Dickens Charles – A Tale of Two Cities (in a translation by Emmanuel Bove): “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of madness; … “Thus begins this historical fresco mingling personal destinies with the French Revolution. In 1775 Jarvis Lorry, an employee of a London bank, went to Paris with Lucie Manette to bring back to England the father of the latter, Dr. Alexandre Manette, wrongly embellished for 18 years and held for dead. A couple of innkeepers in the St-Antoine district (the future cradle of the popular uprisings) have been hosting Dr. Manette since his release, but the poor man has lost his mind. His daughter swears to be dedicated to healing once back in London. Charles Darnay, his lover, supports and protects her. When he becomes engaged with Lucie, Charles confesses to Doctor Manette his true origins – a secret that he makes her swear never to reveal. But history will catch up with him …

Throughout this “Conte”, the personal dramas will cross at a distance before being bound by the great History and incandescence of the Revolution. Dickens wrote this novel even as his personal and professional life was in turmoil. He published it as a soap opera in 1859 in the magazine All the Year Round he had just founded. The success was immediate. Sold over two hundred million copies, this is one of his most popular works, which was adapted many times for screen and theater. The translation, signed Emmanuel Bove, was published for the first time in the magazine Regards in 1936 and taken over by Criterion Publishing in 1991. (titles in other translations: 1989: The Tale of Two Cities or, 1861: Paris and London in 1793.)