Tale of Two Cities Lecture Notes

• Dickens traveled to France and England and was entranced by his surroundings
• He got caught up in the events happening there
• Then came "Tale of Two Cities" (France and England)
• The story came out in chapters or sections in the "Weekly Serial"
• He wrote it in short spurts so he could adjust the story-line based on the audiences reactions
• The French Revolution was the influence
• He wanted to dramatize the French Revolution for theater, but never did.  There were still public readings though
• He referred to it as the best story he had written
• Dickens put suspense behind the already known history through his figurative language and really good use of literary devices.
• Self note: when Williams read the text aloud, the language was amazing
• Dickens met Thomas Carlisle in 1840 who developed a deep friendship with Dickens
• Carlisle wrote the "History of the French Revolution" 
• Dickens turned to Carlisle for assistance in writing "Tale of Two Cities" to make sure that it was historically accurate
• He also allowed Carlisle to read it as he went
• Put in his research before he wrote
• Williams claims that many of the events depicted in the text  have personal representations to Dickens

I decided to type my notes because they aren't very legible in the picture.  I wrote fast to keep up with the speaker.