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...
According to Book Depository, the Amazon-owned digital book seller, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is the best selling novel of all time, with over 200 million copies sold.
The historical novel was published on November 21, 1859 and is set in London and Paris before and during the 1789-99 French Revolution. The story has been adapted into numerous films and television shows, radio programs and even musicals, plays and operas.
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Many editions of the novel have been sold over the years, however the most expensive version remains the one valued by rare book dealer Peter Harrington of London at a price of $357,000, an the edition which features Dickens’ signature and the inscription, “To George Eliot. With high admiration and regard. December, 1859.”
The most expensive version sold at auction is a Chapman and Hall 1859 first edition, inscribed by Dickens to Mrs Cowden Clarke on the title page: “Charles Dickens | To Mrs Cowden Clarke | With kind regards | December, 1859". The edition was sold at Sotheby’s in September 2019 for $129,094, well above its estimate of $78,000-104,000.
In 2008, Christie’s sold an 1859 Chapman and Hall edition made up of 7 parts, each consisting of etched frontispiece, title and 14 plates by Hablot K. Browne in original blue-green pictorial wrappers. These sold as a collective bundle for $39,400.
