historical novel
Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...
published in 1859 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 ...
, set in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
before and during 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 conside ...
. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in the
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
in Paris, and his release to live in London with his daughter Lucie whom he had never met. The story is set against the conditions that led up to the French Revolution and the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First French Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public Capital punishment, executions took pl ...
. In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedia of Adventure Fiction'', critic
Don D'Ammassa
Donald Eugene D'Ammassa (born April 24, 1946) is an American fantasy, science fiction and horror critic and author.adventure novel
Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction.
History
In the Introduction to the ''Encycloped ...
because the protagonists are in constant danger of being imprisoned or killed.
As Dickens's best-known work of historical fiction, ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is said to be one of the best-selling novels of all time. In 2003, the novel was ranked 63rd on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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The Big Read
The Big Read was a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, where over three-quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel of all time. The year-long survey w ...
poll. The novel has been adapted for film, television, radio, and the stage, and has continued to influence popular culture.
Synopsis
Book the First: Recalled to Life
Opening lines
Dickens opens the novel with a sentence that has become famous:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Plot of the first book
In 1775, a man flags down the nightly mail-coach en route from London to
Dover
Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
. The man is
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 resurrection man ...
, an employee of Tellson's Bank in London; he carries a message for
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 confi ...
, one of the bank's managers. Lorry sends Jerry back with the cryptic response "Recalled to Life", referring to
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. H ...
, a French physician who has been released from the
Bastille
The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...
after an 18-year imprisonment. On arrival in Dover, Lorry meets Dr Manette's daughter
Lucie
Lucie is the French and Czech form of the female name Lucia. Notable people with the name include:
Given name
* Lucie Ahl, British tennis player
* Lucie Arnaz, American actress
* Lucie Aubrac, member of the French Resistance
* Lucie Baltha ...
and her governess,
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).
...
. Believing her father to be dead, Lucie faints at the news that he is alive. Lorry takes her to France for a reunion.
In the Paris neighbourhood of the
Faubourg Saint-Antoine
The Faubourg Saint-Antoine was one of the traditional suburbs of Paris, France.
It grew up to the east of the Bastille around the abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs, and ran along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine.
Location
The Faubourg Saint-An ...
, Dr Manette has been given lodgings by his former servant Ernest Defarge and his wife Therese, the owners of a wine shop. Lorry and Lucie find him in a small garret where he spends much of his time distractedly and obsessively making shoes – a skill he learned in prison. Lorry and Lucie take him back to England.
is on trial in London for treason against the British Crown. The key witnesses against him are two British spies, John Barsad and Roger Cly. Barsad claims that he would recognise Darnay anywhere, but Darnay's lawyer points out that his colleague in court,
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 ...
, bears a strong resemblance to the prisoner. With Barsad's testimony thus undermined, Darnay is acquitted.
In Paris, the hated and abusive
orders his carriage driven recklessly fast through the crowded streets, hitting and killing a child. The Marquis throws a coin to the child's father, Gaspard, to compensate him for his loss; as the Marquis drives on, a coin is flung back into the carriage.
Arriving at his country
château
A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions.
No ...
storming of the Bastille
The Storming of the Bastille (french: Prise de la Bastille ) occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, when revolutionary insurgents stormed and seized control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison known as the Bastille. A ...
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 conside ...
. Darnay receives a letter from Gabelle, one of his uncle's former servants who has been imprisoned by the revolutionaries, pleading for the Marquis to help secure his release. Without telling his family or revealing his position as the new Marquis, Darnay also sets out for Paris.
Book the Third: The Track of a Storm
Plot of the third book
Shortly after Darnay's arrival in Paris, he is denounced as an illegal emigrated aristocrat and jailed in
La Force Prison
La Force Prison was a French prison located in the Rue du Roi de Sicile, in what is now the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Originally known as the Hôtel de la Force, the buildings formed the private residence of Henri-Jacques Nompar de Caumont, du ...
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 t ...
the next afternoon.
In the Defarges' wine shop, Carton discovers that Madame Defarge was the surviving sister of the peasant family, and he overhears her planning to denounce both Lucie and her daughter. He visits Lorry and warns him that Lucie and her family must be ready to flee the next day. He extracts a promise that Lorry and the family will be waiting for him in the carriage at 2 pm, ready to leave the very instant he returns.
Shortly before the executions are due to begin, Carton puts his plan into effect and, with Barsad's reluctant assistance, obtains access to Darnay's prison cell. Carton intends to be executed in Darnay's place. He drugs Darnay and trades clothes with him, then has Barsad carry Darnay out to the carriage where Lorry and the family are expecting Carton. They flee to England with Darnay, who gradually regains consciousness during the journey.
Meanwhile, Madame Defarge goes to Lucie's lodgings, hoping to apprehend her and her daughter. There she finds Miss Pross, who is waiting for Jerry so they can follow the family out of Paris. The two women struggle and Madame Defarge's pistol discharges, killing her outright and permanently deafening Miss Pross.
