《双城记》开篇的名言是：

"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..."

这句话深刻地描绘了小说所处时代的社会矛盾与人们的复杂心态，同时预示了小说的主题和发展。