Characters

Charles Darnay: French aristocrat who renounces his title and moves to England to escape the French Revolution.

Sydney Carton: English lawyer and an alcoholic who is in love with Lucie Manette, but sacrifices himself to save her husband.

Lucie Manette: a beautiful and virtuous young woman who is the daughter of Dr. Manette and the wife of Charles Darnay.

Dr. Manette: a French doctor who is released from prison after 18 years of imprisonment.

Madame Defarge: a vengeance-seeking Frenchwoman who leads the revolutionaries in their fight against the aristocracy.

Jarvis Lorry: an English banker who helps Lucie Manette and her father reunite after his release from prison.

Ernest Defarge: Madame Defarge’s husband who helps lead the revolutionaries in their fight against the aristocracy.

Miss Pross: Lucie Manette’s loyal servant and companion who helps protect her from the machinations of Madame Defarge.

Themes

Revolution and its consequences: The novel is set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, which is depicted as a chaotic and violent time marked by the overthrow of the aristocracy and the execution of many nobles. The characters in the novel are affected by the revolution in different ways, and the novel explores the moral and ethical implications of revolting against the status quo.

The corrupting influence of power: Many of the characters in the novel are motivated by their desire for power or their fear of losing it. The aristocracy in France is depicted as selfish and cruel, and their abuse of power leads to the revolution. The revolutionaries, however, are also shown to be capable of becoming corrupt and abusive of power once they gain it.

Love, sacrifice, and redemption: The novel centers on the love between Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette, and their love for each other and for others drives many of the events in the novel. The characters are willing to make sacrifices for the people they love, and the novel also explores themes of redemption and the power of love to transform people's lives.

The duality of human nature: The novel explores the idea that everyone has the potential for both good and evil within them, and that the circumstances of one's life can bring out either side. The characters in the novel are complex and multifaceted, and the novel suggests that no one is entirely good or evil.

Summary

Set in 1775-1780 in England and France, the novel tells the story of Charles Darnay, a French aristocrat, and Sydney Carton, a drunken lawyer
Jerry Cruncher works at Tellson's Bank and delivers an urgent message to Jarvis Lorry to wait at Dover for a young woman, Lucie Manette
Lorry takes Lucie to Paris to see her father, Doctor Manette, who has been in the Bastille for 18 years and is now mad and spends all his time making shoes
Lorry believes that Lucie's love and devotion can bring Doctor Manette back to life, and it does
In 1780, Darnay is accused of treason against the English crown and acquitted with the help of Carton, who points out that he bears an uncanny resemblance to Darnay
The cruel Marquis Evrémonde runs over a peasant child with his carriage and shows no remorse; later that night, he is murdered and a note signed \"Jacques\" is left behind
Darnay renounces his identity as an Evrémonde and intends to return to England; he later asks Manette for permission to marry Lucie and reveals his true identity to him
Carton also declares his love for Lucie and admits that she has helped him dream of a better existence
Jerry Cruncher is involved in the funeral procession for a spy named Roger Cly and later demonstrates his skills as a \"Resurrection-Man\" by stealing and selling bodies from cemeteries
John Barsad, an English spy, visits Defarge's wine shop in Paris and Madame Defarge is knitting a secret registry of those the revolution plans to execute
Darnay marries Lucie and Manette relapses into his old prison habit of making shoes, but eventually regains his presence of mind and joins the newlyweds on their honeymoon
In 1789, the French Revolution begins and the peasants storm the Bastille; Gabelle, in charge of the Evrémonde estate, is imprisoned and writes to Darnay for rescue
Darnay goes to France and is arrested as an emigrant; Lucie and Manette go to defend him at his trial and he is acquitted
Madame Defarge plans to accuse Lucie and Manette of spying and to accuse Lucie's daughter as well, but Miss Pross and Madame Defarge fight and Miss Pross shoots Madame Defarge
Carton has a secret plan to help Darnay should he be convicted and threatens to expose Barsad as an English spy unless he cooperates; Barsad agrees to help
Lorry scolds Cruncher for grave-robbing and Cruncher offers to become a gravedigger to make up for it; Carton visits Darnay in his cell, drugs him, and switches clothes with him before going to his execution
The seamstress asks Carton if he is dying for Darnay and he replies, \"And his wife and child\"; Barsad delivers the real Darnay to Lorry, Lucie, and Manette and they flee Paris
In the final chapter, Lorry reflects on the events of the novel and the repeating patterns of history

Book the First: CHAPTER II. The Mail

Summary