Rory's Book List: A Tale Of Two Cities

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” - Charles Dickens

The Life of Charles Dickens

The novelist Charles Dickens was born in Portsmouth, England 1812. His youth was filled with unexpected obstacles and bizarre characters, which later inspired multiple of his novels. His stories are greatly critical of the industrialised society in England during the Victorian era, many of which depict squalid areas and wretched working conditions. Dickens tried to bring forth the issues with society through his writing, as he believed that presenting serious subjects in entertaining media would make people keener on taking a stance. The reader could easily imagine themselves or a loved one in the shoes of one of Dickens's characters and therefore were more likely to aid them financially. Due to Dickens' own experiences, he managed to bring humour to a serious story with a comical character. These eccentric characters are put into the juxtaposition of a grim 19th-century Britain.

Dickens had quite a pleasant childhood until the age of twelve. It’s said that he was quite fond of reading and going to the theatre. Dickens' father was a clerk in the Navy Pay Office and the family would often move around due to his job. In 1815 they settled in London for a while where Dickens was enrolled in a private school. However, at twelve years old, he was forced to drop out of school to work at a boot-blacking warehouse. His father, who had spent his money too quickly, had been arrested by debt collectors, resulting in the imprisonment of Dickens' parents and younger siblings were imprisoned. In 1824 Charles Dickens lived with a family friend and continued to work to pay off his father's debts. However Only a few months after Dickens fathers imprisonment, as Dickens's grandmother passed away, he inherited £450 which paid off debts. 

Dickens continued to work but was eventually able to return to school for another two years. After school, he started to work as a junior clerk for about a year. At the age of 20, he was aware that he wanted to be famous. Although he hadn’t quite figured out what he wanted to be known for. He was briefly interested in becoming an actor but missed his first audition because of a cold. In the end, Dickens sought out writing and became editor for various periodicals. His novels were published in instalments in these periodicals either monthly or weekly. He swiftly established serial publication which quickly became a staple for Victorian literature. Dickens novels are mainly famous for their depiction of the squalid and poor conditions of 19th century Britain, so much so that there’s even a word for it, Dickensian. Charles Dickens died in 1870 by stroke and was mourned throughout the world. 

 A Tale of Two Cities 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” - A Tale of Two Cities 

Our tale is set during the savage French Revolution and begins with Dr Manette and his daughter Lucie. Dr Manette is imprisoned in the Bastille for eighteen years and, Lucie, who believes she is an orphan travels to reunite with her father. Mr Lorry, a banker from England, worked in France for twenty years and became close friends with Dr Manette who was once one of his clients. When Dr Manette is arrested for accusing the nobility of a serious crime, Mr Lorry helps the Manette family get by. Dr Manette’s wife, the mother of Lucie, tragically passes away a few years after the imprisonment of her husband, presumably by a broken heart. This leaves no one to care for Lucie, two years old, and therefore Mr Lorry decides that she should be raised in England. 

Eighteen years later Lucie is informed that her father is alive in France. She crosses the channel with Mr Lorry to meet her father in an emotional reunion. Dr Manette is forever traumatised from all the years of imprisonment so Lucie treats him with the gentlest of kindness. Years pass by and there comes a time when Lucie has to leave her father to be married. She falls for Charles Darney, a hard-working French man who came to England to escape his life in France. 

Charles Darney is the nephew of Marquis St. Evrémonde, a French aristocrat. Charles travels to France to tell his uncle that he renounced his title. He travels back to England and meets Lucie on the way. He is in trouble with the law briefly where Lucie testifies his innocence. They get married and have a beautiful daughter together. This is about the time when the French Revolution started to get weaved into their perfect lives. Terrible events from the past are brought up and everyone is interconnected in some way. This leads to a tragic and sentimental ending when a life is sacrificed for another. 

A Tale of Two Cities is Dickens' only successful historical novel, set about 80 years before it was written. Even if it was written 160 years ago, its content is still relevant and applicable in this period. "Our period being the age of wisdom or the age of foolishness" (A Tale of Two Cities), can still identify with the small joys of life that Dickens presents in his novels. I think A Tale of Two Cities was a difficult book to read, language-wise but the story is quite compelling. Once you've got into the groove of writing style it is easy to enjoy this melancholy and loving tale. 

Book Reference in Gilmore Girls

A Tale of Two Cities is only mentioned and we don’t know if Rory has read this book, but I’m sure she has. I’m certain that Rory has read some Dickens if not all of his books because she is very keen on reading classics.

Rory is an ambitious sixteen-year-old who wants to pursue journalism at Harvard College. In season 1, episode 2 titled “The Lorelais’ First Day At Chilton” where both Rory (short for Lorelai) and Lorelai explore Chilton. This school is located in Hartford and is a very prestigious institution. 

During Rory's first English lesson, the teacher is giving a lecture about the literature that influenced Leo Tolstoy. It’s mentioned that Dickens was Tolstoy's favourite author and that he would turn to David Copperfield for inspiration while writing War and Peace and Anna Karenina. The professor continues by saying 

“Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, Little Dorrit - All major influence on Leo Tolstoy” 

During this lecture we learn two important facts about Chilton; Paris Geller is a diligent student and Chilton is the perfect school for Rory but is perhaps a tad bit daunting. Paris Geller is the only student to raise their hand and answer the questions. We understand straight away that Paris is obsessed with academic gratification. It foreshadows the role that Paris is going to play in Rory's life; their short rivalry which later blossoms into a friendship. Chilton has always been Rory's only chance of getting into her dream college. I would personally love to discuss authors and their great works and I’m sure Rory feels the same. Even though Chilton is a real challenge and Rory is quite behind at the beginning, she manages to keep her passion for literature. We all need that little push, a challenge or obstacle, to do what we dream and love to do. This is reflected in both Rory’s journey and A Tale of Two Cities.