Hannibal Free Public Library A Tale of Two Cities by September 29, 2008 |
Written as a weekly serial in All the Year Round, from April 1859 to November 1859, A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens, covers 1757 through 1793. These were the years before and during the French Revolution, and the novel depicts the plight of the French proletariat under the brutal oppression of the French aristocracy and the corresponding truculence demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats. Following the lives of several protagonists, it is the story of Charles Darnay, a French once-aristocrat who falls victim to the indiscriminate wrath of the revolution despite his virtuous nature, and Sydney Carton, a dissipated English barrister who endeavors to redeem his ill-spent life out of love for Darnay's wife, Lucie Manette.
Charles
Dickens emerged on the literary scene in the
1830s at the beginning of the Victorian era,
a time when the novel became the leading
literary form in English literature.
Writing for serial publications,
Dickens wrote vividly about the struggles of
the poor, but in a good-humoured fashion
which was acceptable to readers of all
classes. His early works are masterpieces of
comedy. Later his works became darker,
without losing his genius for caricature.
Information about the book may
be found at http://victorianweb.org/authors/dickens/2citiesov.html
Additional discussion is
available through a blog at http://www.asolo.org/Education/BeyondtheBook/BookClubCentral/tabid/283/Default.aspx#top
Historical
Note: The
French Revolution (1789–1799) was a period
of political and social upheaval during which
the French governmental structure underwent
radical change, based on Enlightenment
principles of nationalism, citizenship, and
inalienable rights.
These changes were accompanied by
violent turmoil, including the trial and
execution of the king, vast bloodshed and
repression during the Reign of Terror, and
warfare involving every other major European
power.
Adapted
from information found in the e-Book version
of Cliffs Notes on Dickens’ A Tale of Two
Cities, c1988, available for on-line use at http://hafl.sirsi.net/uhtbin/cgisirsi/ETN7bmyzIH/0/324340017/9;
and from information found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tale_of_Two_Cities