A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

Published by Penguin English Library: London, England, 2012.
First published 1859.

This novel is one of the most well-known Dickens titles, and is the one that Dickens himself believed to be his finest work. It is also, ironically, the least "Dickensy" Dickens novel... Most of the Dickens novels have long chapters with grand flowing sentences, humorous descriptions and heavy layers of satire woven throughout. In A Tale of Two Cities, the humour is there but less present, and the chapters are far shorter. It feels as those Dickens was trying something new for this book - a far more 'edited down' style - and it is obvious from his comments that he was happy with the results.

The book is well-written (as all Dickens books are), and the more 'minimalistic' style (comparatively) does suit the tale that is being told - involving romance, rescues, redemption, revenge, and revolution, to list some of the Rs. We meet the forgotten and broken prisoner Doctor Manette, his daughter Lucie, the doppelgängers Charles Darnay and Sidney Carton, the French revolutionaries Monsieur and Madame Defarge and others, and in true Victorian fashion by the end we have learned a number of links between the various characters, hidden motives, and witnessed true acts of both heroism and villainy.

Some of Dickens' books have some heavy elements to them, and this is no exception. Personally, I quite enjoy the way that Dickens usually fills his books with humour even in the midst of heaviness - that is my own love of humour coming through - and at times I miss that in this, a more 'self serious' work. But it is a great read. A classic for a reason.

Don't read it if you're looking for a 'happier' Dickens (relatively).

Do read it if you're looking for an 'entry level' Dickens - one that is a little easier to get through in a hurry.

Completed 13 October 2021.



(Alphabet Soup Books)

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