Books - A Tale of Two Cities

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	Books - A Tale of Two Cities

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 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 la Clos' 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 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. 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 the hill, 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 France 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, “One Hundred and Five, 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 a little girl whom he once held in his arms long ago, and, therefore, recognises Lucie to be his daughter. Soon after Lucie has calmed her father, Monsieur Defarge helps Mr. Lorry and Lucie to remove Doctor Manette from the city.

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Books - A Tale of Two Cities

Plot summary

First Book - Recalled to Life

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