Synopsis Dickens's only serious, uncomic novel, A TALE OF TWO CITIES, is set during the French Revolution and tells a story of unselfish devotion. The beautiful Lucy Manette marries Charles Darnay, the descendant of an aristocratic French family denounced by the revolutionaries, among whom are the memorably evil fanatic Mme. Defarge. When Darnay is arrested and condemned to death, his place is taken at the guillotine by Sidney Carton, who loves Lucy himself and is willing to die to secure her happiness (and who happens to resemble Darnay). His last words--"'Tis a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done..."--have become nearly as famous as the novel itself, one of Dickens's most popular works despite its sober subject matter. It is also, with BARNABY RUDGE, one of his only two historical novels.
Relates the adventures of a young Englishman who gives his life during the French Revolution to save the husband of the woman he loves. Illustrated with drawings and maps depicting the period.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1998-12-31 | | Series: | Dover Thrift Editions Series | | Edition Description: | Unabridged |
| Size | | Length: | 293 pages | | Height: | 8.3 in | | Width: | 5.3 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 8.0 oz |
Publisher's Note This 1859 historical romance by the most popular of English novelists unfolds in London and Paris during the tumultuous years of the French Revolution. Unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille, Dr. Alexander Manette is reunited with his daughter Lucie and safely ensconced in London when the pair are summoned to the Old Bailey to testify against a young Frenchman falsely charged with treason. The accused, Charles Darnay, bears a fortuitous resemblance to the dissolute but noble Sydney Carton, a coincidence that rescues Darnay from certain doom on more than one occasion. Deftly plotted, the novel resounds with drama and romance, culminating in a daring, prison escape in the shadow of the guillotine.
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