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A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]

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A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]

By: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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About this listen

 This novel provides a highly charged examination of human suffering and human sacrifice, private experience and public history, during the French Revolution.

A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past. Doctor Manette was wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years without trial by the aristocratic authorities. Finally released, he is reunited with his daughter, Lucie, who despite her French ancestry has been brought up in London. Lucie falls in love with Charles Darnay, another expatriate, who has abandoned wealth and a title in France because of his political convictions. When revolution breaks out in Paris, Darnay returns to the city to help an old family servant, but there he is arrested because of the crimes committed by his relations. His wife, Lucie, their young daughter, and her aged father follow him across the channel, thus putting all their lives in danger.

Click here to see all the titles in our Charles Dickens collection.Public Domain (P)2008 Tantor Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military French Revolution

Critic reviews

Charles Dickens's classic of the French Revolution is expertly dramatized by Simon Vance. It's also a grand romance. Charles Darnay, the French émigré who relinquishes his title in disgust at the poverty wrought upon the peasants by the titled class, and Sydney Carton, the world-weary drunken London barrister, both love Lucie, the daughter of the unjustly imprisoned Dr. Alexandre Manette. Vance will have listeners weeping as Carton greets Madame Guillotine with some of the most famous lines in literature. Carton's depression and ultimate redemption are crystal clear; Madame Defarge, with her clicking knitting needles, takes on appropriate menace; and Jarvis Lorry, the reliable "man of business," loves Lucie as if she were his daughter." (AudioFile magazine)

All stars
Most relevant
What can Say It's great performance.Nice and clear voice.I like it very much.Thanks for everything.

Great

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Admittedly, this is the first Dickens novel I've read, and I found the experience pretty jarring. You can definitely tell this is the work of a master wordsmith, but sometimes it makes you wonder if certain mannerisms (like those paragraphs full of repetitions) are just for effect.

The plot gets noticeably contrived toward the end with all those convenient coincidences but the ending still does not fall flat thanks to Dickens' magnificent writing style.

Parts of the book feel like stories you've seen before in movies that weren't trying to be too realistic, which makes sense since classics are by definition sources of inspiration for later works.

I usually avoid reading critics' takes before forming my own opinion, and I'm glad I approached this book with fresh eyes. It's definitely worth reading, even with its quirks and will surely dive back into Dickens' works soon enough.

A true classic - for better or worse

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A fantastic story. Thoroughly enjoyed the historical education. Even more the depth facets and twists. Obvious why it is a classic.

That’s why it’s a classic

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If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

I read as it's a classic on the 1001 books to read before you die lists.

After great expectations, I simply didn't enjoy as much. It's a love story of sorts and it simply wasn't for me. I was expecting a grittier French Revolution story.

Has A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor] put you off other books in this genre?

Absolutely not. But nobody can enjoy all of the classics.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Good performance

Disappointed with this dickens novel

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