Tale of Two Cities
I walked into the Barnes and Noble book store and out of instinct I picked up “Tale of Two cities” after a long time to read just the first line and the last line.
Makes me feel better or worse , good or bad 
The first line of “Tale of two cities” by Charles Dickens.
“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 short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”
The best opening lines ever ,according to me.
“Life is difficult.”
–Scott Peck . Road less travelled.
“It is a universally acknowledged fact that a man in possession of fortune is in need of a wife
–Jane Austen Pride and prejudice.
If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, an what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.
–Catcher in the Rye ,JD Salinger .
Happy families are all alike ,unhappy families are unhappy in their own way.
— Anna Karenina , Leo Tolstoy.
“It was love at first sight”
—Heller ,Catch 22.
“It is a sin to write this.”
—Ayn Rand, Anthem.
“Who is John Galt?”
— Ayn Rand , Atlas Shrugged.
But can anyone match Charles Dickens in the way he ended “Tale of Two cities” ?
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest I go to than I have ever known”
One can read Charles Dickens book free off the internet at
http://dickens.thefreelibrary.com/
Mark Twain’s books can be found at
This site is put together well!
Comment by Anonymous — June 7, 2005 @ 10:43 pm
I found your website after I have been surfing the internet to be useful
Comment by Anonymous — June 8, 2005 @ 8:30 pm
Great quotes… will try to find some to rival yours. I am a Dickens fan and I live in Rochester, Kent, UK where Dickens wrote many of his books and he lived nearby for the last 12 years of his life. If you need any local info about Charles just let me know. Regards, Roger.
Comment by Roger — June 12, 2005 @ 1:06 pm
I must say I agree completly, it is nice to see people have blogs where they spread the same opinion you got.
Comment by Luniquer — October 10, 2005 @ 8:32 pm