How does in the Dickens does he do it?
A Tale of Two Cities is as relevant today as it was when it was written. The hallmark of a great novel: to stand the test of time.
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Set between two cities, London and Paris, each playing a role in the characters’ lives leading up to the French Revolution. The ageing political prisoner, Dr. Manette is finally released after 18 years in solitary confinement where he reunites with his daughter Lucie. They move to London and there enters Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat and Syndey Carton, a disreputable, but brilliant English lawyer. Both are in love with Lucie Manette.
It’s not long before the imminence of what’s to come draws each of these characters to Paris, where the fate of one is shadowed by the guillotine. The Reign of Terror as it was known, claimed the lives of 17,000. And Dickens portrays this era with exceptional skill. From courtroom dramas to the private lives of the nobility as it intersects with the working class, there is not a dull moment.
The themes running through the novel are sacrifice and loyalty; certainly, characteristics we could benefit from today.
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us...’