A Tale of Two Cities A Tale of Two Cities A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. Dickens's famous opening sentence introduces the universal approach of the book, the French Revolution, and the drama depicted
A Tale of Two Cities in the nose of the Marquis. Forster believed that Dickens never truly created rounded characters. "A Tale of Two Cities" is one of only two works of historical fiction by Charles Dickens (the other being "Barnaby Rudge"). Dickens relies much on "" by Thomas Carlyle as a historical source. Dickens wrote in his Preface to "Tale" that "no one can hope to add anything to the philosophy of Mr. Carlyle's wonderful book". Dickens uses literal translations of French idioms for characters who cannot speak English, such as "What the devil do you do in that galley there?!!" and "Where is