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For the article about the Lost episode, please see A Tale of Two Cities (Lost) A Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a historical novel by Charles Dickens; it is moreover a moral novel strongly concerned with themes of guilt, shame, redemption and patriotism. Dickens' primary source for this historical novel is Thomas Carlyle's The French Revolution. The narrative is extraordinarily dependent upon correspondence as a medium for ensuring the flow of events, and while not an epistolary novel in the way that Pierre Choderlos de Laclos' Les Liaisons Dangereuses is, nevertheless, it is immediately apparent that the flow of letters forms a driving center to much of the narrative development in this novel. The novel covers a period in history between 1775 and 1793, from the American Revolution until the middle period of the French Revolution.
Plot summary The plot centers on the years leading up to French Revolution and culminates in the Jacobin Reign of Terror. It tells the story of two men, Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton, who look very alike but are entirely different in character. Darnay is a romantic descended from French aristocrats, while Carton is a cynical English barrister. The two are in love with the same woman, Lucie Manette: one of them will give up his life for her, and the other will marry her. Other major characters in the book include Dr. Alexandre Manette (Lucie's father) who was unjustly imprisoned in the infamous Bastille for many years prior to the commencement of the novel under a lettre de cachet and Madame Defarge, a female revolutionary with a grudge against Darnay's family. The twists and turns in the novel are sinuous. Originally written as a serial novel for publication in newspapers, the chapters open and close with great drama and mystery. Dickens' take on the French Revolution is balanced - he describes the horrors and atrocities committed on both sides. The two cities named in the title are London and Paris. Throughout the novel, pairs of people, places, etc. are compared and contrasted. The opening sentence, beginning with the line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," is one of the most famous in all literature. The final line, the thoughts of Sydney Carton, "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," is almost as famous. First Book - Recalled to Life The book starts off with the banker, Jarvis Lorry's, journey from London to Dover by coach. As the coach reaches the top of Shooter's Hill, near Greenwich, the travellers hear a horse approaching at a gallop. The rider, Jerry, is a messenger from Tellson’s Bank in London, and he has a message for one of the passengers, Mr. Jarvis Lorry, an employee of the bank and friend of his. Jerry is also seen later to be a wife-beater and a body snatcher. Mr. Lorry reads the message, which states, “Wait at Dover for Mam’selle.” Mr. Lorry tells Jerry to return the answer, “Recalled to Life,” and the coach continues on its way. As Jerry gallops back to London, he muses over Mr. Lorry’s mysterious response. As the coach rattles its way toward Dover, Mr. Lorry dozes restlessly, reflecting upon his mission, “to dig some one out of a grave” who has been “buried alive for eighteen years.” He envisions what the face of the man must look like and contemplates how severely the years may have affected him. Haunted by visions of the man’s face, Mr. Lorry imagines a dialogue in which he repeatedly asks the man, “I hope you care to live?” and the man always responds, “I can’t say.” Mr. Lorry arrives at the Royal George Hotel in Dover in the late morning. After freshening up, he spends the day relaxing and meditating on his mission while he waits for the young woman, Lucie Manette, to arrive. When Lucie arrives, Mr. Lorry introduces himself and proceeds to divulge the nature of her involvement in his current business in Paris. Apparently Lucie’s father, Doctor Manette, whom she believed to be dead, is alive, and has been secretly imprisoned in Paris for the past eighteen years. The French authorities have recently released Doctor Manette, and Tellson’s Bank is sending Mr. Lorry to identify the Doctor (who was one of Tellson’s clients) and bring him to the safety of England. As the Doctor’s daughter, Lucie will be responsible for caring for him and nursing him back to health. The story shocks Lucie; when Mr. Lorry tries to comfort her, she simply stares at him, gripping his arm. Concerned by her numbed state, Mr. Lorry calls for help. A large, red-haired woman, Miss Pross (Lucie's caretaker and the servant of the Manettes) runs into the room, shoves Mr. Lorry away from Lucie and into a wall, and begins yelling at the inn’s servants to bring "smelling salts, vinegar, and cold water". Later, Mr. Lorry and Lucie