Great Books Council of San Francisco
Long Novel Weekend 2022 

Registration is now closed. Please email Louise DiMattio, Event Coordinator, if you would like to be added to a wait list: ladimat@aol.com.

Join us for the first weekend in October to discuss and share ideas devoted to a single long work of fiction.

In 2022, we'll discuss Charles Dickens’ classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities.  The novel, with its memorable opening and closing lines, has inspired movies, songs and even cartoons since it was published in 1859.

 We are delighted to welcome Nancy Carr from the GB Foundation as our guest speaker for this event. 

Nancy Carr is a writer, editor and discussion leader with many years of experience at the Great Books Foundation.  She has a Ph.D. in Eng  lish from the University of Virginia and especially loves Victorian and 20th Century novels.  Nancy will focus on Dickens’ use of historical themes during our third session of A Tale of Two Cities.

Weekend Schedule (Please note all times are in US Pacific Time and be sure to make allowances for any conversion to your local time zone.) 

Saturday, October 1

10:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.: Welcome and Discussion of Book 1 plus Book 2 through Chapter 9

Break for lunch and rejoin Zoom room for 2:30 p.m. afternoon start  

2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.: Remainder of Book 2

Sunday, October 2

10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.: Book 3 Discussion with Guest Speaker Nancy Carr

12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Wrap Up  

 About the Book

 Vividly interweaving epic historical drama with personal tragedy, Dickens's gripping novel depicts the lives of two very different men, Charles Darnay, an exiled French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a disreputable but brilliant English lawyer, as they become enmeshed through their love for Lucie Manette, the daughter of a political prisoner.  From the tranquil roads of London, they are drawn against their will to the vengeful, bloodstained streets of Paris at the height of the Reign of Terror, and they soon fall under the lethal shadow of La Guillotine.

This edition uses the text as it appeared in its first serial publication in 1859 to convey the full scope of Dickens's vision and includes the original illustrations by H.K. Browne ('Phiz'). Richard Maxwell's introduction discusses the intricate interweaving of epic drama with personal tragedy.

Publication  

We will use the Penguin Classics paperback edition.

 Publisher: Penguin Classics; Updated and REV ed. edition (May 27, 2003)

Language: English

Paperback:  544 pages

ISBN-10:  0141439602
ISBN-13:  978-0141439600

 Please purchase only this edition from your bookseller. (The book is available in new and used versions on Amazon.com.)