酷行径。书的开卷语，“那是最美好的时代，那是最糟糕的时代”（"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times"）已经成为文学史中的经典名句。本书的最后，雪尼‧卡顿（Sydney Carton）走上断头台之前回忆说：“我现在做的远比我所做过的一切都美好；我将获得的休息远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, fa