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A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is the second historical novel by Charles Dickens. The plot centres on the years leading up to the French Revolution and culminates in the Jacobin Reign of Terror. The story touches upon Dr. Alexandre Manette's 1757 imprisonment, but the actual story timeline begins in 1775. The first issue of Dickens's literary periodical All the Year Round appearing April 30, 1859, contained the first of thirty-one weekly installments of the novel, which ran until November 26, 1859. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... A Tale of Two Cities is the title of several works: A Tale of Two Cities, the 1859 novel by Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities (1911 film), a silent film A Tale of Two Cities (1935 film), an Academy Award nominated film starring Ronald Colman A Tale of... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (409x686, 32 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): User:Spikelee A Tale of Two Cities ... Dickens redirects here. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A historical novel a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Chapman and Hall was a British publishing house, founded in the first half of the 19th century by Edward Chapman and William Hall. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The term serial refers to the intrinsic property of a series —namely its order. ... Hardcover books A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper, or sometimes leather). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN redirects here. ... A historical novel a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, in which the time of the action predates the lifetime of the author. ... Dickens redirects here. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... It has been suggested that Jacobin/Sandbox be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses of terror, see Terror; Great Fear . ... Doctor Manette is a character in Charles Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities. ... All the Year Round was a weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens which was published between 1859 and 1859. ... is the 120th day of the year (121st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 330th day of the year (331st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1859 (MDCCCLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ...

The opening – "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." – and closing – "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." – of the book are among the most famous lines in English literature. The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian, V.S...

The book tells, first and foremost, the story of Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, who look similar but are very different in their personalities. Darnay is a romantic French aristocrat; Carton is a cynical English barrister. Both fall deeply in love with the same woman, Lucie Manette. A look-alike is a person who bears a close physical resemblance to a celebrity, politician or royalty. ... Aristocracy is a form of government in which rulership is in the hands of an upper class known as aristocrats. ... For the musician, see Sikiru Ayinde Barrister. ... Lucie Manette is a fictional character in Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities. ...

Other major characters include Dr. Manette (Lucie's father), who was unjustly imprisoned in the infamous Bastille for many years under a lettre de cachet, and Madame Defarge, a female revolutionary with an implacable grudge against the aristocratic Evrémonde dynasty. This article is about the building. ... In French history, lettres de cachet were letters signed by the king of France, countersigned by one of his ministers, and closed with the royal seal, or cachet. ... Madame Defarge is the wife of Ernest Defarge and a tireless worker for the French Revolution in the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. ...

The title reflects the way in which the setting alternates between London and Paris. Two of the 45 chapters are set in both countries, nineteen in England and 24 in France. They tell of the shameless corruption, abuse and inhumanity of the French nobles towards the peasantry. The masses, oppressed for centuries, rise up at last and destroy their masters, becoming themselves just as evil and corrupt.

Plot summary

Book the First: Recalled to Life

In 1775, Jarvis Lorry travels to Dover to meet a young woman, Lucie Manette. Before arriving he has a horrible ride. He imagines what it would be like to be "burried" for 18 years. He starts imagining things and cannot tell between what is real or fake. When he arrives, he informs her that her father, Doctor Manette, whom she previously believed to be dead, has actually been incarcerated as a prisoner in Paris for the past eighteen years, and has recently been released by the French government. Tellson's Bank is sending Lorry and Lucie to identify the doctor (who had been one of Tellson's clients) and bring him to England. The news upsets Lucie greatly(she faints briefly); he tries to comfort her, but Lucie's guardian, Miss Pross, takes over when she fears he has frightened Lucie too much.

The story shifts abruptly to Saint Antoine, a suburb of Paris, where a cask of wine accidentally splits and spills on the ground. The poor seize the unexpected windfall, jubilantly drinking the wine off the street. Watching the degradation in disgust is Monsieur Defarge, the owner of a wineshop and leader of a band of revolutionaries. Afterwards, he goes back into his shop and talks to a group of fellow revolutionaries, who call each other "Jacques" (a secret code name for future revolutionaries).

Mr. Lorry and Lucie Manette arrive and Defarge takes them to his apartment to see Dr. Manette. The doctor is, to all appearances, completely mad. He sits in a dark room all day making shoes, as he did while in prison. Lucie takes him to England.

Book the Second: The Golden Thread

Five years later (1780), Dr. Manette has recovered from his ordeal. French émigré Charles Darnay is tried at the Old Bailey for treason. Those testifying against him are a John Barsad and a Roger Cly(both British spies), who claim that he had been reporting on British troops in North America to the French. Dr. Manette and his daughter vouch for Darnay because he had sailed with them on their voyage to England. Darnay is acquitted, in part because the witnesses are unable to tell him apart from junior defence counsel Sydney Carton, who bears a striking resemblance to him. Carton is depicted unflatteringly as a drunkard; conversely Darnay is set out as a handsome, gallant victim of a deficient British legal process. Carton becomes enamoured of Lucie and jealous of Darnay. The Old Bailey. ... The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. ... French milk carton Carton is the name of certain types of containers typically made from paperboard which is also sometimes known as cardboard. // In art history, the carton (pronounced the French way) was a drawing on ordinary cardboard, used as life-size design for the manufacture in an atelier of...

