A Tale of Two Cities

“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.” — Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two CitiesA Tale of Two Cities (1859) is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature. The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralised by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period. It follows the lives of several protagonists through these events. The most notable are Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. Darnay is a former French aristocrat who falls victim to the indiscriminate wrath of the revolution despite his virtuous nature, and Carton is a dissipated English barrister who endeavours to redeem his ill-spent life out of his unrequited love for Darnay’s wife. The 45-chapter novel was published in 31 weekly instalments in Dickens’s new literary periodical titled All the Year Round. From April 1859 to November 1859, Dickens also republished the chapters as eight monthly sections in green covers. All but three of Dickens’s previous novels had appeared only as monthly instalments. 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 thirty weeks later, on 26 November. [Analysis] A Tale of Two Cities is one of only two works of historical fiction by Charles Dickens (Barnaby Rudge is the other one). It has fewer characters and sub-plots than a typical Dickens novel. The author’s primary historical source was The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle: Dickens wrote in his Preface to Tale that “no one can hope to add anything to the philosophy of Mr. Carlyle’s wonderful book”.

[Language]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.”

[Humour]A Tale of Two Cities stands out from most of Dickens’s other novels as the one containing the least humour. That is not surprising, as the historical context and focus of the novel, the French Reign of Terror, might be too bleak to allow for the wackier characters Dickens is known for. Still, Dickens, in his usual manner, manages to find the opportunity to make a number of wry comments about various aspects of the era and of the darker side of human nature. If a humorous character is to be found anywhere in the novel, it would likely be Jerry Cruncher; however, his occupation as a “resurrectionist” (grave-robber) and his abuse of his wife casts a more sinister light on his character.