"It was the best of times, it was the worst
of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the
epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light,
it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of
despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all
going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the
period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities
insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree
of comparison only.”
Opening
lines of books often can make or break them, and one of the most famous of all
times, despite its “run-on” nature, is the opening by Charles Dickens’ to A Tale of Two Cities. It not only introduces what would become
one of the 100 greatest books of all time but also the universal nature of the
book, the French Revolution, and the drama depicted within its pages.
Dickens, the most popular novelist of his time, remains one of the
best known and most read. His works have never gone out
of print and have been adapted continually for the screen since the invention
of cinema, with at least 200 motion pictures and TV adaptations so far. Many of his works also were adapted for the
stage, the most famous being the beloved A
Christmas Carol.
What
made him (and still makes him) one of the best novelists was his
creation of memorable characters, many of which took on lives of their
own or became
part of our vernacular outside of his books.
Think “Scrooge,” for example.
His
biographer Claire Tomalin regards him as the greatest creator of character in
English fiction after only William Shakespeare. He captured the imagery of his era and gave the world a view of
Victorian England that remains as vivid today as it was in its own time.
Charles Dickens – born Feb. 7, 1812
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