A Tale of Two CitiesA Tale of Two Cities
Score Classic
What it's about
After eighteen years as a prisoner in the Bastille, Dr. Manette is released and reunited with his daughter, Lucie, in England. Two very different men, the exiled French aristocrat Charles Darnay and the brilliant, dissolute English lawyer Sydney Carton, both love her, and all of them are drawn to the bloodstained streets of Paris during the Reign of Terror.
Why it's worth reading
It's one of the best-selling books ever, with about 200 million copies sold, and it's on the BBC's Big Read. Its opening and closing lines are among the most famous in literature.
You'll love it if you liked
Great Expectations
Les Misérables
The Count of Monte CristoGood to know
It starts slowly, but its ending is one of Dickens's most powerful.
By the numbers
- Readers10 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller72 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #104 of the 116 historical novels we rank
- #624 of the 762 classics we rank
- #2181 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving
More by Charles Dickens
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Quick answers
Is A Tale of Two Cities worth reading?
Yes. It's one of the best-selling books ever, with about 200 million copies sold, and it's on the BBC's Big Read. It ranks #2,181 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 62.0 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is A Tale of Two Cities about?
After eighteen years as a prisoner in the Bastille, Dr. Manette is released and reunited with his daughter, Lucie, in England. Two very different men, the exiled French aristocrat Charles Darnay and the brilliant, dissolute English lawyer Sydney Carton, both love her, and all of them are drawn to the bloodstained streets of Paris during the Reign of Terror.
How long does it take to read A Tale of Two Cities?
About 12 hours (476 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after A Tale of Two Cities?
If you liked it, try Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo or The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.