In Paris, the Marquis St. Evrémonde, Darnay's uncle, is returning from an audience with Monseigneur, one of the 'greatest lords in France', when his coach runs over and kills the son of the peasant Gaspard; he throws a coin to Gaspard to compensate him for his loss; in the assembled crowd is the implacable tricoteuse, Madame Defarge. Defarge gives words of aid to the distraught Gaspard and the Marquis tosses him a coin as well for his words. As the Marquis exits Defarge throws the coin back into the carriage, enraging the Marquis and leading him to exclaim that he would willingly kill any of the peasants of France. Marquis has many different meanings: The French spelling of the title known in English as Marquess and Margrave. ... Monseigneur is an honorific in the French language. ... Tricoteuse /tri ko tøz/ literally translates from the French as a (female) knitter. ...

On his way back to his château, the Marquis passes through a village, where a road mender tells him that he saw a man clinging to the bottom of his carriage. The Marquis has his servant investigate, but no one is found. Château de Chenonceau in the Loire valley, France A rural château in France. ...

Darnay returns to France to meet his uncle. Their political positions are diametrically opposed: Darnay is a democrat, while the Marquis is an adherent of the ancien régime. The Marquis is portrayed as a cruel, heartless nobleman: Ancien Régime, a French term meaning Former Regime, but rendered in English as Old Rule, Old Order, or simply Old Regime, refers primarily to the aristocratic social and political system established in France under the Valois and Bourbon dynasties. ...

"Repression is the only lasting philosophy. The dark deference of fear and slavery, my friend," observed the Marquis, "will keep the dogs obedient to the whip, as long as this roof," looking up to it, "shuts out the sky."

That night, Gaspard murders Darnay's uncle in his sleep, leaving the note "Drive him fast to his tomb. This, from Jacques."

Returning to England, Darnay asks Dr. Manette for his consent to marry Lucie. He is not the only suitor however. Both Stryver, Carton's patron (by way of comic relief) and, more seriously, Carton himself, are captivated by her. Carton is the only one who reveals his feelings directly to Lucie;Stryver is convinced of the futility of his aspirations, and Darnay proposes the marriage to Dr. Manette. When Carton confesses his love to Lucie, he admits he is incapable of making her happy; she has inspired him to lead a better life, but he lacks the energy to follow through. However, he promises to "embrace any sacrifice" for her or one that she loves, meaning he would die for her. Meanwhile, Darnay agrees to reveal his true surname to Dr. Manette on the morning of his marriage to Lucie.

In Paris, Monsieur and Madame Defarge foment Jacobin sympathies. Madame Defarge takes the long view, as opposed to her husband, who is impatient to bring on the revolution. They learn, from an informant within the police, that a spy is to be quartered in Saint Antoine. He is John Barsad, one of those who had given false testimony against Darnay. The following morning, Barsad enters the Defarges' wine shop, but Madame Defarge recognises him from the description she had been given. Barsad acts as an agent provocateur and tries to lead her into discussing the impending execution of the unfortunate Gaspard. In the course of the conversation, he mentions that Darnay is to be married to Lucie Manette. An agent provocateur (plural: agents provocateurs) is a person assigned to provoke unrest, violence, debate, or argument by or within a group while acting as a member of the group but covertly representing the interests of another. ...

On the morning of the marriage, Darnay, at Dr. Manette's request, reveals who his family is, a detail which Dr. Manette had asked him to withhold until then. Unfortunately, this unhinges Dr. Manette, who reverts to his obsessive shoemaking. His sanity is restored before Lucie returns from her honeymoon; to prevent a further relapse, Lorry destroys the shoemaking bench which Dr. Manette had brought with him from France.

Later, in mid-July 1789, Jarvis Lorry visits the Darnays and tells them of the uneasiness in Paris. The scene cuts to the Saint Antoine faubourg for the storming of the Bastille, with the Defarges in the lead. With the hated prison in revolutionary hands, Defarge enters Dr. Manette's former cell. He uncovers a manuscript which Dr. Manette had written during his confinement, and up a chimney, condemning the Evrémondes, père et fils (father and son), for his wrongful imprisonment and the destruction of his family. Year 1789 (MDCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... Combatants French government Parisian militia (predecessor of Frances National Guard) Commanders Bernard-René de Launay â€  Prince de Lambesc Camille Desmoulins Strength 114 soldiers, 30 artillery pieces 600 - 1,000 insurgents Casualties 1 (6 or possibly 8 killed after surrender) 98 The Storming of the Bastille in Paris occurred on...

