BIBLIO is the largest independent book marketplace in the world, with over 100 million books.

Skip to content

A Tale of Two Cities
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Tale of Two Cities Mass market paperbound - 2007

by Charles Dickens; Introduction by Frederick Busch; Afterword by A. N. Wilson

Add to wish list

The storming of the Bastille...the death carts with their doomed human cargo...the swift drop of the guillotine blade-this is the French Revolution that Charles Dickens vividly captures in his famous work A Tale of Two Cities. With dramatic eloquence, he brings to life a time of terror and treason, a starbing people rising in frenzy and hate to overthrow a corrupt and decadent regime. With insight and compassion, he casts his novel of unforgettable scenes with unforgettable characters.

About this book

Written by Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities is a historical novel that follows Manette, a French doctor imprisoned for 18 long years in Paris´s Bastille. Following his release, he goes to live in London with his daughter Lucie, who had never met him and believed him to be dead. Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution and Reign of Terror, A Tale of Two Cities is a fictitious story that falls both into the historical and adventure genres. The famous book is one of the bestselling novels of all time, both for the atmosphere that Dickens´ creates and the tension he weaves. Full of love and brutality, A Tale of Two Cities exposes the highs and lows of humanity. 

Summary

200TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

With dramatic eloquence, this story of the French Revolution brings to life a time of terror and treason, and a starving people rising in frenzy and hate to overthrow a corrupt and decadent regime.

Reader reviews for A Tale of Two Cities

Write a review for this book

There are no reviews for this book yet. Be the first to write a review!

Your review will be anonymous unless you login or create an account first.

Overall rating
Remember: You’re rating the book as a work, not the seller or the condition of the specific copy you purchased!

Important Terms and Guidelines

  • Please focus on the book’s content and context. Also, add any personal comments as to how you enjoyed the book. Substantiate your likes and dislikes. You may make comparisons to other books.
  • Reviews must be at least 140 characters in length.
  • Please do not reveal critical plot elements.
  • This is not a help line. Contact customer support if you need help.
Your review must not include:
  • Obscenities, discriminatory language, or other insulting language not suitable for public domain
  • Advertisements, “spam” content, or references to other products, offers or websites.
  • Email addresses, URLs, phone numbers, physical addresses or other contact information.
  • Overly critical comments about other reviews or reviewers
  • Time-sensitive material (i.e. promotional tours, seminars, lectures, etc.)
  • Availability, price, or alternative ordering/shipping information

From the publisher

The French Revolution comes to vivid life in Charles Dickens's famous novel about the best of times and the worst of times...

The storming of the Bastille...the death carts with their doomed human cargo...the swift drop of the guillotine blade--this is the French Revolution that Charles Dickens vividly captures in his famous work A Tale of Two Cities. With dramatic eloquence, he brings to life a time of terror and treason, a starving people rising in frenzy and hate to overthrow a corrupt and decadent regime. With insight and compassion, Dickens casts his novel of unforgettable scenes with some memorable characters: the sinister Madame Defarge, knitting her patterns of death; the gentle Lucie Manette, unswerving in her devotion to her broken father; Charles Darnay, the lover with a secret past; and dissolute Sydney Carton, whose unlikely heroism gives his life meaning.

With an Introduction by Frederick Busch
and an Afterword by A. N. Wilson

First edition identification

A Tale of Two Cities was first published in 31 weekly installments in a journal called All the Year Round between April and November of 1859, and published in a book form in the same year. The publisher of the first book edition was Chapman and Hall, based in London. Original illustrations were done by H. K. Browne on 16 plates inserted into the book. The first edition is a hardcover, octavo book with maroon cloth covers. However, some first editions have had the binding refurbished. A key way to identify first editions of A Tale of Two Cities is that page 213 is misnumbered as "113." Additionally, affectionately is misspelled as "affetcionately" on line 12, page 134. Finally, the signature "b" is present on the list of plate illustrations.

