham to Uriah Heep-have become not merely iconic, but mythic. But it was his stirring portraits of ordinary people-not the upper classes or the aristocracy-and his fervent cries for social, moral, and legal justice for the working poor, and in particular for poor children, in the grim early decades of the Industrial Revolution that powerfully impacted social concerns well into the 20th century. Without Charles Dickens, we may never have seen the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Upton Sinclair, or even Bob Dylan. Here, in 30 beautiful volumes-complete with all the original illustrations-is every published word written by one of the most important writers ever. The essential collector's set will delight anyone who cherishes English literature...and who takes pleasure in constantly rediscovering its joys. This volume contains A Tale of Two Cities, which was originally serialized in Dickens's own periodical *All the Year Round* in 1859. A tale of the French Revolution, it is one of the most beloved works by Dickens, and remains a bitter critique of oppression and retribution by the powerful against the weak. |
Contents
3 | |
8 | |
9 | |
25 | |
The Shoemaker | 35 |
BOOK THE SECOND | 47 |
A Sight | 53 |
A Disappointment | 59 |
Fire Rises | 214 |
Drawn to the Loadstone Rock | 221 |
BOOK THE THIRDTHE TRACK OF A STORM I In Secret | 233 |
The Grindstone | 244 |
The Shadow | 251 |
Calm in Storm | 255 |
The Woodsawyer | 261 |
Triumph | 267 |
Congratulatory | 72 |
Hundreds of People | 84 |
Monseigneur in Town | 96 |
Monseigneur in the Country | 104 |
The Gorgons Head | 110 |
Two Promises | 121 |
A Companion Picture | 128 |
The Fellow of no Delicacy | 139 |
Knitting | 154 |
Still Knitting | 165 |
One Night | 175 |
CHAPTER PAGE XXII The Sea still Rises | 208 |
A Knock at the Door | 273 |
A Hand at Cards | 278 |
The Game Made | 291 |
The Substance of the Shadow | 303 |
Dusk | 317 |
Darkness | 321 |
Fiftytwo | 329 |
The Knitting Done | 341 |
The Footsteps die out For ever | 353 |
MUGBY JUNCTION 163 | 63 |
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Common terms and phrases
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