A Tale of Two Cities [Recorded Books]

By: Charles Dickens

Narrated by: Frank Muller

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." So begins this classic, one of the most beloved novels of all time. Charles Dickens brings the French Revolution to life through such vivid characters as Charles Darnay, the Old Doctor, Sydney Carton and Lucy Manette. The action peaks with the storming of the Bastille, the dreaded symbol of government authority. And the blade of La Guillotine falls again...

(P)1986 by Recorded Books, Inc.

Poor audio quality

Very difficult to listen while doing anything (cooking for example) because of the poor audio quality.

Otherwise a good book.

Production quality is lacking

This audio book was a little difficult to hear clearly while driving down the road. The louder I turned the volume, combined with the road noise, the more muffled it seemed to be. As a result, hearing the words and following the storyline was not always easy.

What a pleasure...

An eye opener! I am ashamed to say I have never read Dickens (until now). This is a pure joy. The characters and descriptions are rich, the story is okay. The narration is terrific. The style is both engrossing and entertaining. I'm not too embarrassed to say that I have discovered a vein of gold that many already know about. I will read/listen to many more Dickens novels.

Wow!!!

I have never read this book in paper, somehow, but decided to try the audio version. This is a "classic" that really does deserve to be classed as one of the greatest books ever written in the English language--characterization, dialogue, description---Dickens wrote in a time when readers had the time to read, demanded richness of detail, and took the time to luxuriate in his writing craft. Dickens does not rush through the story line to get us to the end--we learn about the times and become intimate with the characters and their personalities--their strengths and their weaknesses. At the same time he keeps the plot moving, so that I never thought it "dragged". To me, the narrator was superb, but he had great material to work with.

So glad I listened to this one

It went right over my head the first time I read it. It's so much easier, listening to a piece of literature like this. I won't say it didn't take a few minutes to get into the groove with it, but once I did, it was well worth it. The narrator was awesome! I wouldn't be surprised if he was used to doing Shakespeare. He really made it come alive for me. Excellent!

Superb story!

The Tale Of Two Cities is masterfully written. Although fiction, it is set in the late 1700s and gives a vivid portrait of both England and France at that time. I love history, so beyond the good storytelling, I'm enjoying this peek into the past. I found it took a while to 'tune in' to the narrator - his speech is clear but the audio book sounds like it was taken off an audio tape that had deteriorated a little with use and with time. After the first 20 mins or so it clears up (or did I simply 'tune in'?). Were it not for this slight audio quality problem I would certainly give this five stars! As it is I still highly recommend this title.

Enjoyed this book

I thoroughly enjoyed this reading of "A Tale of Two Cities". Frank Muller's deep, British accent added a lot to the "listenability" of this recording.

Terrific Performance of a Classic!

Charles Dickens is, as we all know, a fantastic author of several classics, and A Tale of Two Cities is surely one of his greatest. Frank Muller's excellent performance of this work added even more quality to the book, so he must be praised for his clarity and eloquence, even when portraying characters in sorrow or rage - very well done, indeed.

It's hard for me to decide which character I enjoyed best until the last few chapters. I read the book in my teenage years, so I knew that Sydney Carton was a person of some significance; I just couldn't recall why. His actions were very inspiring, especially because of the lack of necessity in them. He really could've just tipped off Dr Manette as to Madame Defarge's plan, telling him to get Lucie and her daughter out. They would've been safe in their flight, though grieving for Charles Darnay. Carton's passion for Lucie is so great that he decides to take the place of the man who, in the quest for Lucie's love, could be considered his nemesis. The words running through his mind as he is preparing to be guillotined are profound, to say the least, and they are a way of comforting himself as he dreams of the future happiness of his love. But I also enjoy the short but comforting chat he has with the Seamstress, a young lady (who he addresses as his 'gentle sister') who is to be guillotined just before him, assuring her that there is no Time in the afterlife, so she will not be troubled in waiting for her younger cousin where she believes she and Carton will be 'mercifully sheltered.'

A great work of art that is well-performed by an excellent narrator. I look forward to more works by both Dickens and Mr Muller again!

Good tale but Too much extraneous information!!

I have always said that I would always only get unabridged versions of books, but when it came to this one I regretted it as Charles Dickens, in this tale, uses extremely flowery language and goes into raptures of descriptions that seem to have absolutely nothing to do with the tale. If I hadn't already had an idea of the story and knew it was good, I would not have persevered as the reader makes heavy weather of all the verbiage and consequently makes it hard to listen to. For all that I gave it 3 stars as the tale itself is good and merits a listen to. I would, however, recommend an abridged version which hopefully reduces the verbiage. Fortunately not all of Charles Dickens works have the same problem.

Most Excellent!

Long ago (60+ years), there was a vinyl record of Ronald Coleman reading this most affecting of stories. It was abridged, of course, but never failed to bring a tear. How much the more this presentation, full length, and read so expertly. Thanx for this!