Review: A Tale of Two Cities (novel)

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Even if you've never heard of Charles Dickens, you've probably heard that line. Today I'm going to review the book it comes from.

A Tale of Two Cities was Charles Dickens' twelfth novel, published in 1859. It was one of his few historical novels, set before and during the French Revolution. It's somewhat shorter and less complicated than many of his other novels. The main plot revolves around two men, Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, who strongly resemble each other.

This book has some of Dickens' best characters, both heroic and villainous. Sydney Carton is one of the best (and saddest) depictions of someone who's wasted their life, but redeems themselves in the end. Poor, poor Dr. Manette is even more heartbreaking than Sydney. He gets locked up for years when he hadn't done anything wrong, he has to live with the trauma of this for the rest of his life, and his letter is indirectly responsible for (SPOILER!) Sydney's death. Ouch 😭 And then there's the chilling Madame Defarge, who's right up there with Quilp and Rigaud in the list of "most terrifying Dickens villain".

The first time I read this book, I kept hoping and praying for a happy ending. The last chapter -- and especially the last lines -- left me in tears. Poor Charles and Lucie, poor Dr. Manette, but especially poor Sydney 😭😭😭😭

A Tale of Two Cities has some of Dickens' best writing, too. His nightmarish depiction of the revolution, the tragic description of Dr. Manette's suffering, and the famous first and last lines are among the best things he ever wrote IMO.

This book is fairly well-known, and is somewhat easier to understand than some of his other novels. So if you've never read Dickens before, this would be a pretty good book to start with.

Is it available online?: Yes, on Gutenberg.

Rating: 9/10. I was tempted to give it 10/10, but then I remembered the character of Jerry Cruncher and changed my mind.