A Tale of Two Cities (Dover Thrift Editions) by Charles Dickens (Epub)

Description

It was the time of the French Revolution — a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was met by a lust for vengeance, and rarely was a distinction made between the innocent and the guilty. Against this tumultuous historical backdrop, Dickens’ great story of unsurpassed adventure and courage unfolds.

Unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille, Dr. Alexandre Manette is reunited with his daughter, Lucie, and safely transported from France to England. It would seem that they could take up the threads of their lives in peace. As fate would have it though, the pair are summoned to the Old Bailey to testify against a young Frenchman — Charles Darnay — falsely accused of treason. Strangely enough, Darnay bears an uncanny resemblance to another man in the courtroom, the dissolute lawyer’s clerk Sydney Carton. It is a coincidence that saves Darnay from certain doom more than once. Brilliantly plotted, the novel is rich in drama, romance, and heroics that culminate in a daring prison escape in the shadow of the guillotine.

User’s Reviews

It was the time of the French Revolution a time of great change and great danger. It was a time when injustice was met by a lust for vengeance, and rarely was a distinction made between the innocent and the guilty. Against this tumultuous historical backdrop, Dickens’ great story of unsurpassed adventure and courage unfolds.Unjustly imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille, Dr. Alexandre Manette is reunited with his daughter, Lucie, and safely transported from France to England. It would seem that they could take up the threads of their lives in peace. As fate would have it though, the pair are summoned to the Old Bailey to testify against a young Frenchman Charles Darnay falsely accused of treason. Strangely enough, Darnay bears an uncanny resemblance to another man in the courtroom, the dissolute lawyer’s clerk Sydney Carton.Brilliantly plotted, the novel is rich in drama, romance, and heroics that culminate in a daring prison escape in the shadow of the guillotine.” About the Author After a childhood blighted by poverty, commercial success came early to Charles Dickens (1812-70). By the age of 24, he was an international sensation whose new novels were eagerly anticipated. Two centuries later, Dickens’ popularity endures as readers revel in the warm humanity and rollicking humor of his tales of self-discovery.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ 2.5 starsI really struggled to rate this… So call it 2.5 – 3 stars.I also really struggled with the first part of the book. Almost gave up once or twice. But I am stubborn.It was a weird reading experience: at times I’d re-read the same sentence/paragraph over and over and still not be able to make any sense of it. At other times the pages would fly by easily and I quite enjoyed it. I do think the lack of context made some difference (context both of common phrases of the time and also the cities). Reading it on my Kindle did help somewhat because I could look up some of the words.I have read the story before (a children’s version) so knew how it ended. I can’t decide whether that made a (positive) difference or not. Would I have enjoyed the parts I did enjoy as much if I didn’t know where the story was going? I’m not sure.I have some more (unread) Charles Dickens on my Kindle. Will probably give him another try before I make a decision whether to continue reading his books or not.

⭐ A Tale of Two Cities is a definite favorite of mine. Despite being published in 1859, it still has the ability to draw the readier into the story and engage the mind. There are certainly elements of the book that we cannot relate to, living in this day and age. On the whole however, each person can find parallels and lessons applicable to their own life. Like many Dickens novels, there will be what seems like pages of useless details. It can be slow reading at times. Yet by the end of the book, everything comes together in a fantastic story and an ending that will leave you blown away. I can’t recommend this book enough.

⭐ This is a lovely collection, and I made sure to grab it early because at 10,000 copies each I knew they would sell out. I appreciate that they came with a plastic jacket to protect the book, but it is very cheap cellophane and is not meant to be kept on the books. The die cuts are EXTREMELY delicate and you have to be careful when pulling them off of the shelf when they are next to each other. One die cut can grab another on a second book and rip. I wish that they had come with better quality covers, I’m definitely going to need to cover them myself. In addition, there were slight brown marks on my books, and much more browning on the inside of the dust jackets, where it appears that the die cutting machine got too hot and actually burned the paper. I’ve contacted several other book collector friends who confirmed that their set was the same. But for the price, they are a decent collection. I hope that when the future seasons books come out that they will address these issues.