As Carton waits to board the
tumbril
A tumbrel (alternatively tumbril) is a two-wheeled cart or wagon typically designed to be hauled by a single horse or ox. Their original use was for agricultural work; in particular they were associated with carrying manure. Their most infamous u ...
that will take him to his execution, he is approached by another prisoner, a seamstress. Carton comforts her, telling her that their ends will be quick and that the worries of their lives will not follow them into "the better land where ...
hey
Hey or Hey! may refer to:
Music
* Hey (band), a Polish rock band
Albums
* ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014
* ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980
* ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
will be mercifully sheltered." A final prophetic thought runs through his mind in which he visualises a better future for the family and their descendants.
Closing lines
Dickens closes with Carton's final prophetic vision as he contemplates the guillotine:Dickens 2003, p. 390 (Book 3, Chapter 15)
Characters
In order of appearance:
Book the First (November 1775)
Chapter 2
*
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 resurrection man ...
: Porter and messenger for Tellson's Bank and secret "Resurrection Man" (
body-snatcher
Body snatching is the illicit removal of corpses from graves, morgues, and other burial sites. Body snatching is distinct from the act of grave robbery as grave robbing does not explicitly involve the removal of the corpse, but rather theft from ...
); though rough and abusive towards his wife, he provides courageous service to the Manettes in Book the Third. His first name is short for Jeremiah; the latter name shares a meaning with the name of Jarvis Lorry.
*
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 confi ...
: A manager at Tellson's Bank: "...a gentleman of 60 ... Very orderly and methodical he looked ... He had a good leg, and was a little vain of it..." He is a dear friend of Dr Manette and serves as a sort of trustee and guardian of the Manette family. The bank places him in charge of the Paris branch during the Revolution, putting him in position to provide life-saving service to the Manettes in Book the Third. The end of the book reveals that he lives to be 88.
Chapter 4
*
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 wh ...
: Daughter of Dr Manette; an ideal pre-Victorian lady, perfect in every way. About 17 when the novel begins, she is described as short and slight with a "pretty figure, a quantity of golden hair, a pair of blue eyes..." Although Sydney Carton is in love with her, he declares himself an unsuitable candidate for her hand in marriage and instead she marries Charles Darnay, with whom she is very much in love, and bears him a daughter. However, Lucie genuinely cares about Carton's welfare and defends him when he is criticised by others. She is the "golden thread" after whom Book the Second is named, so called because she holds her father's and her family's lives together (and because of her blonde hair like her mother's). She also ties nearly every character in the book together.
Chapter 5
* Monsieur Defarge: Given name Ernest, he is the owner of a Paris wine shop and leader of the
Jacquerie
The Jacquerie () was a popular revolt in late-medieval Europe, popular revolt by peasants that took place in northern France in the early summer of 1358 during the Hundred Years' War. The revolt was centred in the valley of the Oise (river), O ...
. "A bull-necked, martial-looking man of thirty ... He was a dark man altogether, with good eyes and a good bold breadth between them." He is devoted to Dr Manette having been his servant as a youth. One of the key Revolutionary leaders, in which he is known as Jacques Four, he embraces the Revolution as a noble cause, unlike many other revolutionaries. Though he truly believes in the principles of the Revolution, Defarge is far more moderate than some of the other participants (notably his wife).
*
Chapter 1
* Mrs Cruncher: Wife of Jerry Cruncher. She is a very religious woman, but her husband, somewhat paranoid, claims she is praying (what he calls "flopping") against him, and that is why he does not often succeed at work. Jerry often verbally and, almost as often, physically abuses her, but at the end of the story, he appears to feel somewhat guilty about this.
* Young Jerry Cruncher: Son of Jerry and Mrs Cruncher. Young Jerry often follows his father around to his father's odd jobs, and at one point in the story, follows his father at night and discovers that his father is a Resurrection Man. Young Jerry looks up to his father as a role model and aspires to become a Resurrection Man himself when he grows up.
Chapter 2
*
John Barsad John Barsad is a character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel, ''A Tale of Two Cities''.
Overview
Barsad is a turncoat, English con-man, and spy, and partner of Roger Cly. In the pay of the Marquis St. Evremonde, he initially frames the Marquis' nephe ...
Revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
, he becomes an agent for Revolutionary France (at which point he must hide his British identity). Although a man of low character, his position as a spy allows him to arrange for Sydney Carton's final heroic act (after Carton blackmails him with revealing his duplicity).
* Roger Cly: Barsad's collaborator in spying and giving questionable testimony. Following his chaotic funeral procession in Book the Second, Chapter 14, his coffin is dug up by Jerry Cruncher and his fellow Resurrection Men. In Book the Third, Jerry Cruncher reveals that in fact the casket contained only rocks and that Cly was clearly still alive and no doubt carrying on his spying activities.
