A Tale of Two Cities. by Charles Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a mesmerizing read. This classic tale set in the time of the French revolution portrays the evil and the good in man.
Dickens brings to life, with his skillful use of language, scenes of the French poor, spurred to anger and hatred by the injustices incurred upon them by the French aristocracy. By degrees, the reader is pulled in to observe all, to see the relentless murderous mob as it seeks revenge. To witness day after day innocent victims with hands tied behind their backs trundled through the streets of Paris to Madame Guillotine, adults and children alike. And to understand and at the same time, revile the unforgiving Madame Defarge who filled with hatred for injustices done to her family, sits and knits at the foot of the guillotine, along with her peers, reveling as heads fall.
Across the sea in England, society is more civilized. In London, the reader meets a variety of characters, Charles Darnay, formerly Evermonde, Lucie his wife, and Lucie’s father, all have escaped from France. Charles feels compelled to return, and rescue his overseer wrongly imprisoned. He meets the same fate-imprisonment. Lucie and her father set out to save him.
In the shadow of this drama is one, Sydney Carton, a heavy drinker. Through these turbulent times, he reflects on his own life and repents and emerges a changed man. “I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die.” This truth spoken by Jesus plays in his mind and he, now a kind and loving person devises a plan to take Charles place at the guillotine. He is similar to Charles in stature and looks, and loves the woman Charles has married.
Sydney arrives in France, makes all the right contacts and with singleness of purpose takes Charles place in the prison. He has previously arranged for the escape of the Darnay family back to England.
If you have never read a Tale of Two Cities, you have doubtless heard of Sydney Carton’s last words as he went to the guillotine. “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done: it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” He emerges at the end of this tale as a true and noble hero, laying down his life for another.
Available at Amazon.com