In the summer of 1792, a letter is delivered to Tellson's bank, addressed to the heir of the Marquis of Evrémonde. The letter recounts the news of the imprisonment of one of the Marquis' retainers, Gabelle, and beseeches the new Marquis to come to his aid. By chance, though the bank is unaware of his identity, Darnay receives the letter. He makes plans to travel to Paris, where the Reign of Terror is running its bloody course, blithely indifferent to the danger. Lorry is sent on ahead with a cryptic message to the imprisoned Gabelle that he is on his way. 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses of terror, see Terror; Great Fear . ...

Book the Third: The Track of a Storm

In Beauvais, erstwhile home of Dr. Manette, Darnay is denounced by the revolutionaries as an émigrant, an aristocrat, and a traitor. A military escort takes him to Paris, where he is imprisoned. Dr. Manette and Lucie along with Miss Pross, Jerry Cruncher, and the daughter of Charles and Lucie Darnay, "Little Lucie", leave London for Paris and meet with Mr. Lorry. Dr. Manette tries to use his influence as a well-known former prisoner of the Bastille to have his son-in-law freed. He manages to protect Darnay on the night that mobs kill thousands of less-fortunate prisoners. After a year and three months, Dr. Manette successfully defends Darnay at his trial. However, that evening, Darnay is put on trial again, under new charges brought by the Defarges and one unnamed other. Beauvais is a town and commune of northern France, préfecture (capital) of the Oise département. ...

While Miss Pross and Mr. Cruncher are on their way to the market, they stop at a tavern to buy wine. There, Miss Pross finds her long-lost brother, Solomon Pross, now a revolutionary official. Neither is happy with the meeting. Jerry Cruncher has trouble remembering where he's seen him. Carton shows himself and identifies him as Barsad, a man that testified against Darnay in England. He then blackmails Solomon Pross, telling him that he knows that he is a spy, as he had overheard his conversation inside the tavern, and a double agent, working for both the French and British governments at different times. Pross reluctantly gives in to Carton's demands.

When Darnay is brought back before the revolutionary tribunal, he is confronted by Defarge, who identifies Darnay as the Marquis St. Evrémonde and reads from the paper found in Dr. Manette's cell. The document describes how he had been locked away in the Bastille by the deceased Marquis Evrémonde and his twin brother for trying to report their horrific crimes against a peasant family. The younger brother had become infatuated with a girl. He had kidnapped and raped her and killed her husband, brother, and father. Prior to his death, the brother had hidden the last member of the family, his younger sister, "somewhere safe." The paper concludes by condemning the Evrémondes and all of their descendants, therefore adding Dr. Manette's condemnation to those of the Defarges. Darnay is consigned to the La Force Prison and is sentenced to be guillotined within twenty-four hours. La Force prison is a French prison, located in Paris. ...

Carton, while wandering the streets at night, stops at the Defarge wine shop, where he overhears Madame Defarge talking about her plans to have Darnay's entire family condemned. Carton discovers that she was the survivor of the ill-fated family mentioned in Dr. Manette's letter. He quickly informs Mr. Lorry and urges him to take the family out of France as soon as possible.

In the early hours of the day of his execution, Darnay is visited by Carton, who, because of his love for Lucie and friendship with Darnay, has decided to trade places with him. He accomplishes this through help of the blackmailed Solomon Pross/Barsad who was the prison guard. As Darnay is unwilling to allow the sacrifice, Carton drugs him and has him carried out to a waiting carriage. The spy, Barsad, tells Carton to remain true to their agreement. Darnay, Dr. Manette, Mr. Lorry, Lucie, and her child flee France. Darnay uses Carton's papers to flee France and presumably escape to England. For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...

Miss Pross and Mr. Cruncher, who had not left with the others, prepare to depart. Meanwhile, Madame Defarge goes well-armed to the residence of Lucie and her family, believing that if she can catch them in the act of mourning for Darnay, that they could be held accountable for sympathising with an enemy of the Republic. Miss Pross sends Mr. Cruncher out to fetch a carriage. While he is away, she is confronted by Madame Defarge. Knowing that if Madame Defarge realises that her would-be victims have already departed she might be able to have them stopped and brought back to Paris, Miss Pross refuses to allow Madame Defarge to look into the rooms of the Darnays' apartment. They struggle and Madame Defarge is shot and killed by her own pistol; the noise of the shot permanently(?)deafens Miss Pross. Miss Pross and Cruncher then quickly leave France.

The novel concludes with the death of Sydney Carton. If he had any chance to express his final thoughts, they would be full of prophecy: many of the revolutionaries, including Monsieur Defarge, would be sent to the guillotine themselves, and a future child of Charles and Lucie Darnay would be named after Carton.

