The Annotated A Tale of Two Cities - Paperback

by Susanne Alleyn (Author)

You've read A Tale of Two Cities-perhaps more than once. But what are gaols, bumpers, tocsins, farmer-generals, and the Court of King's Bench? Where are Shooter's Hill, Temple Bar, and La Force, and who on earth was Mrs. Southcott? And did all those starving French people have baguettes in mind when they wanted bread?

The Annotated A Tale of Two Cities is not a literary analysis of Dickens's novel, but a source of information for the new reader, the longterm fan, and the student, about things, people, places, and events mentioned in the text. In 780 notes to the unabridged novel, historical author and independent scholar Susanne Alleyn explains Dickens's references to things and places familiar to 19th-century Londoners, illustrates his many literary allusions and Victorian expressions, and provides an in-depth, factual background to his gripping but often misleading depiction of the French Revolution-a period that owes much of its distorted image today to the popularity of A Tale of Two Cities itself.

*This book was previously released under the title A Tale of Two Cities: A Reader's Companion.*

Author Biography

Susanne Alleyn is a historical novelist and independent scholar specializing in the era of the French Revolution. Her novels include _The Executioner's Heir_ and four Aristide Ravel mysteries set in revolutionary Paris. Nonfiction includes _Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders: A Writer's (& Editor's) Guide to Keeping Historical Fiction Free of Common Anachronisms, Errors, & Myths_ and the travel guide _The Weirder Side of Paris_.