* Mr Stryver: An ambitious barrister, senior partner to Sydney Carton. "... a man of little more than thirty, but looking twenty years older than he was, stout, loud, red, bluff, and free from any drawback of delicacy..."; he wants to marry Lucie Manette because he believes that she is attractive enough. However, he is not truly in love with her and in fact treats her condescendingly. Jarvis Lorry suggests that marrying Lucie would be unwise and Stryver, after thinking it over, talks himself out of it, later marrying a rich widow instead.
*
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 quick-minded and highly intelligent but depressed English barrister, referred to by Dickens as "The Jackal" because of his deference to Stryver. When introduced, he is a hard-drinking cynic, having watched Stryver advance while never taking advantage of his own considerable gifts: Dickens writes that the sun rose "upon no sadder sight than the man of good abilities and good emotions, incapable of their directed exercise, incapable of his own help and his own happiness, sensible to the blight on him, and resigning himself to let it eat him away." In love with Lucie Manette, she cares about him but more as a concerned mother figure than a potential mate. He ultimately becomes a selfless hero, redeeming everything by sacrificing his life for a worthy cause.
Chapter 6
*
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).
...
: Lucie Manette's governess since Lucie was 10 years old: "... one of those unselfish creatures—found only among women—who will, for pure love and admiration, bind themselves willing slaves, to youth when they have lost it, to beauty that they never had..." She is fiercely loyal to Lucie and to England. She believes her long-lost brother Solomon, now the spy and perjurer John Barsad, is "the one man worthy of Ladybird," ignoring the fact that he "was a heartless scoundrel who had stripped her of everything she possessed, as a stake to speculate with, and had abandoned her in her poverty for evermore..." She is not afraid to physically fight those she believes are endangering the people she loves. She permanently loses her hearing when the fatal pistol shot goes off during her climactic fight with Madame Defarge.
Chapter 7
* "Monseigneur": An unnamed generic aristocrat whose extraordinary decadence and self-absorption, described in detail, are used by Dickens to characterise the ''
salt tax
A salt tax refers to the direct taxation of salt, usually levied proportionately to the volume of salt purchased. The taxation of salt dates as far back as 300BC, as salt has been a valuable good used for gifts and religious offerings since 6050B ...
While performing in ''The Frozen Deep'', Dickens was given a play to read called ''The Dead Heart'' by
Watts Phillips
Watts Phillips (16 November 1825 – 2 December 1874) was an English illustrator, novelist and playwright best known for his play ''The Dead Heart'', which served as a model for Charles Dickens' '' A Tale of Two Cities''.
In a memoir, his sister ...
which had the historical setting, the basic storyline, and the climax that Dickens used in ''A Tale of Two Cities''. The play was produced while ''A Tale of Two Cities'' was being serialised in ''All the Year Round'' and led to talk of plagiarism.
Other sources are '' The French Revolution: A History'' by
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy.
Born in Ecclefechan, ...
(especially important for the novel's rhetoric and symbolism); ''Zanoni'' by
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whigs (British political party), Whig member of Parl ...
The House of St Barnabas
The House of St Barnabas, at 1 Greek Street, Soho, is a Grade I Listed Georgian building in London notable for its rococo plasterwork interiors and for other architectural features.
Since 1862 the House has been run as a charity to help those ...
, forms the basis for Dr Manette and Lucie's London house.
In a building at the back, attainable by a courtyard where a plane tree rustled its green leaves, church organs claimed to be made, and likewise gold to be beaten by some mysterious giant who had a golden arm starting out of the wall ... as if he had beaten himself precious.
The "golden arm" (an
arm-and-hammer symbol
The arm and hammer is a symbol consisting of a muscular arm holding a hammer. Used in ancient times as a symbol of the god Vulcan, it came to be known as a symbol of industry, for example blacksmithing and gold-beating. It has been used as ...
, an ancient sign of the gold-beater's craft) is now housed at the
Charles Dickens Museum
The Charles Dickens Museum is an author's house museum at 48 Doughty Street in King's Cross, in the London Borough of Camden. It occupies a typical Georgian terraced house which was Charles Dickens's home from 25 March 1837 (a year after his ...
, but a modern replica could be seen sticking out of the wall near the Pillars of Hercules pub at the western end of
Manette Street
Manette Street is a small street in the Soho area of London, linking the Charing Cross Road to Greek Street. Dating from the 1690s, and formerly named Rose Street, it is now named after the fictional character of Dr Manette in Charles Dickens' ...
(formerly Rose Street), until this building was demolished in 2017.
Publication history
The 45-chapter novel was published in 31 weekly instalments in Dickens's new literary periodical titled ''All the Year Round''. From April to November of 1859, Dickens also republished the chapters as eight monthly sections in green covers. All but three of Dickens's previous novels had appeared as monthly instalments prior to publication as books. The first weekly instalment of ''A Tale of Two Cities'' ran in the first issue of ''All the Year Round'' on 30 April 1859. The last ran 30 weeks later, on 26 November.