Analysis

A Tale of Two Cities is a moral novel strongly concerned with themes of resurrection, imprisonment, revolution, shame, redemption, social injustice and patriotism. This is one of the few Dickens novels with a historical theme, Barnaby Rudge being another notable historical novel. There are fewer characters and sub-plots than in his other offerings. The author's primary source was The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle, whose view that history follows a cycle of destruction and resurrection was an important influence, illustrated especially well in the life and death of Sydney Carton. Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty is a historical novel by the author Charles Dickens. ... Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, satirist, and historian, whose work was hugely influential during the Victorian era. ...

The narrative is extraordinarily dependent upon correspondence as a medium for ensuring the flow of events, and, while not an epistolary novel in the style of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos's Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the flow of letters forms a driving centre to much of the narrative development. The novel covers a period between 1757 and 1793, up to the middle period of the French Revolution. Titlepage of Aphra Behns Love-Letters (1684) An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. ... Pierre Ambroise Choderlos de Laclos Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos, a French official and army general, was born on October 18, 1741 in Amiens, France and died in Taranto, Italy on September 5, 1803. ... Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) is a famous French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in 1782. ... 1757 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Year 1793 (MDCCXCIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 11-day slower Julian calendar). ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on...

The novel should be viewed primarily on the level of a great story. The twists and turns are sinuous. Originally written as a serial novel for publication in newspapers, its chapters open and close with great drama and mystery. Dickens' take on the French Revolution is balanced: he describes the horrors and atrocities committed by both sides. Serial is a term, originating in literature, for a format by which a story is told in contiguous installments in sequential issues of a single periodical publication. ...

The two cities referred to in the title are London and Paris. Throughout the novel, pairs of people, places, etc. are compared and contrasted. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the capital of France. ...

Language

Dickens is convincing in the tongue of any social class, using the dialogues of the Marquis, the people of the court and Jerry Cruncher to great effect. He makes in his narration very original use of words, and his writing is largely characterised by interesting humour.

Humor

Humor is another element of writing over which Dickens has a consummate mastery. A Tale of Two Cities is mostly a serious book, but one hardly lacking in its comic elements. Jerry and Miss Pross are used mostly for their faculty for light relief. Dickens's language in describing Jerry's appearance is generally full of humor, and the description of his night-time activities is particularly witty, mocking Jerry's fishing pretences: "he brought forth a sack, a crowbar of convenient size, a rope and chain, and other fishing tackle of that nature". Jerry Cruncher is a "Resurrection Man," which is a person who digs up graves and sells the cadavers to the medical profession for profit.

Dickens applies his mastery of humor to even the tensest events in his book. As Lucie and Dr. Manette escape, and Darnay is, presumably, about to die, Jerry mournfully admits that he wouldn't mind his wife's "flopping", and hopes she's doing it just then. Jerry has until that point used "flopping" in a derogative sense to refer his wife's practice of prayer, which he has despised.

Irony and symbolism

A Tale of Two Cities is full of verbal, situational and dramatic irony, adding to the intricacy and excitement of the narrative. It is full of underlying meaning and symbolism. Roads, blood, running water and the ocean, the colour red, homes, prisons and echoing footsteps are symbols recurrent throughout the novel. They do not have one literal meaning but gain figurative significance every time they appear, their connotations extended and enhanced with every appearance.

Psychology

Dickens exhibits an impressive comprehension of human nature in all of its social classes. His commiseration and sympathy for such tragic characters as Dr. Manette and Sydney Carton comes through strongly. The weaknesses in other characters are exposed generously and humorously, as with Sydney's alcoholic indulgence, Jarvis Lorry's conceited pride about his attractive leg, the dogged Englishness of Miss Pross, but the more evil and damaging faults of his other characters are thoroughly damned. He shows us that, unfortunately, human nature causes us to be vengeful and, for some of us, overly ambitious. Dickens, who was fascinated with French history (especially the French Revolution) begins by criticizing the aristocrats' treatment of the poor people of France, and ending by noting that the same social atrocities occur even when the power shifts from the aristocrats to the lower classes.

Themes

"Recalled to Life"

The themes of death, committal and resurrection are general and recurrent throughout the novel. It may be said that they are in fact its most important themes, for Dickens intended originally to entitle the book Recalled to Life. (This instead became the heading for the first chapter.)

The aforementioned concepts draw obvious parallels with the Christian faith and its ideals of deliverance and eternal life. Employing a less all-embracing interpretation, "Book the First" can safely be said to deal with the rebirth of Dr. Manette from the living death that is his incarceration.

The theme of resurrection is first brought to the reader's attention by Mr. Lorry, who thinks obsessively of the words "buried alive". He regards himself as the vehicle for Dr. Manette's revival when he passes on the message "Recalled to Life" to Jerry Cruncher. He sees the candles on the table in the inn as being buried "in deep graves of black mahogany". He believes that he will physically "dig" (a word repeated often to enforce its connotation) Dr. Manette from his grave.

