A Tale of Two Cities

Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, Dickens's historical novel opens with one of the most famous lines in literature and never loses its momentum. It follows Charles Darnay, Lucie Manette and the dissolute lawyer Sydney Carton as their lives are swept up in the violence of the Terror. The book is at once a gripping story of sacrifice and resurrection and a warning about how injustice breeds revolution. Its themes of duty, redemption and the cost of political extremes remain strikingly relevant.