''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
WorldCat
WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...
listed 1,529 editions of the work, including 1,305 print editions.
Analysis
''A Tale of Two Cities'' is one of only two works of historical fiction by Charles Dickens (the other being ''
Barnaby Rudge
''Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of Eighty'' (commonly known as ''Barnaby Rudge'') is a historical novel by British novelist Charles Dickens. ''Barnaby Rudge'' was one of two novels (the other was '' The Old Curiosity Shop'') that Dickens pub ...
'').
Dickens uses literal translations of French idioms for characters who cannot speak English, such as "What the devil do you do in that galley there?!!" and "Where is my wife? … Here you see me." The Penguin Classics edition of the novel notes that "Not all readers have regarded the experiment as a success."J. L. Borges quipped: "Dickens lived in London. In his book ''A Tale of Two Cities'', based on the French Revolution, we see that he really could not write a tale of two cities. He was a resident of just one city: London."
Autobiographical material
Some have argued that in ''A Tale of Two Cities'' Dickens reflects on his recently begun affair with eighteen-year-old actress
Ellen Ternan
Ellen Lawless Ternan (3 March 1839 – 25 April 1914), also known as Nelly Ternan or Nelly Wharton-Robinson, was an English actress known for association with the author Charles Dickens.
Birth and family life
Ellen Ternan was born in Roches ...
, which was possibly platonic but certainly romantic. Lucie Manette has been noted as resembling Ternan physically.
After starring in a play by
Wilkie Collins
William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for '' The Woman in White'' (1859), a mystery novel and early "sensation novel", and for ''The Moonstone'' (1868), which has be ...
titled ''
The Frozen Deep
''The Frozen Deep'' is an 1856 play, originally staged as an amateur theatrical, written by Wilkie Collins under the substantial guidance of Charles Dickens. Dickens's hand was so prominent—beside acting in the play for several performances, ...
'', Dickens was first inspired to write ''Two Cities''. In the play, Dickens played the part of a man who sacrifices his own life so that his rival may have the woman they both love; the love triangle in the play became the basis for the relationships among Charles Darnay, Lucie Manette, and Sydney Carton in ''Two Cities''.
Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay may bear importantly on Dickens's personal life. The plot hinges on the near-perfect resemblance between Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay; the two look so alike that Carton twice saves Darnay through the inability of others to tell them apart. Carton is Darnay made bad. Carton suggests as much:
'Do you particularly like the man arnay' he muttered, at his own image hich he is regarding in a mirror 'why should you particularly like a man who resembles you? There is nothing in you to like; you know that. Ah, confound you! What a change you have made in yourself! A good reason for talking to a man, that he shows you what you have fallen away from and what you might have been! Change places with him, and would you have been looked at by those blue eyes elonging to Lucie Manetteas he was, and commiserated by that agitated face as he was? Come on, and have it out in plain words! You hate the fellow.'
Many have felt that Carton and Darnay are doppelgängers, which Eric Rabkin defines as a pair "of characters that together, represent one psychological persona in the narrative". If so, they would prefigure such works as
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
's '' Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde''. Darnay is worthy and respectable but dull (at least to most modern readers), Carton disreputable but magnetic.
One can only suspect whose psychological persona it is that Carton and Darnay together embody (if they do), but it is often thought to be the psyche of Dickens. He might have been quite aware that between them, Carton and Darnay shared his own initials, a frequent property of his characters. However, he denied it when asked.
Dickens dedicated the book to the Whig and Liberal prime minister
Lord John Russell
John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, (18 August 1792 – 28 May 1878), known by his courtesy title Lord John Russell before 1861, was a British Whig and Liberal statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1852 and a ...
: "In remembrance of many public services and private kindnesses."
Contemporary criticisms
The reports published in the press were divergent.
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy.
Born in Ecclefechan, ...
was enthusiastic, which made the author "heartily delighted". On the other hand, Mrs. Oliphant found "little of Dickens" in the novel. The critic
James Fitzjames Stephen
Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, 1st Baronet, KCSI (3 March 1829 – 11 March 1894) was an English lawyer, judge, writer, and philosopher. One of the most famous critics of John Stuart Mill, Stephen achieved prominence as a philosopher, law ...
called it a "dish of puppy pie and stewed cat which is not disguised by the cooking" and "a disjointed framework for the display of the tawdry wares, which are Mr Dickens's stock-in-trade.
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...
,
Elizabeth Allan
Elizabeth Allan (9 April 1910 – 27 July 1990) was an English stage and film actress who worked in both Britain and Hollywood, where she appeared in 50 films.
Life and career
Allan was born in Skegness, Lincolnshire in 1910 and educated in D ...
,
Reginald Owen
John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs.
Career
The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...
,
Basil Rathbone
Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was a South African-born English actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume ...
, and
Edna May Oliver
Edna May Oliver (born Edna May Nutter, November 9, 1883 – November 9, 1942) was an American stage and film actress. During the 1930s, she was one of the better-known character actresses in American films, often playing tart-tongued spinsters. ...
, nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) since the awards debuted in 1929. This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only categor ...
Dorothy Tutin
Dame Dorothy Tutin, (8 April 19306 August 2001) was an English actress of stage, film and television. For her work in the theatre, she won two Olivier Awards and two ''Evening Standard'' Awards for Best Actress. She was made a CBE in 1967 and ...
,
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...
,
Leo McKern
Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Cla ...
, and
Donald Pleasence
Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...
Chris Sarandon
Christopher Sarandon (; born July 24, 1942) is an American actor. He is well known for playing a variety of iconic characters, including Jerry Dandrige in '' Fright Night'' (1985), Prince Humperdinck in '' The Princess Bride'' (1987), Detective ...
,
Alice Krige
Alice Maud Krige (; born 28 June 1954) is a South African actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in ''Chariots of Fire'' (1981) as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon. She played the dual role of Eva Galli/Alma Mobley in ...
and
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor.
Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this peri ...
.
Radio
* On 8 April 1935,
WCAE
WCAE was a PBS member station on channel 50 at St. John, Indiana, owned by the Lake Central School Corporation. It was the first television station to serve Northwest Indiana and the Calumet Region. The station began experiencing financial and ...
in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, presented ''A Tale of Two Cities'' "in chapter sequence" on Monday nights.
* On 25 July 1938, ''
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' is a radio series of live radio dramas created and hosted by Orson Welles. The weekly hour-long show presented classic literary works performed by Welles's celebrated Mercury Theatre repertory company, with mus ...
'' produced a radio adaptation starring Orson Welles. Welles also starred in a version broadcast on ''
Lux Radio Theater
''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a old-time radio, classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of Am ...
'' on 26 March 1945.
*
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...
recreated his 1935 film role three times on radio: twice on the ''
Lux Radio Theatre
''Lux Radio Theatre'', sometimes spelled ''Lux Radio Theater'', a classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network (1934–35) (owned by the National Broadcasting Company, later predecessor of American Broadcasting Company ...
'', first on 12 January 1942 with
Edna Best
Edna Clara Best (3 March 1900 – 18 September 1974) was a British actress.
Early life
Born in Hove, Sussex, England, she was educated in Brighton and later studied dramatic acting under Miss Kate Rorke who was the first professor of Drama a ...
and again on 18 March 1946 with Heather Angel, and once on the 9 March 1948 broadcast of ''
Favorite Story
''Favorite Story'' is an American old-time radio dramatic anthology. It was nationally syndicated by the Ziv Company from 1946 to 1949. The program was "advertised as a show that 'stands head and shoulders above the finest programs on the air'". O ...
'' (director
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American film director, producer and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of the American cin ...
's "favorite story").
* On 7 October 1943, a portion of the novel was adapted to the syndicated programme ''
The Weird Circle
''The Weird Circle'' was a syndicated radio drama series produced in New York and originally broadcast between 1943 and 1945.
Production background
The series was a Ziv Production, produced at RCA's New York studios and licensed by the Mutual ...
'' as "Dr Manette's Manuscript."
* In 1950, the BBC broadcast a radio adaptation by
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wa ...
and
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...
of their unproduced 1935
stage play
A play is a work of drama, usually consisting mostly of dialogue between characters and intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. The writer of a play is called a playwright.
Plays are performed at a variety of levels, fro ...
.
* A half-hour version titled "Sydney Carton" was broadcast on 27 March 1954 on ''Theatre Royal'' hosted by and starring
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage o ...
.
* In June 1989, BBC Radio 4 produced a seven-hour drama adapted for radio by Nick McCarty and directed by Ian Cotterell. This adaptation has been occasionally repeated by BBC Radio 7 and later BBC Radio 4 Extra (most recently in 2009). The cast included
Charles Dance
Walter Charles Dance (born 10 October 1946) is an English actor. He is known for playing strict, authoritarian characters and villains. His most notable film roles include Sardo Numspa in '' The Golden Child'' (1986), Dr. Jonathan Clemens in '' ...
as Sydney Carton,
Maurice Denham
William Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career.
Family
Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son ...
as Dr Manette,
Richard Pasco
Richard Edward Pasco, (18 July 1926 – 12 November 2014) was a British stage, screen and TV actor.
Early life
Pasco was born in Barnes, London, the only child of insurance company clerk Cecil George Pasco (1897-1982) and milliner Phyllis I ...
Charlotte Attenborough
Charlotte Isabel Attenborough (born 29 June 1959) is a British stage, film and television actress known for her appearances in ''Jane Eyre'' (1996) and ''Jeeves and Wooster'' (1991, 93). She is the daughter of Richard Attenborough and Sheila Sim ...
as Lucie Manette,
John Duttine
John Arthur Duttine (born 15 March 1949) is an English actor noted for his roles on stage, films and television. He is well known for his role as Sgt George Miller in '' Heartbeat'' and also Bill Masen in the TV series ''The Day of the Triffid ...
as Darnay,
Aubrey Woods
Aubrey Harold Woods (9 April 1928 – 7 May 2013) was an English actor.
