A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (classic books to read .TXT) 📗

A Tale of Two Cities

By Charles Dickens.

Table of Contents Titlepage Imprint Preface A Tale of Two Cities Book the First: Recalled to Life I: The Period II: The Mail III: The Night Shadows IV: The Preparation V: The Wine-Shop VI: The Shoemaker Book the Second: The Golden Thread I: Five Years Later II: A Sight III: A Disappointment IV: Congratulatory V: The Jackal VI: Hundreds of People VII: Monseigneur in Town VIII: Monseigneur in the Country IX: The Gorgon’s Head X: Two Promises XI: A Companion Picture XII: The Fellow of Delicacy XIII: The Fellow of No Delicacy XIV: The Honest Tradesman XV: Knitting XVI: Still Knitting XVII: One Night XVIII: Nine Days XIX: An Opinion XX: A Plea XXI: Echoing Footsteps XXII: The Sea Still Rises XXIII: Fire Rises XXIV: Drawn to the Loadstone Rock Book the Third: The Track of a Storm I: In Secret II: The Grindstone III: The Shadow IV: Calm in Storm V: The Wood-Sawyer VI: Triumph VII: A Knock at the Door VIII: A Hand at Cards IX: The Game Made X: The Substance of the Shadow XI: Dusk XII: Darkness XIII: Fifty-Two XIV: The Knitting Done XV: The Footsteps Die Out Forever Colophon Uncopyright Imprint

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Preface

When I was acting‚ with my children and friends‚ in Mr. Wilkie Collins’s drama of The Frozen Deep‚ I first conceived the main idea of this story. A strong desire was upon me then to embody it in my own person; and I traced out in my fancy the state of mind which it would necessitate the presentation to an observant spectator‚ with particular care and interest.

As the idea became familiar to me‚ it gradually shaped itself into its present form. Throughout its execution‚ it has had complete possession of me; I have so far verified what is done and suffered in these pages‚ as that I have certainly done and suffered it all myself.

Whenever any reference (however slight) is made here to the condition of the French people before or during the Revolution‚ it is truly made‚ on the faith of trustworthy witnesses. It has been one of my hopes to add something to the popular and picturesque means of understanding that terrible time‚ though no one can hope to add anything to the philosophy of Mr. Carlyle’s wonderful book.

A Tale of Two Cities Book the First Recalled to Life I The Period

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way⁠—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled forever.

It was the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. Spiritual revelations were conceded to England at that favoured period, as at this. Mrs. Southcott had recently attained her five-and-twentieth blessed birthday, of whom a prophetic private in the Life Guards had heralded the sublime appearance by announcing that arrangements were made for the swallowing up of London and Westminster. Even the Cock-lane ghost had been laid only a round dozen of years, after rapping out its messages, as the spirits of this very year last past (supernaturally deficient in originality) rapped out theirs. Mere messages in the earthly order of events had lately come to the English Crown and People, from a congress of British subjects in America: which, strange to relate, have proved more important to the human race than any communications yet received through any of the chickens of the Cock-lane brood.

France, less favoured on the whole as to matters spiritual than her sister of the shield and trident, rolled with exceeding smoothness down hill, making paper money and spending it. Under the guidance of her Christian pastors, she entertained herself, besides, with such humane achievements as sentencing a youth to have his hands cut off, his