go to Paris and visit a wine shop where they have a brief discussion with a Monsieur Defarge. They then follow him upstairs to the fifth floor chamber, where three men are peering inside through holes in the wall. Monsieur Defarge unlocks the door, and he, Mr. Lorry, and Lucie enter the room. Inside the darkened room, they see a white-haired man sitting on a bench making shoes. The white-haired man is Doctor Manette and, being in a state of delirium from having been imprisoned for so long, does not even know that he is being released. When asked his name, he responds, “105 North Tower." Lucie Manette, full of pity for her father, comes up to him to try to comfort him. When her father sees her golden hair, he realises that it is the same as that of his wife. Soon after Lucie has calmed her father, Monsieur Defarge helps Mr. Lorry and Lucie to remove Doctor Manette from the city. Second Book - The Golden Thread Five years pass, and Dr. Manette recovers somewhat under the care and attention of his daughter, in London. Charles Darnay, an emigre, is tried at the Old Bailey for spying. Those testifying against him are a John Barsad and a Roger Cly, who claim that he had been reporting the conditions of English troops in North America to the French government. Lucie Manette and her father also testify reluctantly against Darnay because he had sailed with them on their return trip from France to England. Darnay is, in the end, released on account of the fact that the people implicating him are unable to discern the difference between him and his lawyer Mr. Stryver's assistant, Sydney Carton. Carton is depicted unflatteringly as a drunkard; conversely Darnay is set out as a handsome and gallant victim of the unfair attentions of a deficient British legal process. After seeing Lucie's sympathy for Charles Darnay during his trial, Sydney Carton becomes enamoured with her and jealous of Darnay because her compassion for him, wishing that it was for himself. In Paris, the Marquis St. Evrémonde, a relative of Charles Darnay, returning from an audience in the home of one of the 'greatest lords in France' (Monseigneur) in his coach runs over the child of the peasant Gaspard and kills it; he throws a coin to Gaspard to compensate him for his loss; in the assembled crowd is the implacable face of the tricoteuse, Madame Defarge. Madame Defarge throws the money back, enraging the Marquis and leading him to exclaim that he would willingly kill any of the peasants of France. On his way back to his château, the Marquis passes through a village, where a mender of roads tells him that he saw a man clinging to the bottom of his carriage. The Marquis has his servant investigate, but discovers nothing and continues on his way. Charles Darnay returns to France to meet his uncle, the Marquis. Darnay and the Marquis' political positions are diametrically opposed: Darnay is a democrat and the Marquis is an adherent of the ancient regime. Dickens paints the Marquis black, as for example in this excerpt from their conversation: "There is not," pursued the nephew, in his former tone, "a face I can look at, in all this country round about us, which looks at me with any deference on it but the dark deference of fear and slavery." "A compliment," said the Marquis, "to the grandeur of the family, merited by the manner in which the family has sustained its grandeur. Hah!" And he took another gentle little pinch of snuff, and lightly crossed his legs. But, when his nephew, leaning an elbow on the table, covered his eyes thoughtfully and dejectedly with his hand, the fine mask looked at him sideways with a stronger concentration of keenness, closeness, and dislike, than was comportable with its wearer's assumption of indifference. "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, who was the man who had been underneath the Marquis' carriage, has his revenge upon the Marquis and murders him in his sleep. He leaves a note upon the dagger he drove through the Marquis' heart, saying "Drive him fast to his tomb. This, from Jacques." Later, he is captured and hung for his crime. Returning to England, Darnay asks Dr. Manette for his consent in wedding Lucie. Against Darnay's suit, Dickens complicates the matter by injecting that of Stryver, Carton's patron, by way of comic interlude, and more seriously, that of Carton himself. Carton is the only one of the three suitors to reveal his feelings directly to Lucie--Stryver is convinced of the futility of his matrimonial pursuit by Mr. Lorry, and Darnay proposes the marriage to Dr. Manette who acts as an intermediary. During their conference, Darnay agrees to reveal his true surname to Dr. Manette on the morning of his marriage to Lucie, if it occurs. Carton confesses his love to Lucie but tells her that he will not act on it because he knows he is incapable of making