d by many as Dickens's
masterpiece. It is well to begin with this novel, not simply for the
unusual interest of the story, but also for the glimpse it gives us of the
author's own boyhood and family. For pure fun and hilarity _Pickwick_ will
always be a favorite; but for artistic finish, and for the portrayal of one
great character, Sydney Carton, nothing else that Dickens wrote is
comparable to _A Tale of Two Cities_. Here is an absorbing story, with a
carefully constructed plot, and the action moves swiftly to its thrilling,
inevitable conclusion. Usually Dickens introduces several pathetic or
grotesque or laughable characters besides the main actors, and records
various unnecessary dramatic episodes for their own sake; but in _A Tale of
Two Cities_ everything has its place in the development of the main story.
There are, as usual, many characters,--Sydney Carton, the outcast, who lays
down his life for the happiness of one whom he loves; Charles Darnay, an
exiled young French noble; Dr. Manette, who has been "recalled to life"
from a frightful imprisonment, and his gentle daughter Lucie, the heroine;
Jarvis Lorry, a lovable, old-fashioned clerk in the big banking house; the
terrible Madame Defarge, knitting calmly at the door of her wine shop and
recording, with the ferocity of a tiger licking its chops, the names of all
those who are marked for vengeance; and a dozen others, each well drawn,
who play minor parts in the tragedy. The scene is laid in London and Paris,
at the time of the French Revolution; and, though careless of historical
details, Dickens reproduces the spirit of the Reign of Terror so well that
_A Tale of Two Cities_ is an excellent supplement to the history of the
period. It is written in Dickens's usual picturesque style, and reveals his
usual imaginative outlook on life and his fondness for fine sentiments and
dramatic episodes. Indeed, all his qualities are here shown, not
brilliantly or garishly, as in other novels, but subdued and softened, like
a shaded light, for artistic effect.

Those who are interested in Dickens's growth and methods can hardly do
better than to read in succession his first three novels, _Pickwick, Oliver
Twist_, and _Nicholas Nickleby_, which, as we have indicated, show clearly
how he passed from fun to serious purpose, and which furnish in combination
the general plan of all his later works. For the rest, we can only indicate
those which, in our personal judgment, seem be