A Tale of Two Cities (Oxford World's Classics)

Dickens, Charles

ISBN 10: 0192833901 / ISBN 13: 9780192833907

Edité par Oxford University Press, 1998

A propos de cet article

N° de réf. du vendeur 0192833901-VB

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: A Tale of Two Cities (Oxford World's Classics)
• Éditeur: Oxford University Press
• Date de parution: 1998
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 0192833901
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780192833907
• Reliure: paperback
• État de l'article: As New

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

As the the bicentennary of the French Revolution draws near, Dickens' historical novel serves as a timely reminder of nineteenth-century reactions to that great upheaval. Set between 1757 and 1793, A Tale of Two Cities views the causes and effects of the Revolution from an essentially private point of view, showing how private experience relates to public history. Dickens' characters are fictional, and their political activity is minimal, yet all are drawn towards the Paris of the Terror, and all become caught up in its web of human suffering and human sacrifice. This edition includes extensive explanatory notes giving crucial background information about the Revolution and Dickens' sources. 'the best story I have written' Charles Dickens

Présentation de l'éditeur

A Tale of Two Cities 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. It follows the lives of several characters through these events. A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, deals with the major themes of duality, revolution, and resurrection. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times in London and Paris, as economic and political unrest lead to the American and French Revolutions. The main characters in Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities — Doctor Alexandre Manette, Charles Darnay, and Sydney Carton — are all recalled to life, or resurrected, in different ways as turmoil erupts. A Tale of Two Cities is one of only two works of historical fiction by Charles Dickens . It has fewer characters and sub-plots than a typical Dickens novel.Dickens relies much on The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle as a historical source. Dickens wrote in his Preface to Tale that "no one can hope to add anything to the philosophy of Mr. Carlyle's wonderful book". A Tale of Two Cities was published in weekly installments from April 1859 to November 1859 in Dickens's new literary periodical titled All the Year Round. All but three of Dickens's previous novels had appeared only as monthly installments. With sales of about 200 million copies, A Tale of Two Cities is the biggest selling novel in history The 45-chapter novel was published in 31 weekly instalments in Dickens's new literary periodical titled All the Year Round. From April 1859 to November 1859, Dickens also republished the chapters as eight monthly sections in green covers. All but three of Dickens's previous novels had appeared only as monthly instalments. The first weekly instalment of A Tale of Two Cities ran in the first issue of All the Year Round on 30 April 1859. The last ran thirty weeks later, on 26 November. The three most important aspects of A Tale of Two Cities: A Tale of Two Cities is told from the omniscient, or all-knowing, point of view. The narrator, or storyteller, who is never identified, has access to the thoughts and feelings of all the characters. A Tale of Two Cities, which is one of two historical novels written by Charles Dickens, is set in London and in Paris and the French countryside at the time of the French Revolution. The book is sympathetic to the overthrow of the French aristocracy but highly critical of the reign of terror that followed. Dickens characterizes the men and women who populate A Tale of Two Cities less by what the book's narrator or the characters themselves say, and more by what they do. As a result, the novel seems somewhat modern, despite being set in the 18th century and written in the 19th century.