her happy. He tells her that she has inspired him to lead a better life, but he has no energy to act. He promises her that he will "embrace any sacrifice" for her or one that she loves. In Paris, Monsieur and Madame Defarge foment Jacobin sympathies; in her knitting, Madame Defarge enciphers the lists of those who are to be killed when the revolution occurs. They learn, from an informant within the police that a spy is to be quartered in Saint Antoine, John Barsad, one of those who gave false testimony against Charles Darnay in his treason trial. Madame Defarge takes the long view as opposed to her husband who is desperate for immediacy in bringing on the revolution. The following morning Barsad entered the Defarge's wine shop; Madame Defarge recognises him instantly from the description which she had been given. Barsad is acting as an agent provocateur and strives to lure Madame Defarge into controversial conversation, trying to get her to discuss the impending execution of the unfortunate Gaspard who had been taken prisoner. During the course of his conversation, he mentions that Darnay is to be married to Lucie Manette. On the morning of Darnay's marriage to Lucie Manette, Darnay, at Dr. Manette's request, reveals who his family is, a detail which Dr. Manette had asked him to withhold until such time. Unfortunately this unhinges Dr. Manette who again reverts to his obsessional shoemaking. After some time, Jarvis Lorry is able to bring him around and he is restored to his right mind before Lucie returns from her honeymoon, and, to prevent his further relapse, destroys the shoemaking bench which Dr. Manette had brought back with him from his captivity in France. Later in time in the narrative, in mid-July 1789, Jarvis Lorry visits Lucie and Charles at home and tells them of the curious and inexplicable uneasiness in Paris. Dickens then promptly cuts to the Saint Antoine fauborg to enlighten the reader: they are storming the Bastille, Monsieur and Madame Defarge leading their cohorts into action. With the Bastille in their hands, Monsieur Defarge heads for the cell which contained Dr. Manette. He finds his initials inscribed in the wall and digs down beneath them and uncovers a manuscript which Dr. Manette had written in his confinement, condemning the Evremondes, pere et fils, for the wrongful imprisonment he had endured and the destruction of his family. Dickens' depiction of the seizure of the Bastille is nothing if not balanced; he portrays the joy of the prisoners at their release and does not shirk from detailing the cost which is exacted upon their jailers. A letter arrives in the summer of 1792 at Tellson's bank, addressed to the heir of the Marquis of Evremonde, who is unknown to the bank, the secret of Darnay's true identity reposing between himself and Dr. Manette. The letter is addressed from the Prison of the Abbaye, Paris, and recounts the tale of the imprisonment of one of the Marquis' retainers, Gabelle, and beseeches the new Marquis to come to his aid. By chance the letter falls into Darnay's possession. He makes plans to travel to a revolutionary Paris in which the Terror runs bloody riot, blithely indifferent to the consequences of his actions. Darnay is naive in thinking that he can make any change for the better, when the origins and politics of the revolution are far larger than he is. Jarvis Lorry is sent on ahead with a (cryptic) message to the imprisoned Gabelle that he is on his way. Third Book - The Track of a Storm In Beauvais, erstwhile home of Dr. Manette, Darnay is denounced by the revolutionaries as an emigrant, an aristocrat, and a traitor, however his military escort brings him safely to Paris where he is imprisoned. Dr. Manette and Lucie along with Miss Pross, Jerry Cruncher, and the child of Charles and Lucie Darnay, "Little Lucie", after having heard about Darnay's departure from a letter he left them, leave London for Paris and meet up with Mr. Lorry soon after arrival. When it is discovered that Darnay had been put in prison, Dr. Manette decides to try to use his influence as a former Bastille prisoner to have his son-in-law freed. Dr. Manette protects his son-in-law from being murdered on the night mobs murdered thousands of prisoners. After a year and three months, Dr. Manette defends Darnay during the book's second trial and Charles is acquitted of his charges. However, on the evening of the same day, Darnay is taken to be put back on trial under new charges imposed by the Defarges and one unnamed other. While Miss Pross and Mr. Cruncher are on their way to the market, they stop at a tavern to buy wine. Inside, Miss Pross encounters one whom she recognizes as her long lost brother, Solomon Pross, as a revolutionary official. She is naturally grieved by this, and as her brother is not happy to see her, she is given further grief. Jerry