Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • A Tale of Two Cities [Naxos]

  • By: Charles Dickens
  • Narrated by: Anton Lesser
  • Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (117 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

A Tale of Two Cities [Naxos]

By: Charles Dickens
Narrated by: Anton Lesser
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £21.99

Buy Now for £21.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

"It was the best of times and the worst of times." In one of the most famous openings of any novel, Dickens masterfully presents the turmoil of the French Revolution, which is the backdrop for a novel of love, patience, hope, and self-sacrifice. This version is read by Anton Lesser, whose award-winning Dickens recordings in their abridged form has now resulted in the opportunity to read the full unabridged text. His singular characterizations led to him being chosen by Peter Ackroyd to play Dickens himself in the major TV account of the writer.
Click here to see all the titles in our Charles Dickens collection.
Public Domain (P)2005 Naxos Audiobooks Ltd.
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2
activate_samplebutton_t1

Listeners also enjoyed...

Great Expectations cover art
The Old Curiosity Shop cover art
Little Dorrit cover art
Our Mutual Friend cover art
David Copperfield cover art
The Pickwick Papers cover art
Hard Times cover art
Hardy: The Mayor of Casterbridge cover art
Dombey and Son cover art
Martin Chuzzlewit cover art
Barnaby Rudge cover art
The Iliad cover art
Tristram Shandy cover art
Middlemarch cover art
Jude the Obscure cover art

What listeners say about A Tale of Two Cities [Naxos]

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    91
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    85
  • 4 Stars
    5
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    70
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A tale of two cities

Completely unabridged. Story told and well read by Anton Lesser. Really enjoyed this version,recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fabulous

Anton, you read this beautifully. Thank you. I enjoyed every word. You are a narrator extraordinaire.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Stunning. A very enjoyable listen.

A great story set in terrible times, read brilliantly by Anton Lesser, whose characterisations and narration were superb.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant Anton Lesser, as always

Anton Lesser is a perfect reader of Dickens: every measured word, the light, the funny and the sad, the broken. The end was particularly good. I had forgotten so much was saved if the story to the last quarter. Knowing what was coming made it even more powerful I think. In Covid times, to hear the repetition of ‘i am the resurrection and the life’ as Sydney Carton nears his end was most moving to me. Thank you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent

The reading, the accents, the character interpretations were outstanding. Anton Lesser is a superb reader of Dickens. Highly recommended

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I'm not eloquent enough ...

... To properly praise the author and narrator, so I will not embarrass myself by trying. All I can do is press the five stars, like some thumbprint. And thank you both.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Gripping

Very well read, gripping and melodramatic classic. Not as easy to identify with as eg David Copperfield but offered a deep insight into the dynamic of European history. I highly recommend it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant Dickens, Brilliant Lesser

Would you listen to A Tale of Two Cities again? Why?

In a few years I will listen to a Tale of Two Cities again, to enjoy the brilliance of writer and narrator.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The fight scene between Madame Defarge and Miss Pross, surely the source of the final fight scene in Alien.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not his best

Great first and last lines. Great characters. Works better as a critique of the revolution than a dickens novel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Dickens at his supreme best.

This story has a bit of everything that Dickens does so well. Wonderful, masterful, genius!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!