Details

  • Title A Tale of Two Cities
  • Author Charles Dickens; Introduction by Frederick Busch; Afterword by A. N. Wilson
  • Binding Mass Market Paperbound
  • Edition 150 Anv
  • Pages 416
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Signet Book, New York
  • Publication date 2007-02-06
  • Features Bibliography, Price on Product - Canadian, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780451530578 / 0451530578
  • Weight 0.43 lbs (0.20 kg)
  • Dimensions 6.74 x 4.3 x 1.1 in (17.12 x 10.92 x 2.79 cm)
  • Age range 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Reading level 790
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 18th Century
    • Cultural Region: French
    • Cultural Region: Western Europe
  • Category Literature - Classics / Criticism
  • Library of Congress subjects Historical fiction, War stories
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 2007275581
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

END

About the author

As a child, Charles Dickens (1812-70) came to know not only hunger and privation, but also the horror of the infamous debtors' prison and the evils of child labor. A surprise legacy brought release from the nightmare of prison and "slave" factories and afforded Dickens the opportunity of two years' formal schooling. He taught himself shorthand and worked as a parliamentary reporter until his writing career took off with the publication of Sketches by Boz (1836) and The Pickwick Papers (1837). As a novelist and magazine editor, Dickens had a long run of serialized success through Our Mutual Friend (1864-65). In later years, ill health slowed him down, but he continued his popular dramatic readings from his fiction to an adoring public, which included Queen Victoria. At his death, The Mystery of Edwin Drood remained unfinished.

Distinguished writer, teacher, and critic Frederick Busch was the author of more than twenty works of fiction, including North, Girls, and The Mutual Friend, a novel about Charles Dickens.

A. N. Wilson was born in 1950 and educated at Rugby and New College, Oxford. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he has held a prominent position in the world of literature and journalism. Among his acclaimed biographies are Lives of Sir Walter Scott (John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), Tolstoy (Whitbread Award for Biography), C.S. Lewis, Hilaire Belloc, and Iris Murdoch. The Victorians, his study of the Victorian Age, and its sequel, After the Victorians, were both published to widest critical acclaim, and he is the award-winning author of such novels as My Name Is Legion and The Healing Art.

Back to top↑

More Copies for Sale

Show all copies
A Tale of Two Cities: (150th Anniversary Edition) (Signet Classics)

A Tale of Two Cities: (150th Anniversary Edition) (Signet Classics)

by Dickens, Charles

  • Used
  • Very good
  • Paperback
Condition
Very good
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
1
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
NZ$11.47
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Signet, 2007. Mass Market Paperback. Very Good. May have limited writing in cover pages. Pages are unmarked. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$11.47
Free Delivery to USA
A Tale of Two Cities: (150th Anniversary Edition) (Signet Classics)

A Tale of Two Cities: (150th Anniversary Edition) (Signet Classics)

by Dickens, Charles

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
9
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
NZ$11.47
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Signet, 2007. Mass Market Paperback. Acceptable. Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$11.47
Free Delivery to USA
A Tale of Two Cities: (150th Anniversary Edition) (Signet Classics)

A Tale of Two Cities: (150th Anniversary Edition) (Signet Classics)

by Dickens, Charles

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
2
Seller
ThriftBooks
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
NZ$11.47
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Signet, 2007. Mass Market Paperback. Acceptable. Former library book; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$11.47
Free Delivery to USA
A Tale of Two Cities
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Tale of Two Cities

by Dickens, Charkes

  • Used
Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
2
Seller
Better World Books
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA
A Tale of Two Cities
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Tale of Two Cities

by Dickens, Charkes

  • Used
Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
5
Seller
Better World Books
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Very Good. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA
A Tale of Two Cities
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Tale of Two Cities

by Dickens, Charkes

  • Used
Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
27
Seller
Better World Books
Biblio Top Seller
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA
A Tale of Two Cities
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Tale of Two Cities

by Dickens, Charkes

  • Used
Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
5
Seller
Better World Books
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA
A Tale of Two Cities
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Tale of Two Cities

by Dickens, Charkes

  • Used
Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
1
Seller
Better World Books
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Very Good. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA
A Tale of Two Cities
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Tale of Two Cities

by Dickens, Charkes

  • Used
Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
1
Seller
Better World Books
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA
A Tale of Two Cities
Stock photo: cover may vary

A Tale of Two Cities

by Dickens, Charkes

  • Used
Condition
Used
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780451530578 / 0451530578
Quantity available
1
Seller
Better World Books
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA

Show details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group. Used - Very Good. Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.
Add to wish list
Item price
NZ$13.22
Free Delivery to USA
Show all copies
Back to top↑

Please wait a moment while we load the requested page.