Biography and career
Woods was born on 9 April 1928 in Edmonton, Middlesex and grew up in nearby Palmers Green. He was educated at the Latymer School. His first fil ...
as Mr Stryver and
Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Barbara Leigh-Hunt (born 14 December 1935) is a British actress. Her numerous theatre credits include Broadway productions of ''Hamlet'' (1958) and '' Sherlock Holmes'' Justice (1973) (1974), and she won the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Support ...
as Miss Pross.
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...
Mike Walker Mike Walker is the name of:
Sports
* Mike Walker (rugby union) (1930–2014), Scottish rugby union player
* Mike Walker (English footballer) (born 1945), former English footballer
* Mike Walker (Welsh footballer) (born 1945), former Welsh footbal ...
with original music by Lennert Busch and directed by
Jessica Dromgoole
Jessica Dromgoole is a British director of contemporary theatre and radio-plays, as well as a former Artistic Director of the Finborough Theatre from 1988 to 1991. In 1991 she became New Writing Co-ordinator for BBC Drama, Entertainment and Chil ...
Sony Radio Academy Award
The Radio Academy Awards, started in 1983, were the most prestigious awards in the British radio industry. For most of their existence, they were run by ZAFER Associates, but in latter years were brought under the control of The Radio Academy ...
for Best Drama. The cast included Robert Lindsay as the voice of Charles Dickens,
Paul Ready
Paul John Ready (born 1977) is a British actor. In 2013–2014, he played Lee in ''Utopia''. In 2016, he played Kevin in ''Motherland''. In 2018, he played the role of Rob MacDonald in the BBC television series ''Bodyguard'', and Harry Goodsir ...
Lydia Wilson
Lydia Wilson (born 30 November 1984) is an English-American actress. Since graduating in 2009 from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she has performed in numerous television and theatre productions including the Olivier Award winning ''Blasted'' ...
as Lucie Manette,
Jonathan Coy
Jonathan Coy (born 24 April 1953, in Hammersmith, London) is a British actor. He has worked since 1975 largely in television, notably as Henry in the long-running legal series ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' and as Bracegirdle in the television seri ...
Alison Steadman
Alison Steadman (born 26 August 1946) is an English actress. She received the 1991 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress for the Mike Leigh film '' Life Is Sweet'' and the 1993 Olivier Award for Best Actress for her role as ...
as Miss Pross and
Clive Merrison
Clive Merrison (born 15 September 1945) is a British actor of film, television, stage and radio. He trained at Rose Bruford College. He is best known for his long running BBC Radio portrayal of Sherlock Holmes, having played the part in all 64 ...
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...
, updating the story and characters to set it in modern-day London and war-torn Syria. The cast included Shaun Parker as Sid ''(Sydney Carton)'', Lara Sawalha as Lina ''(Lucie Manette)'',
as Taghreed ''(Madame Defarge)'', Phil Davis as Jarvis ''(Mr Lorry)'',
Khalid Abdalla
Khalid Abdalla ( ar, خالد عبدالله; ; born 26 October 1980) is a Scottish actor and activist of Egyptian descent. He came to international prominence after starring in the 2006 Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning film '' United ...
* ABC produced a two-part mini-series in 1953.
* The BBC produced an eight-part mini-series in 1957 starring
Peter Wyngarde
Peter Paul Wyngarde (born Cyril Goldbert, 23 August 1927 – 15 January 2018) was a British television, stage and film actor from the late 1940s to the mid 1990s. He was best known for portraying the character Jason King (character), Jason King, ...
Nicholas Pennell
Nicholas Pennell (19 November 1938 – 22 February 1995) was an English actor who appeared frequently on film and television in the 1960s. He emigrated to Stratford, Ontario, Canada, where he became a stalwart of the Stratford Festival.
Pennel ...
as Charles Darnay,
Kika Markham
Erika S.L. "Kika" Markham (born 1940)''birth registered 4th quarter (Oct, Nov, Dec) 1940'' is an English actress.
Early life
Markham is a daughter of actor David Markham and writer Olive Dehn (1914–2007). She has three sisters: Petra, Sonia a ...
as Lucie Manette and
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...
Paul Shelley
Paul Shelley (born Paul Matthews; 15 May 1942) is an English actor.
Shelley was born in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, and trained at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art). Since then he has mainly worked in the theatre as a classical actor. ...
as Carton/Darnay,
Sally Osborne
Sally Osborne (born 19 September 1952) is a British film and television actress. She has appeared in a number of television series including ''The Cedar Tree'', ''Cribb'', '' King's Royal'', ''The Duchess of Duke Street'', ''A Tale of Two Cities' ...
Burbank Animation Studios
Burbank Animation Studios was an Australian film animation production company, formerly named Burbank Films Australia.
