A Tale of Two Cities

Doctor Manette, a prominent French Doctor, must flee Paris in the midst of the chaos that has ensued in what became known as the Reign of Terror. Fearing further persecution from his 18 maddening years of imprisonment in the Bastille of Paris, Doctor Manette hurriedly leaves France to be with the daughter he's never met. Opening with the famous lines, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." Charles Dickens', A Tale of Two Cities is perhaps one of the most celebrated and popular novels of its time. Weaving together the narratives of vastly different but equally profound characters against the backdrop of political revolution and strife, A Tale of Two Cities is a tale of human perseverance. Throughout the novel, Charles Dickens is able to portray the hardships of each social class during the trying times of the French Revolution in a way that is both profoundly elegant and heartbreaking at the same time. Becoming known as the perhaps the epitome of Dickensian writing and style, A Tale of Two Cities measures the boundaries of human will in the fight for what is right during a time when that just might cost your life.