Jerry is also drawn into the theme: he himself is involved in death and resurrection in way that the reader does not yet know. The first piece of foreshadowing comes in his remark to himself: "You'd be in a blazing bad way, if recalling to life was to come into fashion, Jerry!" The black humour becomes obvious only in hindsight, and Dickens keeps the mystery alive until it is finally solved. One stormy night, a number of years later in the novel, Mr. Lorry reawakens the reader's interest by telling Jerry that it is "Almost night [...] to bring the dead out of their graves". Jerry responds firmly that he has never seen the night do that.

The author revels in parallels. The theme of resurrection is illustrated with figurative genius in the case of Charles Darnay, with his triumvirate of imprisonments and subsequent escapes.

It is interesting to note that the demolition of Dr. Manette's shoe-making workbench is described as "the burning of the body". This is one of the few cases where that sub-theme has a positive connotation, liberating the doctor from his emotional slavery and the torturous memory of his long imprisonment.

Death is a theme dealt with almost solely by the French Revolution, although there is a brief mention of the passing of Lucie's son. His death, together with that of Sydney Carton, denotes a peaceful transition to deliverance and resurrection, in particular when we compare it to all the other deaths, which are brutal, violent and graceless.

Dickens holds the French and English equally liable for the social and judicial injustices in their respective countries. In both, death sentences are handed out for the most insignificant crimes, and life has little value. "From this room," the Marquis informs Darnay, "many such dogs have been taken out to be hanged." One peasant, the Marquis recalls, was run through with a sword because he dared mention his master's daughter. The Marquis and his cohorts believe in and take their "right of life and earth over the surrounding vulgar", which takes its revenge to similarly extreme proportions. The tables are turned, the roles of lord and slave reversed, and bloody retribution wrought.

It turns out that Jerry Cruncher's involvement in the theme is that he "resurrects" dead bodies to sell to medical men. As often happens with such Dickensian characters, Jerry has a change of heart and changes his ways, becoming a grave-digger instead of a grave-robber.

The devastating impact on Dr. Manette of his imprisonment in the Bastille might capture Dickens' sense of being trapped in his marriage to a woman he no longer loved. Even once he is freed, only Lucie can rescue Manette from recurrent delusions that he is still in prison; their relationship of father and daughter may have reflected aspects of Dickens' feelings for Ternan (who was the same age as his own daughters).

Sydney Carton's self-sacrificing death atones for all his past wrongdoings. He even finds God during the last few days of his life, repeating Christ's soothing words "I am the resurrection and the life". Resurrection, therefore, becomes the predominant theme of the final part of the novel. Darnay is rescued at the last moment and recalled to life; Carton chooses death and resurrection to a life better than that which he has ever known: "it was the peacefullest man's face ever beheld there [...] he looked sublime and prophetic".

Dickens, in conclusion, foresees a new and improved social order, rising from the ashes of the destruction which preceded it.

Imprisonment

Imprisonment plays a crucial role in the novel, from the separate literal imprisonments of Dr. Manette and Charles Darnay to Sydney Carton's psychological imprisonment by his inveterate profligacy and alcoholism.

Mob violence

Dickens roundly denounces mob violence, using Roger Cly's funeral to show that the British are no less susceptible than the French. This helps to maintain a balance between the two cities of the tale.

Darkness and light

As is common practice in English literature, Dickens depicts good and evil as expressions of light and darkness. Danger and fright are associated with darkness, while pleasure and happiness are associated with light. Lucie Manette embodies the theme of light and Madame Defarge that of darkness. Book the Second, "The Golden Thread", is intended to demonstrate Lucie's entwining a thread of bliss around those who come into contact with her, thus bringing them into her life and entangling them in her destiny.

Lucie meets her father for the first time in the Defarges' attic: "His old white head mingled with her radiant hair which warmed and lighted it as though it were the light of freedom shining on him." Lucie's hair symbolises joy as she winds "the golden thread that bound them all together". She is adorned with "diamonds, very bright and sparkling", and symbolic of the happiness of the day of her marriage.

Darkness represents uncertainty, fear and peril. It is dark when Mr. Lorry rides to Dover; it is dark in the prisons; dark shadows follow Madame Defarge; dark, gloomy doldrums disturb Dr. Manette; his capture and captivity are shrouded in darkness; the Marquis’s estate is burned in the dark of night; Jerry Cruncher raids graves in the darkness; Charles's second arrest also occurs at night. Both Lucie and Mr. Lorry feel the dark threat that is Madame Defarge. "That dreadful woman seems to throw a shadow on me," remarks Lucie. Although Mr. Lorry tries to comfort her, "the shadow of the manner of these Defarges was dark upon himself". Madame Defarge is "like a shadow over the white road", the snow symbolising purity and Madame Defarge's darkness corruption. Dickens also compares the dark colour of blood to the pure white snow: the blood takes on the shade of the crimes of its shedders.

Social injustice

Charles Dickens was a lifelong champion of the deprived and exploited because of his personal experiences as a young boy. His sympathies however, lie only up to a point with the revolutionaries; he condemns the mob madness which sets in after the insurrection. When mad men and women massacre eleven-hundred detainees in one night and hustle back to sharpen their weapons on the grindstone, they have "eyes which any unbrutalised beholder would have given twenty years of life, to petrify with a well-directed gun".

