Since its publication in 1859, A Tale of Two Cities has remained the best-known fictional recreation of the French Revolution, and one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. A Tale of Two Cities blends a moving love story with the familiar figures of the Revolution-Bastille prisoners, a starving Parisian mob, and an indolent aristocracy.

Taking the form of a sourcebook, this guide to Dickens's dramatic novel offers:

• extensive introductory comment on the contexts and many interpretations of the text, from publication to the present
• annotated extracts from key contextual documents, reviews, critical works and the text itself
• cross-references between documents and sections of the guide, in order to suggest links between texts, contexts and criticism
• suggestions for further reading.

This volume is essential reading for all those beginning detailed study of A Tale of Two Cities and seeking not only a guide to the novel, but a way through the wealth of contextual and critical material that surrounds Dickens' text.