A lot of valid criticism can be made of this novel. It is one of Dickens' shorter works and some of the characterisation is perfunctory, some of the plot not quite worked through. Also, of course, it is a manifestation of his paranoia of popular uprising. The book has had a pernicious effect in giving the impression to generations that the French Revolution consisted of the Terror and nothing else - a rather partial view to put it at it's mildest.
But the book succeeds brilliantly in its own terms. Dickens' imagination produces a heightened reality that is convincing, even when it maybe should not be. His horrible vision of the Revolution has been influential precisely because it is so convincing.
There was more to the Revolution than the prison massacres and the guillotine, but those are aspects that can not be dismissed or explained away.

This is very exciting story!
This story is written about the French Revolution.
I was really enjoy and I can understand so well because I studied French history. ( )

what a great book. Charles Dickens has a very interesting way of describing. It`s not easy to read, but I enjoyed it very much. And it gives an important view into the French Revolution. ( )

Last summer, my parents planned a trip for our family. We were going into New York City to see Jill Santoriello's musical adaptation of "A Tale of Two Cities." I wanted to know the story before I saw the show, so I picked up the book at Barnes & Noble to read it. I never did. I went to the how without knowing anything of the story except that it started with: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Needless to say, by the time the curtain closed at the end of Act 2, I was sobbing like a child. I, a high school junior who never cried for anything, was touched by the profound yet heartbreakingly unfair conclusion to this brilliant tale. The show closed three months later, but the story stuck with me.

I didn't experience a revival in my interest of "A Tale of Two Cities" until last week. I heard that the show had been filmed and was being shown on PBS December 6th. I picked up the novel on Friday; I finished it last night, a Monday. And you know what? I cried. AGAIN.

This story has the most unimaginable effect on my heart, and I love it. ( )

I'm sad that I didn't read this seriously in high school. I read it many years later and absolutely loved it. Sydney Carton is a character that affected me deeply. Only a few can claim that. Oddly enough, this is the only book that I've read by Charles Dickens that I enjoy. I've pretty much disliked everything else. ( )