The reader is given numerous examples of the ways in which the poor are tyrannised in France and England alike. Amidst the common anarchy, the executioner in England is "stringing up long rows of miscellaneous criminals; now hanging housebreaker [...] now burning people in the hand" or hanging a broke man for stealing sixpence. In France, a boy is sentenced to have his hands removed and is burned alive, because he did not kneel down in the rain before a parade of monks, passing some fifty metres away. The clergy are extremely dishonest. At the lavish chateau of Monseigneur, we find "brazen ecclesiastics of the worst world worldly, with sensual eyes, loose tongues, and looser lives [...] Military officers destitute of military knowledge [...] Doctors who made great fortunes [...] for imaginary disorders".

The Marquis recalls with pleasure the days when his family had the right of life and death over their slaves, "when many such dogs were taken out to be hanged". He won't even allow a widow to put up a board bearing her dead husband’s name, to discern his resting place from all the others. He orders Madame Defarge's sick brother-in-law to heave a cart all day and allay frogs at night to exacerbate the young man's illness and hasten his death.

In England, even banks endorse unbalanced sentences: a man may be condemned to death for nicking a horse or opening a letter. Conditions in the prisons are dreadful. "Most kinds of debauchery and villainy were practised, and [...] dire diseases were bred", sometimes killing the judge before the accused.

So riled is Dickens at the brutality of the law that he depicts some English establishments in acerbically sarcastic words: "the whipping-post, another deal old institution, very humanising and softening to behold in action." He faults the law for accepting the appalling conditions without seeking reform. "Whatever is, is right" is the dictum of the Old Bailey. The gruesome portrayal of quartering highlights the insane atrocity of the penalty.

Dickens is understanding of the reasons behind Jerry’s grave-digging, reminding the reader that Mr. Lorry is prone to rebuke Jerry more for his humble social status than anything else. Jerry reminds him that doctors, men of the cloth, undertakers and watchmen are also conspirators in the crime.

Dickens believes that there is little or no difference between the peers of the realm and the underprivileged as regards their dealings with each other. In spite of his compassion for the poor, he assumes the philosophical stance that what happened in the revolution was a predictable upshot. "Crush humanity out of shape once more, under similar hammers, and it will twist itself into the same tortured forms. Sow the same seed of rapacious licence and oppression over again, and it will surely yield the same fruit [...]."

Relation to Dickens's personal life

Dickens was born in 1812, some twenty years subsequent to the occurrences detailed in the book. The period that it covers was one of great social injustices in both France and England, and it was a wish to highlight these which, in part, motivated Dickens to pen the story. He was inspired, too, by his interest in French history, acquired during his time there around 1845.

It has been argued that, in the novel, Dickens reflects on his own psychological state at the time of writing, especially his relationship with Ellen Ternan. Ellen Ternan. ...

The plot hinges on the strong physical likeness of Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay. Darnay has the same initials as Dickens: in early drafts Carton's forename was Dick, giving him the same initials but transposed. Both men are in love (Carton unsuccessfully, Darnay marrying) with Lucie Manette, who may have been modelled physically on Ternan. Lucie Manette is a fictional character in Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities. ...

The characters of Carton and Darnay are strongly complementary to an extent that almost prefigures Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Darnay is worthy and respectable but dull, Carton disreputable but magnetic. Dickens might have used this contrast to explore his own uncertainties about his new, intensely unacceptable love for Ternan and its implications for his hitherto respectable private life. Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson (November 13, 1850–December 3, 1894), was a Scottish novelist, poet and travel writer, and a representative of neo-romanticism in English literature. ... The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll1and Mr. ...

Characters

Dickens' talent for vivid narration often sees his characters revealed immediately in their appearances. The Marquis is portrayed as wicked, Jerry Cruncher as crafty and Lucie as good. Some are one-dimensional, unrounded characters, personifying one characteristic rather than incorporating many. The Vengeance and Jacques Three, for example, symbolise odium. Other characters are central to the plot and are hence more rounded and intricate. Darnay and Carton look the same, are both in love with Lucie, but different in personality. Dickens frequently compares and contrasts them to highlight their good and bad points.

• Sydney Carton – quickminded but depressed English barrister and alcoholic; a key character in the theme of redemption

• Lucie Manette – young Frenchwoman loved by both Carton and Charles Darnay

• Charles Darnay – respectable young Frenchman who detests the aristocrats, though he is one himself, one of the main characters

• Dr. Alexandre Manette – Lucie's father, a prisoner in the Bastille for many years

• Ernest Defarge – owner of a French wine shop and member of the Jacquerie; husband of Madame Defarge; servant to Dr. Manette as a youth

• Madame Therese Defarge – a vengeful female revolutionary; arguably the antagonist

• The Vengeance – a companion of Madame Defarge referred to as her "shadow," a member of the sisterhood of women revolutionaries in Saint Antoine, and revolutionary zealot.