History
The company's first animated productions in 1982 were a series of adaptations of books from Charles Dickens; these ...
.
*
ITV Granada
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...
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 ...
as Sydney Carton,
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 ...
as Charles Darnay and
Serena Gordon
Serena Mary Strathearn Gordon (born 3 September 1963) is an English actress. Her roles include Amanda Prosser in police drama ''The Bill'' and MI6 evaluator Caroline in 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye''.
Life and career
Born in London, she i ...
as Lucie Manette. The production also aired on ''
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 ...
'' on PBS in the United States.
Stage productions
* Henry Irving's Lyceum Theatre company: The Only Way (1899),
John Martin-Harvey
Sir John Martin-Harvey (22 June 1863 – 14 May 1944), known before his knighthood in 1921 as John Martin Harvey, was an English stage actor-manager.
Born in Bath Street, Wivenhoe, Essex, he was the son of John Harvey, a yacht-designer and ...
as Sidney Carton
*
Royal & Derngate
Royal & Derngate is a theatre complex in the Cultural Quarter of Northampton, England, consisting of the Royal Theatre and Derngate Theatre. The Royal was built by theatre architect Charles J. Phipps and opened in 1884. Ninety-nine years lat ...
Theatre produced an adaptation by
Mike Poulton
Mike Poulton is an English writer, translator and adapter of classic plays for contemporary audiences. He has been Tony nominated for his play 'Fortune's Fool' along with his adaptations of 'Wolf Hall' and 'Bring Up the Bodies'.
Poulton began hi ...
with original music by
Rachel Portman
Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman, FilmReference.com
James Dacre
James Charles Dacre (born May 1984) is a British theatre director. He has been artistic director of Royal & Derngate Theatres in Northampton since 2013.
Early years
James Dacre was born in 1984, the son of Paul Dacre, former editor of the '' ...
.
* The
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London.
The theatre
Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary� ...
staged an adaptation by
Matthew Dunster
Matthew Dunster is an English theatre director, playwright and actor.Dominic Cavendish for The Telegraph. 17 Mar 201Matthew Dunster: From teenage kicks to dramatic hits/ref> He was the Associate Director of the Young Vic from 2005 to 2009 and t ...
in 2017, directed by artistic director
Timothy Sheader
Timothy Sheader (born 23 November 1971 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire) is a British theatre director. Sheader read Law with French at the University of Birmingham before moving into a career in theatre. Since 2007, he has been Artistic Director ...
.
Stage musicals
Stage musical adaptations of the novel include:
*''Two Cities, the Spectacular New Musical'' (1968), with music by
Jeff Wayne
Jeffry Wayne (born 1 July 1943) is an American-British composer, musician and lyricist. In 1978, he released '' Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds'', his musical adaptation of H. G. Wells' science-fiction novel ''The War o ...
, lyrics by Jerry Wayne and starring
Edward Woodward
Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career on stage. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions ...
.
*''A Tale of Two Cities'' (1998), with music by
David Pomeranz
David Pomeranz (born February 9, 1951) is an American singer, composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theatre. He is also an ambassador for Operation Smile.
Solo career
Born and raised on Long Island, Pomeranz expressed interest in music fr ...
and book by Steven David Horwich and David Soames. The musical was commissioned by
Paul Nicholas
Paul Nicholas (born Paul Oscar Beuselinck; 3 December 1944) is an English actor and singer. He started out with a pop career, but soon changed to musical theatre, playing the lead role in ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the West End’s Palace ...
and co-produced by
Bill Kenwright
William Kenwright, CBE (born 4 September 1945) is an English West End theatre producer and film producer. He has also been the chairman of Everton Football Club since 2004.
Kenwright was born in Liverpool and attended Booker Avenue County Pri ...
ran at the
New Alexandra Theatre
The Alexandra, commonly known as the Alex, is a theatre on Suffolk Queensway in Birmingham, England.
History
Construction of the theatre commenced in 1900 and was completed in 1901. The architects were Owen & Ward and the theatre was opened on 2 ...
in Birmingham during their 1998 Christmas season with
Paul Nicholas
Paul Nicholas (born Paul Oscar Beuselinck; 3 December 1944) is an English actor and singer. He started out with a pop career, but soon changed to musical theatre, playing the lead role in ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' at the West End’s Palace ...
as Sydney Carton.
* '' Two Cities'' (2006), a musical by
Howard Goodall
Howard Lindsay Goodall (; born 26 May 1958) is an English composer of musicals, choral music and music for television. He also presents music-based programmes for television and radio, for which he has won many awards. In May 2008, he was n ...
, which was set during the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
, with the two cities being London and
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
.
*''
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 ...
'', a musical by
Jill Santoriello
Jill Santoriello is an American musician, composer, lyricist, and author. She is a self-taught musician whose award-winning first musical ''A Tale of Two Cities'' was an Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Outstanding New Musical in 2009. Her ...
