Charles Dickens masterly work ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ was first published in 1859 and is possibly one of the most widely read classics by students of English literature and lovers of historical fiction across the world. Set in London and Paris before and during the 18th Century French Revolution, the story takes place between 1775 and 1792.It tells a tale of sublime love and sacrifice against the backdrop of the class conflict between the haves and have-nots, nobles, aristocracy and deprived proletariat that led to the Revolution !
While English Literature abounds in classics of many genres, this remains my all time favourite for a variety of reasons that are literary, emotional and personal in nature. The best comes first in the form of the powerful opening lines ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..’ and has been quoted again and again by readers over the ages for its depth of bringing out contrast as if two parallel worlds existed side by side. Look closely & one finds striking resemblance to the class struggle taking place in society.
For heroism, drama and passion, Dickens has created one of the most poignant fictional characters in ‘Sydney Carton’, protagonist who’s a confirmed alcoholic lost to the world in self-denial (decrying ‘Who shall weep for Sydney Carton ?’). He finds love like of ray of sunshine seeping through dark clouds but it remains unrequited. There are shades of Sarat Chandra’s melancholic, self-destructive ‘Devdas’ but noble Sydney sacrifices his life for the love of the woman, he came to love. The last lines (in the book) in redemption tug at our heart strings ‘It’s a far, far better thing I do, than I have ever done…’.
This masterpiece has been transposed to celluloid many times over but the best known film on the novel was made in 1935. This version, starring Ronald Colman, is often cited as a classic and was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards. I wasn’t around then but my Dad, a film buff, swore by actor Colman’s great performance. Much later I was able to see on TV the 1958 adaptation starring Dirk Bogarde and Dorothy Tutin and felt it was a moving experience. A 1980 version featured Chris Sarandon & Alice Krige.
In our College days there was a lot of back and forth to libraries and I had read the novel very early and heard about the classic 1935 film. It was such a wonderful surprise when a couple of years ago, my Son & Daughter-in-law presented me on my birthday with a hard bound edition and I was able to revive recollections of ‘The Tale..’. Truly, it was ‘the best of times’ and for my flashbacks to youth ‘Far far better thing that had happened..’
Working on Living 