It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Classic Literature
A Tale of Two Cities passages and copywork.
Set against the turmoil of the French Revolution, A Tale of Two Cities is a powerful story of love, sacrifice, injustice, and redemption. Moving between London and Paris, the novel follows Charles Darnay, Lucie Manette, and Sydney Carton, whose lives become increasingly intertwined as the French Revolution draws them toward danger and difficult choices. Through their struggles, Dickens explores the consequences of social inequality, the destructive power of revenge, and the possibility of personal redemption. First published in 1859, the novel remains one of Dickens’s most enduring works, combining sweeping historical drama with an unforgettable story of courage and self-sacrifice.
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Reading Profile
A quick sense of its length and rhythm.
137,706 Words
7,728 Sentences
17.8 words Avg. sentence length
Author
About Charles Dickens.
Slow Reading
Read for the sentences that stay with you.
The Passage is built around passages rather than finished-book lists. Open A Tale of Two Cities, notice the line that asks for another look, and keep it close as part of your reading journal.
Sample Passages
A few places to begin.
There were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a plain face, on the throne of England; there were a king with a large jaw and a queen with a fair face, on the throne of France. In both countries it was clearer than crystal to the lords of the State preserves of loaves and fishes, that things in general were settled for ever. It was the year of Our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-five. Spiritual revelations were conceded to England at that favoured period, as at this.
Mrs. Southcott had recently attained her five-and-twentieth blessed birthday, of whom a prophetic private in the Life Guards had heralded the sublime appearance by announcing that arrangements were made for the swallowing up of London and Westminster. Even the Cock-lane ghost had been laid only a round dozen of years, after rapping out its messages, as the spirits of this very year last past (supernaturally deficient in originality) rapped out theirs.
Copywork
Turn memorable sentences into practice.
Copywork gives a sentence more time. Type a passage exactly as it appears, then return to the words you chose with more attention than a quick highlight allows.
Reflect
Leave a public or private note on the sentence that mattered.
Copy
Practice one memorable line at a time through focused typing.