雙城記》（英語：A Tale of Two Cities）是英國作家查爾斯·狄更斯所著的一部以法國大革命為背景所寫成的長篇歷史小說，情節感人肺腑，是世界文學經典名著之一，故事中將巴黎、倫敦兩個大城市連結起來，圍繞著曼奈特醫生一家和以德法奇夫婦為首的聖安東尼區展開故事。小說里描寫了貴族如何敗壞、如何殘害百姓，人民心中積壓對貴族的刻骨仇恨，導致了不可避免的法國大革命，以及隨後革命黨人對前貴族採取的殘暴行為。本書的主要思想是為了愛而自我犧牲，書名中的「雙城」指的是巴黎與倫敦。

A Tale of Two Cities is an 1859 historical novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie, whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror.

Dickens’ best-known work of historical fiction, with over 200 million copies sold A Tale of Two Cities is regularly cited as the best-selling novel of all . In 2003, the novel was ranked 63rd on the BBC’s The Big Read poll.^[] The novel has been adapted for film, television, radio and the stage, and has continued to have an influence on popular culture. Screenwriter Jonathan Nolan’s screenplay for The Dark Knight Rises (2012) was inspired by the novel, with Nolan calling the depiction of Paris “one of the most harrowing portraits of a relatable, recognisable civilisation that completely folded to pieces”.^[

.

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.^[

 

 

 

《雙城記》通過革命中一個家庭的遭遇，譴責革命的殘暴，但同時又揭露了革命前貴族對普通勞動者的殘酷行徑。書的開卷語，「那是最美好的時代，那是最糟糕的時代」（It was the best of times. It was the worst of times）已經成為文學史中的經典名句。本書的最後，雪尼‧卡頓（Sydney Carton）走上斷頭台之前回憶說：「我現在做的遠比我所做過的一切都美好；我將獲得的休息遠比我所知道的一切都甜蜜。」（It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known）。同樣是非常經典。