A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

Another classic I had yet to read, and this was a five-star rating from me. The novel was described by Dickens as ‘the best story I have written’, and is set in the cities of London and Paris and acts as a social commentary on the French Revolution. The author highlights the stark discrepancies in class boundaries during this late-eighteenth century, by illuminating the immense poverty in the streets of Paris in parallel with the supreme wealth of the aristocratic characters such as the Marquis. The novel is divided into three books and follows the primary story of Dr Manette, a Frenchman who has been imprisoned in the Bastille of Paris for 18 years, who is released at the beginning of the novel by Charles Darnay, a wealthy aristocrat; Jarvis Lorry, a London banker; and Manette's daughter Lucie, whom he has never met. Running alongside the story of Manette's return to society is the narrative of the Defarges, who own a wine-shop in an impoverished area of Paris and plan with the community to storm the Bastille, as well as attack other wealthy homes in France and kill their aristocratic occupants.

Dickens interestingly portrays the numerous characters, of different social standing, not merely in black and white terms; Charles Darnay, although the descendent of an abominable aristocrat known as The Marquis, is a likeable and well-meaning character who does not wish to allow his title to bring damage to his reputation as a good husband and father. Alternately, a character such as Madame Defarge, despite her fight for social justice, is a conniving and spiteful woman whose initial wish to affect positive change extends to a desire to ultimately harm innocent people such as Lucie and her daughter. Dickens does not create caricatures from the characters in this book, as I have seen in Great Expectations and A Christmas Carol; but keeps the narrative serious, poignant and impactful - owing to the serious nature of the content. One thing that Dickens' writing cannot be accused of is being dull or boring - the story is dynamic, fast-paced and tension-building, and his social commentary is illuminated acutely and hard-hitting in its delivery.

Through Dickens' prose you feel the anger, insignificance and humiliation suffered by the impoverished in both Paris and London, as well as the fear of the looming Guillotine or 'National Razor', and you really connect to the characters he has created. This was a brilliant read and I would highly recommend it - and also say that anyone who is dubious about the prospect of a nineteenth-century novel about the French Revolution to give this book a chance, as I can guarantee you will not be disappointed.