While not my favorite Dickens novel, I believe it validates the function of historical fiction in illuminating actual historical events. I didn't learn any new facts about the Revolution, but it brought vividness of detail that I will likely recall the exact facts learned in a work of history.
He creates a wonderfully happy home in his usual way, centered around the lives of Lucie Manette, her father Dr. Manette and Lucy's husband Charles Darnay, then proceeds to tear it apart in the fallout of the French Revolution.
He brings the madness of the Revolution to life throughout. While sympathizing with the suffering of the French people who have suffered gravely under the French monarchy and aristocracy, he shows the absurdity of the post Bastille Republic, too. The scene of the citizens sharpening their knives, axes and other weapons on the grindstone with fervor bordering on the insane made a deep impression.
The final resolution to the story - that of saving Darnay from execution by the Guillotine and the family's escape from France - only happens in the final chapter with the perfectly poignant act of Sydney Carton. By switching places with Darney just prior to execution, Carton saves the family from certain misery, while resurrecting his depraved reputation in the eyes of his beloved Lucy.
The power of the story grows slowly in typical Dickensian style and crescendos in the final pages with genuine power and emotion. Only then did I realize the magic of the story. And as with many of Dickens' works, only at the end do I realize the power of his work.
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