As the the bicentennary of the French Revolution draws near, Dickens' historical novel serves as a timely reminder of nineteenth-century reactions to that great upheaval. Set between 1757 and 1793, A Tale of Two Cities views the causes and effects of the Revolution from an essentially private point of view, showing how private experience relates to public history. Dickens' characters are fictional, and their political activity is minimal, yet all are drawn

towards the Paris of the Terror, and all become caught up in its web of human suffering and human sacrifice.

This edition includes extensive explanatory notes giving crucial background information about the Revolution and Dickens' sources.

`the best story I have written' Charles Dickens

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

'I shall treasure the richly detailed explanatory notes. It's an edition which will surely sell to the general reader; yet many truer Dickens specialists than I will be excited by the scope and subtlety of the introduction.'

Dr P. Merchant, Christ Church College, Canterbury

'The large clear print, very full notes, and inclusion of Dickens's number plans make it the best paperback available for student use.'

Professor Norman Page, University of Nottingham

I read it every other year. It is the best story of the best hero. It does not pale.

Andrew Sanders is a lecturer in English at Birkbeck College, London. He is Honorary Editor of The Dickensian, and editor of Barry Lyndon by William Makepeace Thackerary, and Sylvia's Lovers by Mrs Gaskell, both in The World's Classics series.