A Tale of Two Cities Book Review

Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. (New York: Amsco School Publications, Inc., 1969.

England and France in the late 1700's came with both good times and bad. France was an aristocracy where a tiny minority owned all the land. The rest of society was organized into tiers that varied in their opportunities of becoming landowners. This came to a screeching halt with the French Revolution. The society reached a breaking point and with it came change. This bloody time in history brought the powers leading the revolution into France up against a group of people in England causing changes within their own lives as well that undoubtedly affected them as well. So woven into this story of a society's collapse are individual tales of woe, revenge, sacrifice, retribution, love and lust. Some are wrongly imprisoned or executed, while others willingly trade places to free those who have been marked for punishment. Families are torn apart, and friendships are made and betrayed.

In the novel, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, there are many references made by Dickens to the French Revolution. At times some of these references can be considered questionable. One noted difference was the Bastille, a fortress and state prison in Paris until its demolition which started in 1789. On July 14th, 1789, between eight and nine hundred Parisians, (mostly women) gathered in front of a medieval fortress, the Bastille. They were looking for weapons and gunpowder. They stormed the prison; 98 were killed, and 73 wounded. Although the Bastille contained no hope for weapons, the "Fall of Bastille" served as a great symbol of the Revolution. When the storming of the Bastille occurred in the book, it was to get vengeance on the mercenaries whom had oppressed them, not to look for weapons and gun powder. Dickens also writes more accurately about the summer of 1789 when there were lootings and burnings of chateaux throughout France. He notes this when the chateau of the Evremondes is burned. Capital Punishment is also portrayed within the story with great accuracy. This cruel type of punishment takes place before the on looking crowds. The weapons such as blades and bayonets were used as described in the story. Dickens had a talent like no other for painting a realistic image of the poverty that was of that time. He wrote of the hard travels with horse and coach on rugged muddy roads and the starving pheasants begging the Marquis for food and his response is to let them eat grass. This book authenticates both France and England during the 1700's.

This novel includes fictional characters only. However, they all have involvement in the historical setting. Though these characters are not true historical characters they portray society members relevant to the French Revolution. Madame Defarge's character was much like Renee Bordereau, who faught against the Revolution.

Madame Defarge is remorseless and blood thirsty. Defarge embodies the chaos of the French Revolution. The initial chapters of the novel find her sitting quietly and knitting in the wine shop. However, her apparent passivity hides her demanding desire for vengeance. She secretly knits a register of the names of the revolution's intended victims. As the revolution breaks into full force, Madame Defarge reveals her true desire to inflict harm. Dickens notes that Madame Defarge's hatefulness does not reflect any inherent flaw, but rather results from the oppression and personal tragedy that she has suffered at the hands of the aristocracy.

Sydney Carton is one of the most important characters. Carton first appears as a lazy, alcoholic attorney who does not have even the smallest amount of interest in his own life. He describes his existence as a supreme waste of life and takes every opportunity