A Tale of Two Cities: the Classic European Novel by Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

Nov 2017 · Classic Books Book 4 · Xist Publishing

About this ebook

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

The world is on edge. People are divided. The cities hold their breath before the storm...

A Tale of Two Cities is an interlaced story of London and Paris before and during the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. Dicken's masterful narrative introduces the reader to a cast of witty characters, each seeking his own fate in a tumultuous time. After 18 years in prison, Alexandre Manette is released and reunited with his daughter, only to struggle to recognize her. His release sets off a chain of events that will snake through the two cities.

About the author

Charles Dickens, perhaps the best British novelist of the Victorian era, was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on February 7, 1812. His happy early childhood was interrupted when his father was sent to debtors' prison, and young Dickens had to go to work in a factory at age twelve. Later, he took jobs as an office boy and journalist before publishing essays and stories in the 1830s. His first novel, The Pickwick Papers, made him a famous and popular author at the age of twenty-five. Subsequent works were published serially in periodicals and cemented his reputation as a master of colorful characterization, and as a harsh critic of social evils and corrupt institutions. His many books include Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Little Dorrit, A Christmas Carol, and A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens married Catherine Hogarth in 1836, and the couple had nine children before separating in 1858 when he began a long affair with Ellen Ternan, a young actress. Despite the scandal, Dickens remained a public figure, appearing often to read his fiction. He died in 1870, leaving his final novel, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, unfinished.