• Jarvis Lorry – a bank manager and friend of Dr. Manette

• Miss Pross – the fiercely loyal housekeeper of the Manettes since Lucie Manette was ten years old

• Monseigneur Marquis St. Evrémonde – cruel uncle of Charles Darnay

• John Barsad – perjurer, informer and spy. His real name is Solomon Pross and he is the brother of Miss Pross.

• Roger Cly – another spy, Barsad's collaborator
• Jerry Cruncher – messenger for Tellson's Bank and secretly a body snatcher
• C.J. Stryver – Rash, arrogant, and ambitious lawyer, senior to Sydney Carton
• The Seamstress – a young woman caught up in The Terror. She precedes Sydney Carton to the guillotine.
• Gabelle – man charged with keeping up the Evrémonde estate after the Marquis’s death, and is imprisoned by the revolutionaries.

Sydney Carton is a significant character in the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. ... Lucie Manette is a fictional character in Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities. ... Charles Darnay or St. ... Doctor Manette is a character in Charles Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities. ... Madame Defarge is the wife of Ernest Defarge and a tireless worker for the French Revolution in the book A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. ... Resurrectionists were grave robbers who dug up fresh corpses and sold them to be used in anatomy lectures in medical schools. ... The Seamstress is a character in Charles Dickenss A Tale of Two Cities. ...

Adaptations

There have been at least three feature films made based on the book:

• A Tale of Two Cities, a 1911 silent film.
• A Tale of Two Cities, a 1935 black and white movie starring Ronald Colman. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
• A Tale of Two Cities, a 1958 version, starring Dirk Bogarde.

In the 1981 film History of the World, Part I, the French Revolution segment appears to be a pastiche of A Tale of Two Cities. A Tale of Two Cities is a 1911 silent film directed by William J.Humphrey, loosely based on the novel by Charles Dickens. ... See also: 1910 in film 1911 1912 in film years in film film Events October 27: David Horsleys, Nestor Motion Picture Company opens the first motion picture studio in Hollywood. ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... A Tale of Two Cities is a 1935 film directed by Jack Conway and Robert Z. Leonard (uncredited), adapted by W.P. Lipscomb and S.N. Behrman from Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. ... See also: 1934 in film 1935 1936 in film 1930s in film years in film film Events Judy Garland signs a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). ... Black-and-white is a broad adjectival term used to describe a number of monochrome forms of visual arts. ... Ronald Colman (February 9, 1891 – May 19, 1958) was an Oscar-winning English actor. ... ©A.M.P.A.S.® The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to artists working in the motion picture industry. ... A Tale of Two Cities is a 1958 film of the Charles Dickens novel A Tale of Two Cities. ... The year 1958 in film involved some significant events. ... Sir Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde (28 March 1921 â€“ 8 May 1999), better known by his stage name Dirk Bogarde, was an actor and author. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... History of the World, Part I is a 1981 film written, produced and directed by Mel Brooks. ...

A Tale of Two Cities, Jill Santoriello's musical adaptation of A Tale of Two Cities performed at the Asolo Repertory Theatre in Sarasota, Florida, in October and November 2007. James Stacy Barbour and Jessica Rush were among the cast. A production of the musical is scheduled to begin previews on Broadway on August 19, 2008, opening on September 18 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre. No cast or creatives have been formally announced, although "Playbill.com" speculates that "Many of the Florida cast members are expected to be invited back". ^[1] Cà dZan - a 1925 Sarasota residence that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places Sarasota is a city located in Sarasota County on the central west coast of Florida, USA. Its official limits include Sarasota Bay and several barrier islands between the bay and the Gulf of... James Stacy Barbour For the Virginian statesman, see James Barbour. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... The Al Hirchfeld Theatre, 2006. ...

Also, the novel has been adapted by Takarazuka Revue, the all-female opera company in Japan as a musical. The first production was in 1984, starring Mao Daichi at the Grand Theater; and the second was in 2003, starring Jun Sena at the Bow Hall. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Daichi Mao born 5 February 1956 , Sumoto, Hyogo) is a Japanese stage actress . ... Jun Sena Jun Sena ) is the current top star (otokoyaku) for Moon Troupe of Takarazuka Revue. ...

The novel has also been adapted into a television movie in 1980, starring Chris Sarandon, and in 1989 Granada Television made a mini series starring John Mills, which was shown on American television as part of the PBS television series Masterpiece Theatre. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... John Mills as Professor Bernard Quatermass in the Thames Television science-fiction serial Quatermass (1979). ... Not to be confused with Public Broadcasting Services in Malta. ... Masterpiece Theatre is a long-running anthology television series produced by WGBH which premiered on PBS on January 10, 1971. ...

In the 1970 Monty Python's Flying Circus episode "The Attila the Hun Show", the sketch "The News for Parrots" included a scene of A Tale of Two Cities (As told for parrots). This article is about the television series. ... For the runtime engine for Perl 6, see Parrot virtual machine. ...

