A Tale of Two Cities: Lecture Notes

These notes are on this lecture by Dr. Tony Williams.

• Personal significance to Dickens
• The Frozen Deep, amateur production by Dickens and friend
• Dickens returns to themes of self-sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities
• Lucie a reference to Lucy, a woman he fell in love with
• Dickens's Crisis
• Publications, public readings for profit, tours, etc.
• 1868 separated from his wife
• London
• Both a source of revulsion and inspiration for Dickens
• City of extremes in wealth
• Paris
• Made a huge impression on Dickens
• "The most extraordinary place in the world"
• Awed by the novelty and character
• Not as sprawling or uncontrolled as London
• The Opening
• Dickens emphasizes the similarities between the two cities
• Duality of the introduction
• Sets the reader back in time, but also parallels modern times
• Published 1859, refers to events in 1775
• Revolution
• Dickens feared mob rule, like many people of the age
• Hence, the theme of revolution in A Tale of Two Cities
• Written in installments for publication
• Episodic
• Dickens wrote as he went, and wrote in response to reader reactions
• Cliffhangers
• The Personal Story
• Beginning of Chapter 3 contains an uncharacteristic narration from Dickens
• personal intensity

I didn't finish the last three minutes of the lecture.  The speaker was indicating that he was about to discuss the end, and I heard the word "guillotine" before I closed the tab.  I'm not sure if he was speaking figuratively or not, but I did not stick around to find out.  A Tale of Two Cities may be a well known story, but I still don't know how it ends.  I'd prefer to keep it that way, at least until I get around to finishing the book.