A TALE OF TWO CITIES - A STORY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

<p>It was the best of times it was the worst of times it was the age of wisdom it was the age of foolishness. . . .</p><p>As its title promises this brief chapter establishes the era in which the novel takes place: England and France in 1775. The age is marked by competing and contradictory attitudes-It was the best of times it was the worst of times-but resembles the present period in which Dickens writes. In England the public worries over religious prophecies popular paranormal phenomena in the form of the Cock-lane ghost and the messages that a colony of British subjects in America has sent to King George III. France on the other hand witnesses excessive spending and extreme violence a trend that anticipates the erection of the guillotine. Yet in terms of peace and order English society cannot justify much national boasting either-crime and capital punishment abound.</p><p><br></p><p>In a brief note Dickens mentions the source of inspiration for <em>A Tale of Two Cities</em>: a play in which he acted called <em>The Frozen Deep </em>written by his friend Wilkie Collins. He adds that he hopes that he can further his readers' understanding of the French Revolution-that terrible time-but that no one can truly hope to surpass Thomas Carlyle's <em>The French Revolution</em> (published in 1837).</p>