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 | A Tale of Two Cities Study Guide for the book by Charles Dickens
Grade Level: 9-12
Setting: England, France, French Revolution
British Literature Historical Literature
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Study Guide . . . . Item #415 PDF Format (CD) . . . . Item #415CD Teacher's Set . . . . Item #415M PDF Format by Email . . . . #415PDF
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"Recalled to life!" is the phrase running through the mind of Mr. Lorry, an agent of Tellson's Bank, as he travels from London to Dover in the year 1775. In Dover he meets young Lucie Manette, who after believing she was orphaned at the age of two, learns that her father is still alive. They travel on to France where they find Dr. Manette under the care of his former servant, Ernest Defarge, in the St. Antoine quarter of Paris. After being imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years, Dr. Manette is in a pitiable mental state, and Miss Manette takes him back to London.
Five years pass, and Dr. Manette has regained physical and mental vigor and has set up a medical practice. He and his daughter are called to testify against Charles Darnay, a Frenchman accused of treason due to his suspicious travels between France and England. But Darnay is acquitted when a witness admits that Darnay's close resemblance to Sydney Carton, a lawyer in the court room, makes positive identification impossible.
Both Darnay and Carton are infatuated with the lovely Miss Manette. Because Carton sees himself as incapable of bettering himself, he does not feel worthy to ask Lucie to marry him. Darnay does marry Lucie, and imparts to her father the secret of his true identity. The shock of this discovery causes Dr. Manette to revert back to his deteriorated mental state while Lucie and Charles are away on their honeymoon. He recovers before their return with the assistance of their trusted friend Mr. Lorry, and their domestic life continues peacefully for many years.
In France, however, the oppressed lower classes are preparing for the revolution, and the Defarges are in the midst of it.
After the start of the Revolution, Darnay returns to France to aid an imprisoned former servant. Revealed as an aristocrat and emigrant, Darnay himself is imprisoned. Dr. Manette and Lucie follow Darnay to France. There they, Mr. Lorry, and Sydney Carton witness the ravages of the aftermath of the French Revolution as they struggle to gain Darnay's release.
More titles by Charles Dickens:
A Tale of Two Cities (highschool)
A Christmas Carol (highschool)