Summary: Chapter 1: Five Years Later
It is now 1780.
Tellson’s Bank in London prides itself on being “very small, very
dark, very ugly, very incommodious.” Were it more welcoming, the
bank’s partners believe, it would lose its status as a respectable
business. It is located by Temple Bar, the spot where, until recently,
the government displayed the heads of executed criminals. The narrator
explains that at this time, “death was a recipe much in vogue,”
used against all manner of criminals, from forgers to horse thieves
to counterfeiters.
Jerry Cruncher, employed by Tellson’s as a runner and
messenger, wakes up in his small apartment, located in an unsavory
London neighborhood. He begins the day by yelling at
his wife for “praying against” him; he throws his muddy boot at
her. Around nine o’clock, Cruncher and his young son camp outside
Tellson’s Bank, where they await the bankers’ instructions. When
an indoor messenger calls for a porter, Cruncher takes off to do
the job. As young Jerry sits alone, he wonders why his father’s
fingers always have rust on them.
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Chapter 1: Five Years Later →
Summary: Chapter 2: A Sight
The bank clerk instructs Cruncher to go to
the Old Bailey Courthouse and await orders from Jarvis Lorry. Cruncher
arrives at the court, where Charles Darnay, a handsome, well-bred
young man, stands trial for treason. Cruncher understands little
of the legal jargon, but he gleans that Darnay has been charged
with divulging secret information to the king of France (Louis XVI):
namely, that England plans to send armed forces to fight in the
American colonies. As Darnay looks to a young lady and her distinguished father,
a whisper rushes through the courtroom, speculating on the identity
of the two. Eventually, Cruncher discovers that they will serve
as witnesses against the prisoner.
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Chapter 2: A Sight →
Summary: Chapter 3: A Disappointment
The Attorney-General prosecutes the case, demanding
that the jury find Darnay guilty of passing English secrets into
French hands. The Solicitor-General examines John Barsad, whose
testimony supports the Attorney-General’s case. The cross-examination,
however, tarnishes Barsad’s pure and righteous character. It reveals
that he has served time in debtor’s prison and has been involved
in brawls over gambling. The prosecution calls its next witness,
Roger Cly, whom the defense attorney, Mr. Stryver, also exposes
as a dubious, untrustworthy witness. Mr. Lorry then takes the stand,
and the prosecution asks him if, five years ago, he shared a Dover
mail coach with the accused. Lorry contends that his fellow passengers
sat so bundled up that their identities remained hidden. The prosecutors
then ask similar questions of Lucie, the young woman Darnay had
noticed earlier. She admits to meeting the prisoner on the ship
back to England. When she recounts how he helped her to care for
her sick father, however, she seems to help his case—yet she then
inadvertently turns the court against Darnay by reporting his statement
that George Washington’s fame might one day match that of George
III. Doctor Manette is also called to the stand, but he claims that
he remembers nothing of the trip due to his illness.
Mr. Stryver is in the middle of cross-examining
another witness “with no result” when his insolent young colleague,
Sydney Carton, passes him a note. Stryver begins arguing the contents
of the note, which draws the court’s attention to Carton’s own uncanny
resemblance to the prisoner. The undeniable likeness foils the court’s
ability to identify Darnay as a spy beyond reasonable doubt. The
jury retires to deliberate and eventually returns with an acquittal
for Darnay.
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Chapter 3: A Disappointment →
Summary: Chapter 4: Congratulatory
Doctor Manette, Lucie, Mr. Lorry, Mr. Stryver, and Darnay
exit the courtroom. The narrator relates that Manette has established
himself as an upright and distinguished citizen, though the gloom
of his terrible past descends on him from time to time. These clouds descend
only rarely, however, and Lucie feels confident in her power as
the “golden thread” that unites him to a past and present “beyond
his misery.” Darnay kisses Lucie’s hand and then turns to Stryver
to thank him for his work. Lucie, Manette, and Stryver depart, and
a drunk Sydney Carton emerges from the shadows to join the men.
Lorry chastises him for not being a serious man of business. Darnay
and Carton make their way to a tavern, where Carton smugly asks,
“Is it worth being tried for one’s life, to be the object of [Lucie’s]
sympathy and compassion . . . ?” When Darnay comments that Carton
has been drinking, Carton gives his reason for indulging himself
so: “I am a disappointed drudge, sir. I care for no man on earth,
and no man on earth cares for me.” After Darnay leaves, Carton curses
his own image in the mirror, as well as his look-alike, who reminds
him of what he has “fallen away from.”
