Before the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789, the rich nobles
have oppressed the poor for long via heavy taxes and the terrible
privilege of filling up blank forms with the names of anyone they
considered dangerous, who would then be imprisoned (probably for
life).
Dr Alexandre Manette from Beauvais in France is a young doctor with a
rising reputation in Paris. One day, the Marquis of Evrémonde and his
brother invite Dr Manette home to treat their tenants, a brother and
sister, who are dying. The brother tells Dr Manette in their presence,
" These nobles are very wicked. They wanted to borrow my sister (who
is the other patient) from her husband and she refused so they
tortured her husband to death and raped her. I attacked them in
revenge and got mortally wounded. Thank God I have hidden my only
remaining sister out of their reach" . The brother and sister then die
and the Marquis tells Dr Manette never to reveal what he has seen.
However, Dr Manette's conscience worries him into writing a letter to
the Court, despite knowing the Marquis is influential enough to get
the case thrown out. The next day, the Marquis' wife (a very
compassionate woman) visits Dr Manette with her 3-year-old son Charles
and desires to help the surviving sister of the injured family, but Dr
Manette cannot reveal her name and location. She then trains Charles
to redress all the evils committed against the poor when he grows up.
Dr Manette's letter against the Marquis eventually fetches him 18
years of undeserved imprisonment in a dungeon of the Bastille in
Paris.
Dr Manette's wife, an English woman then pregnant with their first
child, doesn't know his whereabouts. She gives birth and decides to
tell the daughter (Lucie) that her father is dead, to spare her of the
uncertainty of a missing father. She dies when Lucie is only 2 years
old. Lucie then becomes a ward of Dr Manette's bank, Tellson's Bank
(which has branches in both London and Paris), after Mr Jarvis Lorry
takes her to London.
When Lucie becomes 17 years old, Dr Manette is found and Mr Lorry is
sent by the bank to conduct her to Paris to meet her father (who is
now living in the garret of his former servant, Defarge, as a
shoemaker in Paris). Monsieur and Madame Defarge own a wine-shop in
the suburb of Saint Antoine in Paris. Madame Defarge is the only
surviving member of that family wiped out by the Marquis before she
married Defarge. Dr Manette has now lost all his memory , says his
name is "105, North Tower" ( the name of his prison cell) and cannot
recount his ordeals to anyone. Monsieur and Madame Defarge have been
showing the wrecked doctor to their associates and fanning the flames
of the revolution. After the reunion, Dr Manette and Lucie are taken
back to England for safety.
The Marquis' son, Charles Evremonde, has grown up to despise his
family's reputation for oppressing the poor. He spends most of his
time away from it all in England as Charles Darnay and only returns to
Paris occasionally to see his father's brother, the new Marquis, after
his father's death. Five years after Dr Manette's return to London,
Charles Darnay is tried on a suspicion of spying on England for France
during his constant travels between the two countries. The prosecution
presents John Barsad (his friend) and Roger Cly (his servant) as
witnesses. Charles' lawyers (Mr Stryver and his assistant, Sydney
Carton) prove that Barsad is yet to repay some money he owes Charles
and that Charles (being of French birth) is shuffling between the
countries because of some undisclosed family affairs in France.
Another prosecution witness can't tell Charles apart from Carton (his
lookalike). Charles is eventually acquitted and returns to Paris.
The current Marquis of Evrémonde is as callous as ever. He drives his
carriage recklessly through the narrow streets of Paris. He kills
Gaspard's child one day, pays a gold coin and moves on after blaming
the people for their carelessness. Gaspard trails him home under his
carriage and knifes him to death at night. Gaspard is later executed
for the murder. After his uncle's death, Charles (in accordance with
his late mother's training) gives up his position as lord of the
Evrémondes estate and becomes established in England as a teacher of
French.
Mr Barsad ( now a spy for the French state) visits Defarge's wine-shop
to confirm the people's sympathy for Gaspard but fails. He ends up
revealing that Lucie Manette is going to marry Charles Darnay , who is
the Marquis' nephew. Madame Defarge quickly knits Charles Darnay and
John Barsad along with all the Marquis' descendants into her rogues'
gallery (a piece of knitting). Darnay marries Lucie before revealing
his connection to the Evrémondes.
The storm breaks one day. The prison of Bastille is taken by the
masses led by Defarge (who ransacks "105, North Tower" and sees a
letter written by Dr Manette in prison before he lost his memory). The
masses take over power and establish a Hall of Justice to execute
their former oppressors. The aristocrats emigrate daily to England and
their homes are burnt by the masses. Evrémondes estate is also burnt
and its tax-collector (Gabelle) hardly escapes with his life. Charles
Darnay is lured from London back to Paris with a letter from Gabelle
claiming to have been captured by the mob. Charles returns to Paris
only to be imprisoned at La Force. At Charles' first trial, Dr
Manette's influence as a fellow victim of aristocratic oppression gets
Charles released as his son-in-law. However, he is rearrested after
being denounced by Monsieur and Madame Defarge, who bring out Dr
Manette's prison letter (which recounts his ordeals with the
Evrémondes and ends up denouncing all their descendants).
Though Defarge reminds his wife about Charles' innocence and the
goodness of his mother and father-in-law, she keeps seeing the
wickedness of Charles' father and uncle to her own family. She even
wants Lucie Manette and her little daughter (Lucie) destroyed with
the rest of Charles' family.
Charles Darnay gets a death penalty but Sydney Carton (his lookalike)
visits his prison cell at the eleventh hour and exchanges clothes
with him (after drugging him to drown his resistance). Charles is
carried out unconscious as "Sydney Carton" while Sydney is executed as
"Charles Darnay". Darnay ,Lucie, their daughter and Dr Manette leave
Paris for London.
Soon after the execution, Madame Defarge visits Lucie's house to
implicate her but meets only Miss Pross (her faithful attendant)
there. She discovers the flight of Lucie and co but Miss Pross
prevents her from leaving and raising an alarm that may make the mob
bring them back by force. During the fierce struggle, Madame Defarge's
pistol goes off and kills her while the noise deafens Miss Pross for
life. Miss Pross later joins Lucie and co in London.
Sydney Carton's memory is treasured forever by Charles Darnay, Lucie
and their descendants ( just as all Christians treasure Jesus Christ
for dying to save them from Adam's sin). Madame Defarge's uncontrolled
quest for vengeance kills her (the last surviving member of her
family) without leaving any offspring.
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