A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is the second historical novel by Charles Dickens The plot centres on the years leading up to the French Revolution and culminates in the Jacobin Reign of Terror It starts with Dабьэъr Alexandre Manette's 1757 imprisonment and concludes 36 years later with the execution of Sydney Carton The book tells, first and foremost, the story of Darnay and Sydney Carton, who look similar but are very different in their personalities: Darnay is a romantic Frавршшench aristocrat; Carton is a cynical English barrister Both are deeply in love with the same woman, Lucie Manette.