
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

The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper
The Deerslayer, or The First War-Path (1841) was James Fenimore Cooper's last novel in his Leatherstocking Tales. Its 1740-1745 time period makes it t...

O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
O Pioneers! is a 1913 novel by American author Willa Cather, written while she was living in New York. This is her second published novel.

Vital Question, or, What is to be Done? by Nikolai Chernyshevsky
'What Is To Be Done?' is a novel by Nikolai Chernyshevsky, written during his imprisonment in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. The novel...

Lost Continent by C. J. Cutcliffe Hyne
The book tells the tale of decline and fall of Atlantis, which for centuries had been the center of the world. The tablets’ author, Deucalion, chronic...

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...

Sämtliche Schriften 1911-1921, Teil 6 by Carl von Ossietzky
This volume, part of a larger collection of Carl von Ossietzky's writings, focuses on his work from 1911 to 1921. It contains articles, essays, and cr...

The Lives of the Queens of England Volume 6 by Agnes Strickland
From the shadows of obscurity, Agnes Strickland emerged as a queen who defied the limits of her time. With her fierce intellect and unshakable resolve...

Bible (WEB) NT 02: The Good News According to Mark by World English Bible
Mark's Gospel is certainly the shortest, and possibly the earliest of the four canonical gospels. It covers Jesus' life from his Baptism to his Resurr...

The Chronicles of America Volume 12 - Washington and his Comrades in Arms by George Wrong
Embark on a captivating journey into the heart of the American Revolution, as "Washington and his Comrades in Arms," Volume 12 of "The Chronicles of A...

The Mormon Battalion, Its History and Achievements by B. H. Roberts
This is a captivating book that delves into the remarkable journey of the Mormon Battalion, a unique military unit composed of Latter-day Saint volun...
Reviews for A Tale of Two Cities
Thought provoking