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A Tale of Two Cities

By: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
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Summary

Exclusively from Audible

'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'; so the recording begins and ends with some of Dickens' best-known words, and between those lines is every Briton's view of the worst excesses of the French Revolution.

Set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution, the audiobook tells the story of a French doctor who is imprisoned for 18 years in the Bastille in Paris. Upon his release, he moves to London with his daughter, Lucie, whom he had never met. She marries but there is conflict between her husband and the people who decades earlier caused her father's imprisonment.

Set against the backdrop of the conditions that led up to the French Revolution, it depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralised by the French aristocracy and the brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries during the Reign of Terror, towards the former aristocrats.

Dickens was one of eight children from a very poor family, with his father eventually being sent to debtor's prison. Dickens began work at the age of 12 to help clear the family debt. It was this troublesome childhood that provided him with much of the material for his novels and lent him a sympathetic voice for the poor.

Narrator Biography

Martin Jarvis is one of Britain's most admired actors. His audiobook output is legendary. He is described in Vanity Fair as 'the Olivier of audiobooks' and 'genius of the Spoken Word' in the LA Times. Award-winning recordings range from titles by Charles Dickens, P.G. Wodehouse and Michael Frayn to thrillers by Jeffrey Archer, Wilbur Smith, Ian Fleming and Dick Francis.

He has starred in many acclaimed West End and National Theatre productions and received the Theatre World Award as Jeeves on Broadway. Numerous UK television appearances encompass Law & Order, Doctor Who, Endeavour, Inspector Morse and The Forsyte Saga. In America: Murder She Wrote, Numb3rs, Cosmos and Walker, Texas Ranger. Films include Titanic, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Wreck-It Ralph. Videogames: Alfred in Batman, Finn McMissile in Cars. Martin was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
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What listeners say about A Tale of Two Cities

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Remarkable

Jarvis brings the suffering, the hardship and the beauty to life in this gripping, satirical masterpiece.

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A classic and a cautionary tale

It is safe to say that every self respectful top 100 books contains this title. You are therefore quite safe if you decide to spend your hard earned money on this particular work. I can also add that, no matter where you are on the political spectrum, there are lessons to be learned from this book. I'll stop here and hope you'll enjoy this classic as much as I did.

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BJ

a complex and compelling story rendered memorable by Martin Jarvis in a superb reading and characterisations.

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Fantastic Read

Throughly enjoyable. Arguably a slower start to the story, although the standard of writing is fantastic all the way though. The ending is truest fantastic, worth a read for certain.

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Wonderful

Beautiful narrative, lovely passage through time. The story line is simply brilliant, will definitelyrecommend this audible.

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One of the greatest novels of English Literature

… beautifully read by Martin Jarvis.

Jarvis’s portrayal of each of the characters in this wonderful Dickens work just adds to the appreciation that we may have had from reading it in the past.

Audible enjoyment at its very best!

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Brilliant simply brilliant.

For so long I have wanted to read this book, and hearing it was just fantastic.

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best performance on audible

having an actor perform the story makes an enormous difference, especially with Dickens' vivid descriptive style. it feels incredibly immersive, more like a play than an audiobook. excellent job.

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A great novel read superbly

Martin Jarvis is truly a master reader and actor - he captured every character perfectly and with such ease. I knew he was brilliant from his ‘Just William’ readings but this was on another level - he was sensitively attuned to each character and read the novel superbly.

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Epic

A heartbreaking story. A grim historical period. Vivid characters. Wonderful narration. We’ll worth a listen.

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