A Tale of Two Cities

Charles Dickens’ fictionalized narrative of the French Revolution takes place in London and Paris, the “two cities” of the title. While Dickens abandons much of the whimsicality which serves as his signature in other works, he continues to explore the themes of darkness and light and social justice, as well as the causes and effects associated with class structure in society which characterize his other works. The novel is widely seen as a message to the English aristocracy, one which proposed that the current status quo could not stand if a bloody revolution in England was to be avoided.