Charles Dickens’ famous opening sentence ends with the astonishing idea that the turbulent period leading up to the French Revolution was “like the present period.” The present period! Was he warning leaders against making the mistake of ignoring the horrible conditions of ordinary people? Perhaps. An exhibit in the Charles Dickens Museum has examples of how gifts of this novel were used to make diplomatic statements. They have an Arabic translation that was presented in Ismailia, Egypt when the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty over the Suez Canal was signed, and a Gaelic translation given during the negotiations with the Anglo-Irish Treaty.
Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. Wordsworth Classics, 1999, p. 3.