Cruncher then recognizes him as John Barsad, who testified against Darnay in England, and Sydney Carton, who, to the surprise of the two, has come to Paris, and has just approached them, confirms this. He then asks Solomon Pross to come with him to Mr. Lorry's residence, where he tells him that he knows that he is a spy, as he overheard his conversation inside the tavern, and a double agent, working for both the French and British governments at different times, and that he has the power to report him to French authorities and is willing to do so unless he gives in to his demands. Pross reluctantly gives in to Carton's demands, which he conveys to him privately. When Darnay is brought back before the revolutionary tribunal, he is confronted by Defarge, who identifies Darnay as the Marquis St. Evremonde and reads from the paper which he found in Dr. Manette's cell. The paper is a letter describing how he had been locked away in the Bastille by the deceased Marquis Evremonde and his twin brother for trying to report their cruelty to a peasant girl, whom the said the younger brother of the Marquis had become infatuated with, and her family. The younger brother of the Marquis had kidnapped and raped a girl, not before killing her husband, brother, and father. The brother had moved the last remaining member of the family, the youngest daughter, to "somewhere safe." The paper concludes by condemning the Evremondes and all of their descendants, therefore adding Dr. Manette's condemnation to those of the Defarges. Darnay is consigned to the prison La Force, and is to be guillotined within twenty-four hours. Shortly before Darnay's being sentenced to death, Carton, while wandering the streets at night, stops at the wine shop of Monsieur Defarge, where he overhears Madame Defarge talking about her plans to have Darnay's entire family condemned. Carton discovers that Madame Defarge was related to the sister mentioned in Dr. Manette's letter and that Madame Defarge was the youngest sister. He quickly returns to Mr. Lorry and reports this to him, encouraging him and the others to leave France as soon as possible. Mr. Lorry agrees to have them ready to leave, however Carton tells him that he would like to visit Darnay at the prison tomorrow before their departure. On the day of his execution, Darnay is visited by Carton, who, because of his love for Lucie, offers to trade places with him, as the two look very much alike, and die in his place. As Darnay is not willing to comply, Carton drugs him while Charles is writing a letter, and has him taken to the carriage waiting for himself. The spy, Barsad, tells Carton to remain true to their promise and Darnay, Dr. Manette, Mr. Lorry, Lucie, and her child then make haste to leave France. Darnay uses Carton's papers to pass inspections and we are to assume that they make it safely to England. Miss Pross and Mr. Cruncher, who had not left with the others, now prepare to depart from France. Meanwhile, Madame Defarge, the sister of the girl whom the Evremondes had harmed, heads towards the residence of Lucie and her family, desiring to have them condemned and believing that if she can catch them in the act of mourning for Darnay, that they can be held accountable for sympathizing with an enemy of the Republic. Miss Pross sends Mr. Cruncher out to fetch a carriage and, while he is away, is confronted by Madame Defarge. Knowing that if Madame Defarge knows that they are departing, she can have Lucie and the others stopped and brought back to Paris, Miss Pross causes her to suspect that they are in a certain room by closing the door to it and placing herself in front of it. Madame Defarge orders her to move away from the door, but she refuses. A struggle then breaks out between the two, which ends with Madame Defarge being shot and killed by her own pistol. Miss Pross leaves the residence, locking its door after her and throwing its key into the Seine River, and meets up with Jerry Cruncher; the two begin their departure. As they begin to depart, Miss Pross realizes that she has been deafened by the sound of the gunshot from Madame Defarge's pistol. The novel concludes with the death of Sydney Carton. It is stated at the end of the novel that, before his death, if Carton had expressed his thoughts and they had been prophetic, they would have included such happenings as Monsieur Defarge being sent himself to the guillotine, and a future child of Charles and Lucie Darnay being named after Carton. "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." Characters in "A Tale of Two Cities" Film, TV or theatrical adaptations A Tale of Two Cities has been filmed at least 13 times for film and television. Notable productions: Pop culture Trivia See also | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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