Since its publication in 1859, A Tale of Two Cities has remained the best-known fictional recreation of the French Revolution, and one of Charles Dickens’s most exciting novels. A Tale of Two Cities blends a moving love story with the familiar figures of the Revolution—Bastille prisoners, a starving Parisian mob, and an indolent aristocracy.
Taking the form of a sourcebook, this guide to Dickens's dramatic novel offers:
extensive introductory comment on the contexts and many interpretations of the text, from publication to the present
annotated extracts from key contextual documents, reviews, critical works and the text itself
cross-references between documents and sections of the guide, in order to suggest links between texts, contexts and criticism
suggestions for further reading.
This volume is essential reading for all those beginning detailed study of
A Tale of Two Cities
and seeking not only a guide to the novel, but a way through the wealth of contextual and critical material that surrounds Dickens' text.