A Tale of Two Cities is a classic novel by Charles Dickens, first published in 1859. Set during the French Revolution, the story follows Charles Darnay, a French aristocrat who renounces his privilege and wealth to live in England. Darnay becomes involved in a plot to save a French servant from false accusations and is arrested in Paris as a suspected traitor. He is sentenced to death by the revolutionary tribunal, despite the efforts of his lawyer Sydney Carton to save him.
Carton, who is a drunken and dissolute man, is in love with Lucie Manette, a young Frenchwoman who lives in England with her father, a former prisoner of the Bastille. Lucie marries Darnay, but Carton remains devoted to her and is willing to do anything to save her husband. He hatches a plan to switch places with Darnay, knowing he will be executed in his place.
The plan succeeds, and Carton faces the guillotine with courage, reflecting on his wasted life and the sacrifice he is making for Lucie and her family. As he is executed, he speaks the famous line, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
A Tale of Two Cities is a powerful story of love, sacrifice, and redemption set against the backdrop of the brutal violence and upheaval of the French Revolution. It is considered one of Dickens' finest works, and a masterpiece of English literature.