Charles Darnay, Charles D'Aulnais or Charles St. Evrémonde is a fictional character in the 1859 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 ...

Overview

Darnay is a wealthy

gentleman A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

who spends time in both France and England during the time of the story. However, he resents how the

lower classes A social class is a grouping of people into a set of hierarchical social categories, the most common being the upper, middle and lower classes. Membership in a social class can for example be dependent on education, wealth, occupation, inco ...

are extorted and kept in extreme poverty by the

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...

. Darnay specifically resents the views of his uncle, Marquis St. Evrémonde, who has no respect for the people in poverty. He abandons his own family name in favor of his mother's, D'Aulnais, which he later alters to "Darnay"; relocating to London, he finds work as a tutor of French language and literature. Darnay is put on trial for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

against the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...

, but the key eyewitness testimony against him is undermined when his defense counsel directs attention to

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 ...

, a barrister who has been assisting in the case. The two men bear a strong resemblance to one another, and Darnay is acquitted as a result. Later, Darnay succeeds his uncle as Marquis when the latter is stabbed to death in his sleep by a French revolutionary. Both Darnay and Carton express their love for Lucie Manette, but Darnay courts and marries her. As the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

begins, Darnay is arrested and brought before a tribunal, where the crimes of his uncle and father are brought to light. He is sentenced to death by

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at th ...

, and bravely accepts his fate. However, Carton then takes his place (rendering Darnay unconscious so that he cannot refuse his help) so that he and his family can escape. Later, Lucie and Charles have a son whom they call Sydney in honour of their friend.

Cinematic and theatrical portrayals

In the 1935

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

film adaptation, Charles Darnay is portrayed by

Donald Woods Donald James Woods (15 December 1933 – 19 August 2001) was a South African journalist and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. As editor of the ''Daily Dispatch'', he was known for befriending fellow activist Steve Bik ...

. In the 1958

The Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...

film adaptation, Charles Darnay is portrayed by

Paul Guers Paul Guers (19 December 1927 – 27 November 2016) was a French film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1955 and 1996. He starred in the 1963 film '' Kali Yug: Goddess of Vengeance''. He was born in Tours, France and died in Montsoreau. ...

. In the 1989 ''

Masterpiece Theatre ''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH-TV, WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaim ...

'' television adaptation, Charles Darnay is played by

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 ...

. In the 2008 Broadway musical/play adaptation of ''

'', Charles Darnay is played by

Aaron Lazar Aaron Scott Lazar is an American actor, artist and entrepreneur. Early life and education Lazar was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Lazar is of Jewish descent. He graduated from Cherry Hill High School West where he first started singing and per ...

External links

"Cliffnotes" article on Charles Darnay

Literary characters introduced in 1859 A Tale of Two Cities characters Fictional marquesses and marchionesses Fictional French people in literature Characters in British novels Male characters in film Male characters in literature Fictional people sentenced to death {{novel-char-stub