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A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities is 134,827 words — about 8h 59m at 250 words per minute, across 48 chapters. Measure your own speed and read it here.

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Cover of A Tale of Two Cities

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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…

Details

  • AuthorCharles Dickens
  • SourceProject Gutenberg #98
  • Length134,827 words · 8h 59m of reading
  • Chapters48
  • DictionaryIncluded
  • CopyrightPublic domain in the United States
  • Source checked2026-08-28

Contents

48 chapters

Recovered from the original source text, so you can open the book at any of them.

  1. 01Book the First--Recalled to Life
  2. 02Book the Second--the Golden Thread
  3. 03Book the Third--the Track of a Storm
  4. 04CHAPTER I. The Period
  5. 05CHAPTER II. The Mail
  6. 06CHAPTER III. The Night Shadows
  7. 07CHAPTER IV. The Preparation
  8. 08CHAPTER V. The Wine-shop
  9. 09CHAPTER VI. The Shoemaker
  10. 10CHAPTER I. Five Years Later
  11. 11CHAPTER II. A Sight
  12. 12CHAPTER III. A Disappointment
  13. 13CHAPTER IV. Congratulatory
  14. 14CHAPTER V. The Jackal
  15. 15CHAPTER VI. Hundreds of People
  16. 16CHAPTER VII. Monseigneur in Town
  17. 17CHAPTER VIII. Monseigneur in the Country
  18. 18CHAPTER IX. The Gorgon’s Head
  19. 19CHAPTER X. Two Promises
  20. 20CHAPTER XI. A Companion Picture
  21. 21CHAPTER XII. The Fellow of Delicacy
  22. 22CHAPTER XIII. The Fellow of No Delicacy
  23. 23CHAPTER XIV. The Honest Tradesman
  24. 24CHAPTER XV. Knitting
  25. 25CHAPTER XVI. Still Knitting
  26. 26CHAPTER XVII. One Night
  27. 27CHAPTER XVIII. Nine Days
  28. 28CHAPTER XIX. An Opinion
  29. 29CHAPTER XX. A Plea
  30. 30CHAPTER XXI. Echoing Footsteps
  31. 31CHAPTER XXII. The Sea Still Rises
  32. 32CHAPTER XXIII. Fire Rises
  33. 33CHAPTER XXIV. Drawn to the Loadstone Rock
  34. 34CHAPTER I. In Secret
  35. 35CHAPTER II. The Grindstone
  36. 36CHAPTER III. The Shadow
  37. 37CHAPTER IV. Calm in Storm
  38. 38CHAPTER V. The Wood-Sawyer
  39. 39CHAPTER VI. Triumph
  40. 40CHAPTER VII. A Knock at the Door
  41. 41CHAPTER VIII. A Hand at Cards
  42. 42CHAPTER IX. The Game Made
  43. 43CHAPTER X. The Substance of the Shadow
  44. 44CHAPTER XI. Dusk
  45. 45CHAPTER XII. Darkness
  46. 46CHAPTER XIII. Fifty-two
  47. 47CHAPTER XIV. The Knitting Done
  48. 48CHAPTER XV. The Footsteps Die Out For Ever

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