• A Tale of Two Cities

  • By: Charles Dickens
  • Narrated by: Jon Smith
  • Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (119 ratings)

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A Tale of Two Cities  By  cover art

A Tale of Two Cities

By: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Jon Smith
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Publisher's summary

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

In this staple of classic literature, Charles Dickens tells the tale of fueding classes set at the inception and escalation of the French Revolution. Amidst the upheaval, righteous former aristocrat Charles Darnay becomes wrongly tangled in unfortunate events, endangering his freedom and family. Sidney Carton, a cynical lawyer who squandered his life away, seeks to redress his unhappiness through Darnay's beautiful wife, Lucie. This seminal story of love, chaos, and redemption is expertly read by Jon Smith, who infuses excitement using a variety of voices. Revisit a favorite or fill in a literary gap with the timeless A Tale of Two Cities.

Public Domain (P)2012 Phoenix Books

What listeners say about A Tale of Two Cities

Average customer ratings
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  • 4 out of 5 stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A Great Classic Performed With Perfection

What did you love best about A Tale of Two Cities?

The best thing about A Tale of Two Cities is everything -- the characters, the plot, the exceptional writing, and the emotional pull of nearly every sentence.

Which character – as performed by Jon Smith – was your favorite?

All the characters came alive. My favorites are Jarvis Lorry and Sydney Carton.

Any additional comments?

I've read this story several times and always discover new feelings and images, but Jon Smith has made it far better with this excellent performance. I would recommend any audiobook read by him.

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6 people found this helpful

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

Get This Book Now

Would you listen to A Tale of Two Cities again? Why?

This books grabs you from the first sentence to the very last: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times (first sentence) and It is a better thing that I do than I have ever done (almost the last). Everything word, every sentence, is perefectly placed. The narrator, Jon Smith, is excellent.

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3 people found this helpful

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

Yes You Too Can Ruin a Classic!

This really great story was all but destroyed, weighed down by a narrator who seemed to simply not give a hoot that he consistently mispronounced words, names, places (hearing the Madame and Monsieur Defarge pronounced Defrage throughout the reading - I swear to you - fingernails on a blackboard would have been a happier sound). Periodically the reader seemed to forget himself and get lost in the book, immediately improving his performance, but unfortunately he would inevitably return to his former stilted and dreadful reading.

We could have made a drinking game out of taking a shot every time some person, place or thing was mispronounced - mind you, we would have had to limit our listening time or suffered prolonged bouts of inebriation as five minutes rarely pass in this performance without a pronunciation malfunction.

I'm sure there is a great unabridged Tale of Two Cities out there someplace. This is not it.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

My favorite

I have read and listened to this book many times and every time I finish it I have the urge to start it again. It's not only a moving story but it also helps with understanding the French Revolution.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Performance of the story poorly done

Would you try another book from Charles Dickens and/or Jon Smith?

I could not get into this book because of the speaker. It left the book a boring mess.

What could Charles Dickens have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Chose a better reader.

How could the performance have been better?

Used someone who could of put more dramatics into the story rather than just a one pitch reader?

What character would you cut from A Tale of Two Cities?

None

Any additional comments?

That just about sums it up. I read the book myself years ago and loved the story then but the audiobook was a sad disapointment.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Horrible narrator!

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I tried twice to listen because I do love Dickens, but the narrator was horrible. I gave up!

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1 person found this helpful

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

drone

The narration was intolerable. Could not listen past the first few hours so Ipurchased new version.

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1 person found this helpful

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

Sydney Carton

This book is absolutely amazing. It keeps you reading and the plot twists aren’t expected. I would recommend this to people in high school (and above). It’s fascinating and shows a kind of beauty that wouldn’t expect to find in books of this genere.

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

HORRIBLE NARRATION

Dear lord, one of my favorite books and listening to this guy drone on and on and on with this soft voice ... my brain just turned off and I stopped listening...

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

Narrator blunders

I have listened to about one hour of this audiobook, and already the narrator has mispronounced several words. For example, he pronounces the word "emaciated" like "emanciated" and the word "squalid" like "squailed." He also pronounces the French name "Jacques" like "Jock-ay" (two syllables). Even more annoying: the narrator clearly does not understand the context of the words that he reads. I can almost detect line breaks in the text as he reads it because he does not seem to understand the meaning of each full sentence. He simply reads the words as they come, frequently placing emphasis in the wrong places. Listen to an example, and you might hear what I mean. For me, I cannot continue listening. What a waste of money.

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