, which opened on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on 18 September 2008. The production starred
James Barbour
James Barbour (June 10, 1775 – June 7, 1842) was an American slave owner, lawyer, politician and planter. He served as a delegate from Orange County, Virginia in the Virginia General Assembly, and as speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates. ...
as Sydney Carton,
Natalie Toro
Natalie Toro is an American singer and actress for stage, television, and film.
Early life and education
Toro was born in Bronx, NY, where her parents both immigrated to from Puerto Rico. She debuted at the Apollo Theater at the age of five. Late ...
as Madame Defarge and
Brandi Burkhardt
Brandi Lynn Burkhardt (born June 25, 1979) is an American television and film actress, and former Miss New York. She grew up in Pasadena, Maryland and lives in Los Angeles.
Biography
Education
She attended New York University Tisch School o ...
as Lucie Manette. The show was directed and choreographed by
Warren Carlyle
Warren Carlyle is a British director and choreographer who was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England. He received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Director of a Musical for the 2009 revival of '' Finian's Rai ...
. Since Broadway, the show has been performed in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Korea.
Opera
*
Arthur Benjamin
Arthur Leslie Benjamin (18 September 1893, in Sydney – 10 April 1960, in London) was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of ''Jamaican Rumba'' (1938) and of the '' Storm Clouds Cantata'', ...
's operatic version of the novel, subtitled ''Romantic Melodrama in Six Scenes'', premiered on 17 April 1953, conducted by the composer. It received its stage premiere at
Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-se ...
Dav Pilkey
David "Dav" Murray Pilkey Jr. (; born March 4, 1966) is an American cartoonist, author, and illustrator of children's literature. He is best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book series, '' Captain Underpants'', and the chi ...
wrote a comic titled ''Dog Man: A Tale of Two Kitties'', loosely based on the novel.
Popular culture
At the
1984 Democratic National Convention
The 1984 Democratic National Convention was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select candidates for the 1984 United States presidential election. Former Vice President Walter Mondale was no ...
in the US, the keynote speaker,
Mario Cuomo
Mario Matthew Cuomo (, ; June 15, 1932 – January 1, 2015) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 52nd governor of New York for three terms, from 1983 to 1994. A member of the Democratic Party, Cuomo previously served as ...
of New York, delivered a scathing criticism of then-President Ronald Reagan's comparison of the United States to a "shining city on a hill" with an allusion to Dickens's novel, saying: "Mr President, you ought to know that this nation is more a ''Tale of Two Cities'' than it is just a 'Shining City on a Hill'."
''A Tale of Two Cities'' served as an inspiration to the 2012
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...
film ''
The Dark Knight Rises
''The Dark Knight Rises'' is a 2012 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Jonathan Nolan, and the story with David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the ...
'' by
Christopher Nolan
Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&n ...
. The character of Bane is in part inspired by Dickens's
: He organises kangaroo court trials against the ruling elite of the city of Gotham and is seen knitting in one of the trial scenes like Madame Defarge. There are other hints to Dickens's novel, such as
Talia al Ghul
Talia al Ghul ( ar, تاليا الغول; ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman. The character was created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Bob Brown, and fi ...
being obsessed with revenge and having a close relationship to the hero, and Bane's catchphrase "the fire rises" as an ode to one of the book's chapters. Bane's associate Barsard is named after a supporting character in the novel. In the film's final scene, Jim Gordon (
Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy F ...
) reads aloud the closing lines of
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 ...
’s inner monologue—"It's a far far better thing I do than I have ever done, it's a far far better rest I go to than I have ever known"—directly from the novel.
References
Works cited
* A Tale of Two Cities ' Shmoop: Study Guides & Teacher Resources. Web. 12 March 2014.
* Biedermann, Hans. ''Dictionary of Symbolism.'' New York: Meridian (1994)
* Dickens, Charles. ''A Tale of Two Cities.'' Edited and with an introduction and notes by Richard Maxwell. London: Penguin Classics (2003)
* Drabble, Margaret, ed. ''The Oxford Companion to English Literature''. 5th ed. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press (1985)
* Forster, E. M. ''Aspects of the Novel'' (1927). 2005 reprint: London: Penguin.
* Orwell, George. "Charles Dickens". In ''A Collection of Essays''. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (1946)
* Rabkin, Eric. ''Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature's Most Fantastic Works''. Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company (2007)
* Schlicke, Paul. ''Coffee With Dickens''. London: Duncan Baird Publishers (2008)
* ' SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 11 April 2011.
* Ackroyd, Peter. ''Dickens''. London: HarperCollins (1990). .
Further reading
* Alleyn, Susanne. ''The Annotated A Tale of Two Cities''. Albany, New York: Spyderwort Press (2014)
* Glancy, Ruth. ''Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities: ''A Sourcebook''. London: Routledge (2006)
* Sanders, Andrew. ''The Companion to A Tale of Two Cities''. London: Unwin Hyman (1989) Out of print.