A Tale of Two Cities

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A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities was a book by Charles Dickens (TV: Everything Changes) which was published in 1859. (AUDIO: The Pursuit of History)

Toshiko Sato scanned the book with an alien data scanner salvaged by Torchwood Three. She then attached the scanner to her computer, and was able to read the book on the screen.

The book was set in both France and England. Characters included Mr Cruncher, Mr Lorry, Miss Manette, Doctor Manette, Jacques One, Jacques Two, Defarge and a Marquis. (TV: Everything Changes)

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

In TV: The Ultimate Foe, Melanie Bush mentions the character of Sydney Carton, implicitly from this book by Charles Dickens, after the Sixth Doctor quoted him.

In AUDIO: The Crooked Man, the Fourth Doctor reads out loud the opening line from a ripped page of A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Though he identifies the passage as Dickens, the Doctor does not name the book it comes from.

To a modern viewer of Everything Changes who is aware of advances in data storage and internet speed, Tosh is reading what would be understood to be a Tale of Two Cities ebook, which has become easy to purchase and download from multiple real-world apps since the original broadcast of the episode in 2006.