Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.
A Tale of Two Cities  By  cover art

A Tale of Two Cities

By: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Richard Pasco
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $29.60

Buy for $29.60

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

A Tale of Two Cities, one of Charles Dickens' most popular works, is highly recognized for its opening line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The two cities of the title are Paris and London; the time is the height of the French Revolution. From the gripping opening scene of the coach drive to the heroic climax in the shadow of the guillotine, Dickens creates a vivid picture of social turmoil and the unfolding of a dramatic love story.
(P)1983 HNP, Produced by Felix Fisher

What listeners say about A Tale of Two Cities

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    122
  • 4 Stars
    40
  • 3 Stars
    12
  • 2 Stars
    7
  • 1 Stars
    6
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    80
  • 4 Stars
    14
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    87
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

almost great

To me, this just missed being a great listen. Although others have said they liked the narrator, I found him a touch too melodramatic in many places, highlighting that weaker aspect of the novel. I wish that I had downloaded the F Davidson version instead.

Some of the online "product descriptions" call this Dickens' only "not comic" novel -- I thought 2 Cities contained much excellent ironic humour.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Very good reading of a great book

A Tale of Two Cities has always been a favorite book, the tragedy, the intrigue, the sweep of fate. But I didn't realize how much of the book I was skimming over when reading it until I listened to the audio. The narrator is excellent. His use of different voices is seamless and well done, adding much to the understanding of the book. The portrayed emotion also is excellent. I enjoyed this recording immensely.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Historical Dickens

A Tale of Two Cities seems to me one of the least Dickensian of Dickens' novels. It is my least favorite of his completed later works. Richard Pasco does a good job reading the book, but the female voices are a bit of a problem. The recording is fine.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great performance of a timeless classic

Recorded in 1983, this audio is as clear as yesterday. The reading is dramatic without being excessive and the voices are mostly good. There were a few places where two-party dialog was hard to follow when the voices were similar, and sometimes Lucie and Jerry were almost a whisper. Miss Pross is the best.

The story is a little slow in places during the first two books but if you appreciate Dickens' satirical humor it's still a fun listen. I found the story itself was somewhat predictable because of Dickens' use of foreshadowing and metaphor, but that made it stronger.

In summary, this book is a classic for obvious reasons. It is deep, but not too deep. It is about suffering, but filled with love and life and hope. It was the best couple bucks I've spent at Audible yet.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great

The reader, Richard Pasco, is one of the best I have ever heard. His performance was outstanding.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Best opening sentence in litterature

In listening to this book, I am reminded why it is a classic. Somehow hearing the story read gave me a new appreciation of the beauty of Dickens use of language. I read it many years ago when I was in high school and have seen good and not so good movie versions of it. The characters have almost become stereotypes in my mind; Mde Desfarges knitting at the Guillotine, the craggy lost Dr Monette, prisoner of the Bastille. Listening to Dickens words made these complex, fascinating characters come alive. We are transported into 18th century England and France and relive the events of the French revolution through their eyes. The atmosphere of the times is brilliantly evoked and the motivations of the actors involved detailed. His description of the storming of the Bastille makes the reader feel she was there. The many plot twists keep the reader wanting more. This work, as do his others, reveals Dickens as a commentator on social conditions. This is a historical novel with much to contemplate for today's reader.Of course you must also get part 2 to hear the best closing sentence in literature. A great read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Tale of Two Cities

Remarkable book and narrator (Richard Pasco) who brings this book to life. Dickens immerses you in France and England during the time leading up to and then into the French Revolution. His language, phrases and descriptions are so beautifully crafted that many will remain with me forever. His insights, characterizations, understanding of human relationships, class structure, social and political conditions, are both specific to that period as well as being contemporary and relevant. That really surprised me. And, while dealing with very hard, often trajic conditions, there is also irony and humor, suspense and action, and very interesting, complex human beings. Though a few of Dicken's characters are two dimensional, given the depth and humanity of this amazing novel, and that it was originally published, I believe, as a serial! that is to be forgiven. Pasco is an excellent and skillful narrator, making any unfamiliar terms and language nuances "non-issues" as you become so engrossed with listening to him reading this wonderful and moving tale. He even does the female narration credibly (often an issue with male readers of female parts.) This has become one of my favorite books, and I'm grateful that I tried this "classic".

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic still stands the time

Beautiful story! In the best of times and in the worst of times…. Quite literally and figuratively!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

Of course, this is a great story. The narrator gave an amazing performance! Loved it

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Incredible reading of this book

The narrator’s voices and telling of this story are impressive and impeccable. He even uses appropriate sighs, gasps, and sounds in his telling. Makes you believe you are in the actual presence of the characters. I am downloading this telling of this audio book even though it is a free selection because of how excellently it is told. It is something I will listen to again and again. Bravo to Richard Pasco the narrator and of course Bravo to Mr. Dickens who so beautifully and eloquently wrote this story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!