A Tale of Two Cities was a historical novel written by the Earth novelist Charles Dickens.

In 2285, Spock presented James T. Kirk with an antique hardbound copy of the novel for his 52nd birthday. Although Spock claimed that there was no implicit message in the gift, Kirk took special meaning in the final words of the novel: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known". (TOS movie: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan)

The novel was also a favorite read of Miles O'Brien's mother. In 2375, Ezri Dax lent Jadzia's copy of the novel to O'Brien. (DS9 episode: "Extreme Measures")

While discussing Dickens with Captain Jean-Luc Picard, Thomas Riker (under the guise of Commander William Riker) claimed that A Tale of Two Cities was his favorite Dickens work. While thinking about his upcoming plan to kill himself in an attempt to order to protect Federation interests, Riker said "It is [a] far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to ... than I have ever known" echoing the last words of the book. (TNG novel: Triangle: Imzadi II)

ConnectionsEdit

• A Tale of Two Cities article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
• A Tale of Two Cities article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.