A Tale of Two Cities (Full Version)

Set between London and Paris in the volatile years surrounding the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities weaves political upheaval with intimate human destinies. Charles Dickens begins with a world poised between “the best of times” and “the worst,” then draws listeners into a story where imprisonment, identity, and memory haunt the living as powerfully as any ghost.

Through sharply observed social contrasts and an atmosphere of mounting dread, Dickens explores how private lives are crushed—or transformed—by public violence. The novel’s enduring force lies in its moral intensity: the struggle between vengeance and mercy, the cost of tyranny, and the possibility that compassion can outshine an age of terror. Rich with suspense, unforgettable characters, and some of the most famous lines in English literature, it remains a timeless meditation on what it takes to be “recalled to life.”

• Listeners who want a gripping classic that blends historical drama with page-turning suspense and mystery
• Fans of Dickens interested in themes of social justice, revolution, and the hidden costs of public spectacle
• Book-club and literature listeners looking for a profound, emotionally resonant story of love, identity, and redemption

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) was a towering English novelist whose work shaped Victorian literature and broadened the possibilities of the social novel. Drawing on his early experiences of poverty and precarious labor, he wrote with fierce sympathy for the dispossessed and a satirist’s eye for hypocrisy. Among his most celebrated works are Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, and Bleak House. Published in 1859, A Tale of Two Cities became one of his best-known novels, admired for its dramatic architecture, moral seriousness, and enduring portrait of a society on the brink.