A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same period.

You can read all of the Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities on our site in easily laid out one page to a chapter format. Use the Chapter links at the top of the page to access or click here to start reading.

Vengeful revolutionaries, a body snatcher and an alcoholic lawyer. Discover the characters that make up the story of A Tale of Two Cities.

Some of the most memorable quotes written by Charles Dickens come from A Tale of Two Cities. Discover our fully referenced archive of A Tale of Two Cities quotations and have a chance to give each a rating.

From the notorious prisons of Bastille and La Force to the alley way where the grave robber Jerry Cruncher lived, discover the real places Charles Dickens used in his historical novel with our A Tale of Two Cities Trail.

A Tale of Two Cities is set around the years leading up to the French Revolution and subsequent Reign of Terror. Discover more about the historical setting of A Tale of Two Cities with our features on the French Revolution, the Reign of Terror and a timeline of the main events in the novel.

A Tale of Two Cities represented the end of a twenty year partnership between Charles Dickens and the illustrator Hablot Knight Browne, more commonly known by his pen name, Phiz.

There have been a number of screen adaptations of A Tale of Two Cities.

Discover A Tale of Two Cities.

You can read all of the Dickens classic A Tale of Two Cities on our site in easily laid out one page to a chapter format. Use the Chapter links at the top of the page to access or click here to start reading. If you want the location of particular A Tale of Two Cities pages or chapters for reference or academic purposes you can use our study links page.