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A Tale of Two Cities
- Narrated by: Martin Jarvis
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
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A Tale of Two Cities
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Publisher's 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).
What listeners say about A Tale of Two Cities
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rodney Wetherell
- 07-12-2020
Excellent reading of classic novel
I have given this 5 stars in all categories, but this does not mean it is Dickens' best novel. It seems to need better shaping for one thing - but no doubt it was published in serial form, with no opportunity for the writer to revise the text. There are some wonderful passages in it, describing the turbulent times of the French Revolution, and the extraordinary characters Dickens has assembled. I found Sydney Carton an unsatisfactory character - I did not feel we got to know him as we knew other characters, notably Dr Manette, Lucy, Charles Darnay and the frightful de Farges. This is nearly a horror story really, in the scenes involving Madame de Farge and her determination to get as many people as possible to the guillotine.
In all my 70+ years I had never read this novel, and was delighted to find it was available as an audio book - I did enjoy it, especially for the masterful reading by Martin Jarvis. It's one of those readings in which I found myself wondering how many there were in the cast - of course they were all played by Jarvis. His reading alone was worth hearing, no matter what the book was.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pastor Ross Cochrane
- 20-07-2022
Wonderful story by an amazing writer
Of course I knew the name of Charles Dickens, but now I am left with no doubt of his masterful use of the English language. I am astounded by this story and richer still for hearing it so beautifully described. His use of words to paint a picture amazes me. I knew the story to be a classic and the writer to be famous. Now I know it personally.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Gabe
- 24-04-2016
top book well read
ripping read filled with ups and downs and terrifically spoken by the reader. five stars
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-07-2019
Wonderful reading of a classic story
A Tale of Two Cities is one of those "classic" novels that we all "should" read ....... I'm very, very happy that I made the decision to have Martin Jarvis read it to me!!!!! A sweeping tale, beautifully brought to life by Mr Jarvis. Highly recommended (have a tissue handy for the final chapter).
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Chris Sexton
- 28-01-2023
There’s a reason this novel lives on
Has there ever been a novel where both the first and this last lines were both so memorable. Great performance from Martin Javis
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Neil J. Farrar
- 08-03-2024
brilliant narration of brilliant story
timeless story, always relevant, magnificently drawn characters as always with Dickens, a window back in time as much as a future portent, impossible for modern literature to come close
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- T. H. Lewis
- 08-08-2016
Wonderful story, fantastic narrator
A great classic that is read amazingly well. I will listen to this a second time to get even more out of it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Virginia w.
- 03-11-2022
tale of two cities
loved it.i never read many Dickens novels in my youth as they were too long for me but listening on audible makes it easier to get through the long descriptive pieces.and one can enjoy them far more. the historical aspect was fascinating and I had not realisd the guillotine was used for so long on the very unfortunate aristocracy.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 31-10-2024
a beautiful story
Full of truth and triumph over extreme trials and how love is the brightest thing to lift the spirit high above great darkness.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Sweener
- 19-05-2024
Iconic but overambitious
A Tale of Two Cities is a great text but an average story. It excels in two aspects: first, it is filled with a slew of rousing passages (its first and final stanzas are among the most iconic in literature); second, its setting is stellar, capturing the fervor of revolutionary France's Reign of Terror to heighten the stakes of the narrative.
Unfortunately, the narrative is overambitious, lacking the focus and modesty of other Dickens works. Readers may get lost in its many characters and be left disappointed by the various contrivances which drive the story forward.
While the high points of A Tale of Two Cities are worth the price of admission, I'm unsure I would revisit it.
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