A Tale of Two CitiesOne of Dickens's most haunting novels, A Tale of Two Cities has, since its first serial publication in 1859, continued to exert a grip on the popular imagination. The two cities of the title -- a lethal, vengeful Paris during the French Revolution and a leafy, tranquil London -- are only one of the novel's stark dichotomies, which are continued as Syndey Carton and Charles Darnay are drawn toward their separate destinies -- their lives touched by the same woman. In his absorbing Introduction, Richard Maxwell discusses the novel's intricate design, in which Dickens magnificently interweaves epic drama with personal tragedy. Comparing it to Thomas Carlyle's French Revolution and Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, Maxwell argues that A Tale of Two Cities "stands as Dickens's most memorable effort to see a world in a very small space; a work short by its nature ... yet curiously at its ease among giants". |
Contents
NOTES | |
A DICKENS CHRONOLOGY | |
A TALE OF TWO CITIES | |
The Period | |
BOOK THE SECOND THE GOLDEN THREAD | |
The Gorgons Head | |
A Companion Picture CHAPTER 12 The Fellow of Delicacy | |
The Fellow of No Delicacy CHAPTER 14 The Honest Tradesman CHAPTER 15 Knitting | |
In Secret | |
The Grindstone | |
The Shadow | |
Calm in Storm | |
The WoodSawyer | |
Triumph CHAPTER 7 A Knock at the Door CHAPTER 8 A Hand at Cards | |
The Game Made | |
The Substance of the Shadow | |
Still Knitting CHAPTER 17 One Night CHAPTER 18 Nine Days CHAPTER 19 An Opinion | |
A Plea CHAPTER 21 Echoing Footsteps | |
The Sea Still Rises | |
Fire Rises CHAPTER 24 Drawn to the Loadstone Rock | |
Dusk CHAPTER 12 Darkness | |
Fiftytwo CHAPTER 14 The Knitting Done CHAPTER 15 The Footsteps Die Out For Ever APPENDIX I On the Illustrations APPENDIX II Dedicatio... | |
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Common terms and phrases
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