⭐ This story. Wow. The prose is pure poetry.I have been moved to tears.This was torture. This was beauty. This is redemption. This is glory.Read it!

⭐ I’m about 25% in and just too bored to continue. Still giving it 2 stars though because, well, I’m having trouble figuring out why I’m bored. Let me explain.The only other book by Charles Dickens I’ve read was Great Expectations, which I wasn’t much impressed with either. I thought this might be because I read that book in High School, but now I realize it’s just Dickens’ style that seems to lack a certain something to draw me in. At first glance, A Tale of Two Cities seems to have everything I would enjoy. Set in a historical point in time (I love history), written in descriptive and colorful prose (of which I thoroughly enjoy), I thought for sure I’d enjoy this read about 5% in. And yet, that’s just not what happened.Maybe it was lack of characterization, developing the wants and needs of characters beyond a superficial description of their looks and actions. Perhaps it was the lack of clear stakes, or maybe the purple prose was just a bit too much for me this time around or focused on things I just couldn’t get interested in. Perhaps this was just the wrong book at the wrong time for me, and five years later or earlier, I would have loved it. I don’t really know.All I do know is that I hit the 25% mark and just couldn’t care less what happens next, so I’m putting it down and moving on. I’d still recommend others give it a shot though. You might just love it.

⭐ I’ve always found Dickens to be challenging. He can paint such beautiful emotional scenes with his words (like in David Copperfield where the young boy’s mother dies and he’s sent away from his house to work). But other times the stories are just such saccharine filled morality tales you can hardly slog your way through them.In A Tale of Two Cities, you’ll get some of the best and some of the worst of Dickens. There’s plenty of memorable scenes or quotes that you’ll catch for the first time as you read it. But the characters are poorly sketched – angelic damsels in distress or evil bloodthirsty revolutionaries – the plot drags, and it probably is not going to rank in your top 5 of Dickens’ best. But I guess for the devoted Dickens reader you feel like you’ve got to collect them all, trade with friends.Really though you’re buying this particular edition for a couple of key reasons. One is that the Everyman’s Library hardcovers are stylish, durable books – and you get a chronology of the author’s life and writings. Two is the foreword, which makes for useful reading both before the novel to understand where this book ranks with Dickens’ other work. This is something you’re not going to get from other cheaper paperback editions, and it’s well worth the investment in this copy for this thinking on the subject matter.

⭐ I am disappointed with this purchase. I had previously purchased the “Jane Eyre” title from this line of Seasons Editions books and absolutely love it. “A Tale of Two Cities” was my second purchase from this line and I expected the quality and packaging to be the same as what I experienced with “Jane Eyre”. Sadly, it is not.The book itself is good quality, but there is no clear protective sleeve with this one, nor a matching bookmark. The cover really does need the protective sleeve, as the laser cut design is so intricate and delicate. I am afraid it will not hold up in good shape for very long without a covering. Disappointing, and makes me think I may not invest in any more titles in these editions. Sad, because they really are gorgeous in design!

⭐ I read this book because it was on the AP suggested reading list. This book talks about terrible things, like torture and the French reign of terror, but the author uses such beautiful language that I never wanted to stop reading it. Each character is described so well that even the minor characters are unforgettable. I highly recommend the audio book that went with it as well.

⭐ The literature itself is a classic and nothing I say could give it justice.However, I am here specifically to recommend this beautiful edition of the book. It’s a joy to read. Thick paper, easy type, cloth binding with ribbon, extensive notes and historical references. I read a lot of literature and history, but my understanding of the book has increased because of this edition.For the true bibliophile, I can’t recommend this edition highly enough.

⭐ Love these books, I purchased all 4 in the “Seasons Edition, Winter” series, I also purchased 2 more for Christmas presents. All of the books are very beautiful.

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