A Tale of Two Cities Lecture: The Golden Thread (Vol. II, Ch. I-XXIV) (Patreon)

Today we're discussing the breathtaking second volume of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

We’re talking about how Dickens creates liveable literature, gleeful social satire, compressed expansiveness, the death penalty, prisons, solitary confinement, treason, espionage, post traumatic stress disorder, the gothic, the storming of the Bastille, and much more.

We will also appreciate the Dickensian aesthetic and conduct a deep analysis of some of the most profound passages from the second volume of this incredible novel.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 appreciating Charles Dickens
• 4:00 the novel’s compressed expansiveness
• 7:00 how Dickens creates liveable literature
• 10:00 satirically dismantling institutions
• 12:00 Dickens on the death penalty
• 15:00 Dickens the social novelist
• 17:00 prison reform in the Victorian era
• 20:00 trials at London’s Old Bailey
• 21:00 French espionage in Britain
• 22:00 the trial of Charles Darnay
• 24:00 justice system as entertainment
• 27:00 universal social commentary
• 28:00 characters with intertwined destinies
• 29:00 PTSD & the shadow of the Bastille
• 31:00 Sydney Carton & Charles Darnay
• 33:00 death, rebirth & spiritual themes
• 35:00 ‘those were drinking days…’
• 37:00 sympathising with Sydney Carton
• 39:00 appreciating the novel’s symbolism
• 40:00 uprising as inevitable force of nature
• 41:00 villainy of the Marquis St. Evrémonde
• 42:00 the gothic elements of this novel
• 43:00 the catastrophic carriage ride
• 48:00 social conditions for revolution
• 50:00 Charles Darnay & St. Evrémonde
• 52:00 the aristocracy’s abuse of power
• 54:00 meditating on the sins of the fathers
• 56:00 the assassination of St. Evrémonde
• 57:00 Sydney Carton & Lucie Manette
• 58:00 ‘I shall never be better than I am’
• 1:00:00 revenge, retribution & lightning
• 1:01:00 the marriage of Lucie & Charles
• 1:02:00 on the storming of the Bastille
• 1:05:00 thoughts on Ridley Scott’s Napoleon
• 1:06:00 factors leading to the French Revolution
• 1:07:00 Dickens describes the storming
• 1:12:00 chaos in the streets of Paris
• 1:14:00 Charles Darney recalled to France
• 1:16:00 what are your thoughts on the novel?

Reading Assignment:

Our next discussion will cover volume three of this novel ('The Track of a Storm'), which runs to page 390 in the Penguin and takes us to the end of this exhilarating story.

Questions for You:

1) How do you feel about works that have a social purpose?

2) Why do you think this story continues to be so popular?

3) Do you find Dickens' characters sympathetic?

And please let us know your favourite passages and insights from your reading of A Tale of Two Cities.

Happy reading, folks!