Why people recommend it
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens is a classic historical novel set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, famously exploring themes of resurrection, sacrifice, and extreme social inequality through iconic characters like Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. On How I Write, Dean Koontz recounted reading the title as his introduction to Charles Dickens, describing how he became utterly captivated by its deep emotional resonance and noting that the author was never afraid of leaning into powerful sentiment in his storytelling. R.F. Kuang brought up the work on the same podcast to discuss her appreciation for its campy, dramatic elements that read almost like a historical soap opera. Daniel Priestley referenced the novel on The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett multiple times, quoting its famous opening line about it being the best of times and the worst of times to illustrate modern wealth inequality and historical shifts during digital transitions. Dav Pilkey also noted on The Book Review that the motifs and themes of Dickens, particularly from this novel, heavily influenced his own children's literature. Reviewers and writers continue to find endless relevance in the text, citing its exploration of societal fracture, revolutionary fervor, and personal redemption as timeless touchstones that resonate just as strongly in the modern era as they did during the nineteenth century.
Who recommended it
- Dean Koontz Recommended
- Daniel Priestley Discussed
- R.F. Kuang Discussed
- Dav Pilkey Discussed
- Susan Cain Discussed
Dean Koontz — 3 mentions
“And I chose Tale of Two Cities. And I just became utterly captivated with it.”
“And uh, I chose Tale of Two Cities.”
“Oliver Twist Great Expectations Tale of Two Cities he wasn't afraid of emotion”
Daniel Priestley — 3 mentions
“and um you know there's a there's a book Charles Dickens wrot wrote called The Tale of Two Cities and the opening line of the book is it was the best of times it was the worst of times”
“and um you know there's a there's a book Charles Dickens wrote called The Tale of Two Cities and the opening line of the book is it was the best of times it was the worst of times”
“I mean he had that famous book called The Tale of Two Cities it was the best of times it was the worst of times was the opening line”
R.F. Kuang — 1 mention
“A Tale of Two Cities was one of the Dickens books that I like embarrassingly hadn't read until like two years ago.”
Dav Pilkey — 1 mention
“and so the themes and motifs of of Dickens especially from A Tale of Two Cities is starting to show up in their work”
Susan Cain — 1 mention
“she introduced her to a tale of two cities the book um but she also like spoke the words of the book out loud”
Also mentioned in the same episodes
- 1984
- A Whole Life
- Al Franken, Giant of the Senate
- Churchill and Orwell
- Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
- Entrepreneur Revolution
Other mentions (6: passing, ad reads, own books)
“and I thought I might follow that up with another book about the French Revolution that I've never gotten around to A Tale of Two Cities which I have now bought and left prominently on my bedside table as a kind of prompt like a to-do list”
“so London seemed to be an obvious choice because of our interest and our love of uh a tale of two cities uh Charles Dickens”
“A Tale of Two stories I gotta add that to the list you know it was a tale of two stories um if I used to know how that went how did I just forget that I like panicked I was like oh God Bill you're gonna use an expression whatever you do don't [__] use do it wrong a”
“whatever you do don't [ __ ] use do it wrong a tail of Two Cities not two stories”
“I am a tale of two cities, a tale of red titties over here for old freckles.”
“I was in Houston then I was in Austin a Tale of Two Cities”