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A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens · 1859

Dickens's 1859 historical novel set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution.

Dickens's historical novel of the French Revolution, written to explore both oppression and the dangers of mob violence.

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Title page of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, cream-colored paper with large capital title text, 'With illustrations by H. K. Browne', and publisher details: London, Chapman and Hall, 193 Piccadilly, MDCCCLIX (1859).
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, illustrated by H. K. Browne, London: Chapman and Hall, 1859.

About this source

What it is

A novel by Charles Dickens, published in 1859, set around the French Revolution. It follows Dr Alexandre Manette, imprisoned for eighteen years in the Bastille, his daughter Lucie, and characters including Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, against the backdrop of revolutionary Paris and London.

Why it matters

One of Dickens's best-known works of historical fiction, it reflects his reading of histories of the Revolution and shows both his sympathy for the suffering of the poor under the old aristocracy and his fear of the violence of revolutionary crowds. Its famous opening lines about the best and worst of times are still widely quoted.

Look closer

  • Why might Dickens have set a novel partly in Paris when he was writing for an English audience?
  • What does the title page, with its illustrator and publisher named, tell you about how Victorian novels reached readers?
  • How does Dickens's portrayal of the aristocracy compare with his portrayal of the revolutionary crowd — is either side shown simply as good or bad?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Charles Dickens on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scanned page 84 of the weekly journal All the Year Round, Saturday December 1 1860, showing the opening chapter of Great Expectations by Charles Dickens in two columns of printed text. The page has a masthead and a header quote from Shakespeare.Book

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Green cover of the first monthly serial part of David Copperfield, marked No. I, May, price 1s. Title reads 'David Copperfield' by Charles Dickens, with illustrations by H. K. Browne, surrounded by engraved vignettes of figures and scenes. Publishers Bradbury & Evans, Whitefriars, London.Book

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