A Tale of Two Cities

'A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.' The magnificent Miriam Margolyes reads one of the bestselling novels of all time, A Tale of Two Cities is Dickens's deeply moving tale of love and war, set against the devastating backdrop of the French Revolution. Charles Darnay, a French aristocrat, flees to England to escape the violence of his noble family's past, only to be drawn back into the chaos of his homeland. Lucie Manette, the daughter of a former prisoner of the Bastille, becomes the emotional anchor for those around her, including the brilliant but disillusioned lawyer Sydney Carton. As the revolution intensifies, lives are torn apart, and Carton makes a selfless sacrifice that will change the fate of those he loves. In this timeless tale of struggle, identity, and the power of selfless love, Dickens weaves a powerful tale of resurrection and hope in the face of darkness. Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the twentieth century, critics and scholars had recognized him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read, performed and adapted today.