A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, 1855

A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens, 1855.

Gutenberg Project. In PDF, full book here. 

Set in London, Paris, 1775 -- one year before 1776.

• April 19, 1775: battles of Lexington and Concord
• July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence

France:

• King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette
• archduchess of Austria, Vienna; major principality of Holy Roman Empire
• last queen of France before the fall of the monarchy
• 15th child of Empress Maria Theresa, ruler of the Hapsburg monarchy
• Maria Theresa's husband: Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor

England:

• King George III
• Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
• bor into the ruling family; Hanover
• married for 57 years; 15 children; 13 survived into adulthood

Book The First
Recalled To Life

 Chapter 1
The Period

Very first page; second paragraph: reference to the events in America (1775)

""Sister of the shield and trident" refers to Britannia, the female personification of Britain. The phrase is most famously used by Charles Dickens in A Tale of Two Cities to compare Britain to France, with the shield representing military strength and the trident symbolizing naval power. 

Second page: grisly scene of a teenager burned alive before being tortured, and the the description of the guillotine. 

The first chapter, only two and a half pages, gives an overview of London and Paris. French monarchy in absolute control; the British monarchy apparently can't control London. 

Chapter 2
The Mail

This chapter introduces the protagonist of the story, a passenger in a carriage -- The Dover Mail -- likely traveling from Dover to London. Shooter's Hill is mentioned, located in southeast London, southside of the Thames, and on the southeast edge of Greenwich.

The passenger of interest: Mr Jarvis Lorry.

Apparently The Dover Mail was heading out of London when a rider, Jerry, approached the carriage to give Mr Lorry a message. Lorry was an employee off Tellson's Bank.

Message: wait at Dover for Mam'selle.

Reply from Lorry: recalled to life.

So, Mr Jarvis Lorry, of Tellson's Bank was heading to Dover (probably to Paris) when he was urgently recalled to London by his employer. But he would have to go to Dover -- complete the route -- and then wait for "Mam'selle." 

Chapter 3
The Night Shadows 

 "The shadows of the night," page 17, back to the carriage on the southeast side of London. It sounds like "Lorry" is transporting cash to Dover, probably to France. Interesting name, "Lorry," as a transporter. Etymology of lorry: apparently first seen in England in 1830. A Tale Of Two Cities was published in 1859. 

Lorry with an imaginary conversation with himself. He was 45 years old, remembering a death / a burial eighteen years earlier. Huge amount of symbolism. A very "difficult" vignette / an imaginary conversation. Apparenlty talking about someone buried alive for 18 years.  

Important books published between 1850 and 1870 include Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities (1859) and Great Expectations (1861), Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace (1869), and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Other key publications were Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) and John Stuart Mill's On Liberty (1859). 

Chapter 4
The Preparation

The coach is called the Concord coach, possibly named after Concord, New Hampshire. This might be the coach in which he will cross using the ferry from Dover.

It is incredibly difficult for Google Gemini to find the meaning of "drawer" in this chapter.

"... digging, digging, digging." Reappears -- major use of this phrase in previous chapter.

Mam'selle, Miss Manette, arrives by coach to meet Mr Lorry in the restaurant.

Not more than 17 years of age. She reminds him of a passage a very long time ago, perhaps 15. years ago. 

Miss Manette was told by letter by the bank to meet Mr Lorry in Paris for an inheritance from her long-dead father. Tellson Bank is a bank of both Paris and London.

Page 25: "curtsied in those days." Takes place in 1755, first chapter begins in "winter, 1755." The book as published in 1859. Almost exactly one hundred years later. 

Apparently Miss Manette's father has been found alive, 18 years after his supposed death -- "brought back to life... after 18 years."

At end of chapter another woman servant runs into the room and yells at other servants to get Ms Manette packed for trip to Paris.

Mr Lorry seems to be robot business man.

Chapter 5
The Wine-Shop

Now in Paris. Opens with bizarre episode of wine casket spilling.

Paris: everyone starving.

Opens in wine-shop / inn / bar. In the Sait Antoin district.

Monsieur Defarge -- wine-store owner.

Worked for Ms Maette's father many, many years earlier

Her old father lives upstairs.