The children's television series Wishbone adapted the novel for the episode "A Tale of Two Sitters." Soccer as Wishbone, the little dog with a big imagination. ...

American author Susanne Alleyn's novel A Far Better Rest, a reimagining of A Tale of Two Cities from the point of view of Sydney Carton, was published in the USA in 2000.

In the film A Simple Wish, the protagonist's father Oliver (possibly a reference to another of Dickens' famous novels) is vying for a spot at his theater company's production of a musical of A Tale of Two Cities, of which we see the beginning and end, using the two famous quotes, including "It's a far, far better thing that I do now", as part of a few solos. A Simple Wish is a 1997 theatrical comedy about a bumbling male fairy godmother named Murray, who tries to help eight-year-old Anabel fulfil her wish that her father, a cab driver, win the leading role in a Broadway musical. ...

Diane Mayer's book, "Evremonde", which is the story of what happens to Charles and Lucie and their children after the French Revolution was published in the USA in 2005.

In 2006, Howard Goodall collaberated with Joanna Read in writing a musical adaptation of the novel. The central plot and characters were maintained, though Goodall relocated the action of the novel from the French Revolution to the Russian Revolution. Howard Goodall Howard Goodall (born 1958 in Bromley, South London) is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. ... The French Revolution (1789–1815) was a period of political and social upheaval in the political history of France and Europe as a whole, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based on... Russian Revolution can refer to: Russian Revolution (1905), a series of strikes against Tsar Nicholas II Russian Revolution (1917) February Revolution, resulting in the abdication of Nicholas II of Russia October Revolution, the Bolshevik seizure of power Third Russian Revolution, the failed anarchist revolution against the Bolsheviks and the White...

See also

• Political fiction

Social fiction (also called political fiction) is sub-genre of science fiction focused on possible development of societies (most often set in near future or a fictional country), very often dominated by totalitarian governments. ...

External links

• A Tale of Two Cities, available at Project Gutenberg.
• A Tale of Two Cities, full text with audio.
• Complete audio book at Librivox Project.
• A Tale of Two Cities Book Notes Summary.
• 'Dickens: A Tale of Two Cities', lecture by Dr. Tony Williams on the writing of the book, at Gresham College on 3rd July 2007 (with video and audio files available for download, as well as the transcript).
• Asolo Repertory Theatre and Beyond the Book - Asolo Rep's community literacy initiative to inspire reading and community connection featured A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens during the 2007-08 season

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

A Tale of Two Cities

v • d • e Works by Charles Dickens
Novels:	The Pickwick Papers (1836–1837) · Oliver Twist (1837–1839) · The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1838–1839) · The Old Curiosity Shop (1840–1841) · Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty (1841) · A Christmas Carol (1843) · Martin Chuzzlewit (1843–1844) · The Chimes (1844) · The Cricket on the Hearth (1845) · The Battle of Life (1846) · Dombey and Son (1846–1848) · The Haunted Man (1848) · David Copperfield (1849–1850) · Bleak House (1852–1853) · Hard Times (1854) · Little Dorrit (1855–1857) · A Tale of Two Cities (1859) · Great Expectations (1860–1861) · Our Mutual Friend (1864–1865) · The Mystery of Edwin Drood (unfinished) (1870)
Short stories:	"A Child's Dream of a Star" (1850) · "Captain Murderer" · "A Christmas Tree" (1850) · "What Christmas is, as We Grow Older" (1851) · "The Poor Relation's Story" (1852) · "The Child's Story" (1852) · "The Schoolboy's Story" (1853) · "Nobody's Story" (1853) · "The Seven Poor Travellers" (1854) · "The Holly-tree Inn" (1855) · "The Wreck of the Golden Mary" (1856) · "The Perils of Certain English Prisoners" (1857) · "Going into Society" (1858) · "The Haunted House" (1859) · "A Message from the Sea" (1860) · "Tom Tiddler's Ground" (1861) · "Somebody's Luggage" (1862) · "Mrs Lirriper's Lodgings" (1863) · "Mrs Lirriper's Legacy" (1864) · "Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions" (1865) · "Mugby Junction" (1866) · "No Thoroughfare" (1867) · "George Silverman's Explanation" · "Holiday Romance" · "Hunted Down" · "The Lamplighter" · "The Signal-Man" (1866) · "Sunday Under Three Heads" · "The Trial for Murder" · "A House to Let" (1858) · "The Long Voyage" (1853)
Other works	Sketches by Boz (1836) · Master Humphrey's Clock (1840–1841) · American Notes (1842) · Pictures from Italy (1844–1845) · The Life of Our Lord (1846, published in 1934) · A Child's History of England (1851–1853) · The Uncommercial Traveller (1860–1869) · In Memoriam W. M. Thackeray the first! · A Coal Miner's Evidence