
A Tale of Two Cities
'A Tale of Two Cities' Summary
The year is 1775, and social ills plague both France and England. Jerry Cruncher, an odd-job man who works for Tellson’s Bank, stops the Dover mail-coach with an urgent message for Jarvis Lorry. The message instructs Lorry to wait at Dover for a young woman, and Lorry responds with the cryptic words, “Recalled to Life.” At Dover, Lorry is met by Lucie Manette, a young orphan whose father, a once-eminent doctor whom she supposed dead, has been discovered in France. Lorry escorts Lucie to Paris, where they meet Defarge, a former servant of Doctor Manette, who has kept Manette safe in a garret. Driven mad by eighteen years in the Bastille, Manette spends all of his time making shoes, a hobby he learned while in prison. Lorry assures Lucie that her love and devotion can recall her father to life, and indeed they do.
The year is now 1780. Charles Darnay stands accused of treason against the English crown. A bombastic lawyer named Stryver pleads Darnay’s case, but it is not until his drunk, good-for-nothing colleague, Sydney Carton, assists him that the court acquits Darnay. Carton clinches his argument by pointing out that he himself bears an uncanny resemblance to the defendant, which undermines the prosecution’s case for unmistakably identifying Darnay as the spy the authorities spotted. Lucie and Doctor Manette watched the court proceedings, and that night, Carton escorts Darnay to a tavern and asks how it feels to receive the sympathy of a woman like Lucie. Carton despises and resents Darnay because he reminds him of all that he himself has given up and might have been.
Book Details
Language
EnglishOriginal Language
EnglishPublished In
1859Genre/Category
Tags/Keywords
Authors

Charles Dickens
England
Charles Dickens created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Charles John Huffam Dickens was born on 7 February 18...
Books by Charles DickensDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
Related books

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin by Elizabeth Robins Pennell
This biography of Mary Wollstonecraft by Elizabeth Robins Pennell offers a detailed account of the life of this pioneering feminist and author. Pennel...

French Revolution: A History. Volume 3: The Guillotine by Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle's third and final volume of his history of the French Revolution covers the period known as the Terror, a time of great violence and up...

French History for English Children by Caroline Emelia Stephen
This book, aimed at young English readers, provides a concise overview of French history from its beginnings in ancient Gaul through the late 19th cen...

Royal Son and Mother by Pauline von Hugel
This biography tells the story of Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin, a Russian aristocrat who renounced his privileged life to become a Catholic priest an...

Middlemarch by George Eliot
Middlemarch, A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by the English author Mary Anne Evans, who wrote as George Eliot. It first appeared in eight instal...

French Revolution by Hilaire Belloc
This book is a historical analysis of the French Revolution by Hilaire Belloc. Belloc argues that the Revolution was a deliberate act of evil by the F...

French Revolution Volume 1 the Bastille by Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle's "The French Revolution: A History" is a comprehensive three-volume work that chronicles the course of the French Revolution from 1789...

Saints and Heroes Since the Middle Ages Volume 2 by George Hodges
This book explores the lives of fourteen prominent figures in Christian history, ranging from the Reformation era to the 18th century. Each chapter fo...

Iracema by Jose de Alencar
Iracema is a classic Brazilian novel that tells the story of a love affair between a Native American warrior woman, Iracema, and a Portuguese colonize...

The Crucifixion of Philip Strong by Charles M. Sheldon
What would you do if you woke up one day and found yourself crucified? Philip Strong is a wealthy and successful businessman who has it all: money, p...
Reviews for A Tale of Two Cities
Thought provoking