''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a British-French

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

which first aired on

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

in 1989. It is an adaptation of the novel ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the ...

'' by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

.Baskin p.241

Plot summary

Selected cast

James Wilby James Jonathon Wilby (born 20 February 1958) is an English actor. Early life and education Wilby was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father. He was educated at Terrington Hall School, North Yorkshire and Sedbergh School in Cu ...

Sydney Carton Sydney Carton is a central character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel ''A Tale of Two Cities''. He is a shrewd young Englishman educated at Shrewsbury School, and sometime junior to his fellow barrister Stryver. Carton is portrayed as a brilliant ...

Xavier Deluc Xavier Deluc (born 18 March 1958) is a French actor, director and scriptwriter. He is most known for acting in TV series such as 'Marc Eliot' (a French police drama), Dolmen (Brittany based family drama) and 12 seasons of ' Research Unit' (anoth ...

Charles Darnay Charles Darnay, Charles D'Aulnais or Charles St. Evrémonde is a fictional character in the 1859 novel ''A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens. Overview Darnay is a wealthy gentleman who spends time in both France and England during the time o ...

* Serena Gordon as

Lucie Manette Lucie Manette is a character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel ''A Tale of Two Cities''. Overview Lucie is the daughter of Dr. Alexandre Manette. She is wise beyond her years, unfailingly kind, and loving. Her love and protection of her father is ...

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

Jarvis Lorry Jarvis Lorry is a character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel, ''A Tale of Two Cities''. Overview Jarvis Lorry is one of the oldest employees of Tellson's Bank, and he frequently deals with the bank's offices in London and Paris. He is a confirmed ...

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de guerre 1939–1945, Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Ea ...

Dr. Alexandre Manette Doctor Alexandre Manette is a character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel ''A Tale of Two Cities''. He is Lucie's father, a brilliant physician, and spent eighteen years "in secret" as a prisoner in the Bastille prior to the French Revolution. He is ...

Anna Massey Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, ha ...

Miss Pross Miss Pross is a character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel ''A Tale of Two Cities''. Miss Pross is the no-nonsense governess and friend of Lucie Manette. She is also the sister of Solomon Pross (later revealed to be the spy known as John Barsad). ...

* Kathy Kriegel as

Madame Defarge Madame Thérèse Defarge is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1859 novel ''A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens. She is a ringleader of the tricoteuses, a tireless worker for the French Revolution, memorably knitting besid ...

Alfred Lynch Alfred Cornelius Lynch (26 January 1931 – 16 December 2003) was an English actor on stage, film and television. Early life Lynch was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of a plumber. After attending a Catholic school, he worked in a drawing o ...

Jerry Cruncher Jeremiah "Jerry" Cruncher is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel ''A Tale of Two Cities''. Overview Jeremiah "Jerry" Cruncher is employed as a ''porter'' for Tellson's Bank of London. He earns extra money as a Resurrectionists ...

* Gérard Klein as Monsieur Defarge * Jonathan Adams as Stryver * Karl Johnson as Barsad *

Marie Bunel Marie Bunel (born 1961) is a French film and stage actress. Biography Bunel was born on 27 May 1961 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Val-de-Marne, France. She attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute in West Hollywood, California and took ...

as Peasant Girl * Gilles Gaston-Dreyfus as Road Mender *

François Lalande François Lalande (29 November 1930 – 1 September 2020) was an Algerian-born French actor. He had performed in the theatre, on television, and films. Filmography Cinema *''Un jour à Paris'' (1962) *''Yo Yo'' (1965) *''Le Gang'' (1977) *''La ...

as Gabelle * Claude Le Saché as Aristocrat *

André Maranne André Maranne (14 May 1926 – 12 April 2021) was a French-English actor best known for playing roles in English-language films beginning in the mid-1950s. Life and career Born André Gaston Maillol in Toulouse, France, Maranne's best known r ...

as Aristocrat * Nicolas Serreau as Jacques * Jean-Pierre Stewart as Public Prosecutor *

Michel Subor Michel Subor (, born Mischa Subotzki; 2 February 1935 – 17 January 2022) was a French actor who gained initial fame with the starring role in Jean-Luc Godard's second feature, ''Le petit soldat'' (1960), but the French government banned it un ...

as Le père de Darnay *

Jean-Marc Bory Jean-Marc Bory (17 March 1934 – 31 March 2001) was a Swiss actor. He appeared in 60 films and television shows between 1955 and 1996. Partial filmography * '' Black Dossier'' (1955) - Juge Jacques Arnaud * ''The Lovers'' (1958) - Bernard ...

as Marquis St. Evrémonde * Mary Healey as Mrs. Cruncher

References

Bibliography

* Ellen Baskin. ''Serials on British Television, 1950-1994''. Scolar Press, 1996.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tale of Two Cities (1989 Tv Series), A ITV television dramas 1989 British television series debuts 1989 British television series endings 1980s British drama television series Television series by ITV Studios Television shows produced by Granada Television English-language television shows Television series set in the 18th century Television shows based on works by Charles Dickens Works based on A Tale of Two Cities