The classic opening line ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…’ is familiar to most everyone, but not everyone has braved Dickens» masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities. If you haven»t read it: the first part of the novel, while gorgeously written, has a slow-paced development of both plot and characters. But for the patient modern reader who gets to the second part there is the big payoff, which is a gorgeous climax with loads of riots and beheadings and such.
The Two Cities involved are Paris and London in the period leading up to, and during, the French Revolution – and featured are the French peasantry, who struggle under the brutal authority of the aristocracy. Dickens creates a rich tapestry of protagonists, primarily Charles Darnay, a French former-aristocrat who falls victim to the retribution of the revolutionaries despite being a good guy, and Sydney Carton, a drunk British lawyer who»s in love with Darnay»s wife, Lucie Manette.