Our reading assignment ends today with Mr. Lorry leaving the Old Bailey and heading back to his job at Tellson’s. Dickens describes the bank as old-fashioned, cramped, and fiercely resistant to change.
Although Tellson’s is fictional, it was likely inspired by Child & Co., which started as a goldsmith business run by Robert Blanchard in 1649. Blanchard’s business was recognized by the sign of a marigold.
Francis Child joined Blanchard in 1665. In 1673 they moved their business to Fleet Street. In 1681 Child inherited the entire business and it became known as Child & Co. By 1780, it had been an established financial institution for generations, serving wealthy families and influential members of British society.
At the time Dickens was writing A Tale of Two Cities Child & Co was headed by Sarah Sophia Fane, which was uncommon in the business world of the 1850s. The business remained at 1 Fleet Street until it closed in 2022. If you are in London you can still walk by the building that was once Child & Co. and may have been the inspiration for Tellson’s.
Something to Consider
Can an institution become so attached to its past achievements that it fails to recognize opportunities for improvement?
Can the same thing happen to an individual?
Great literature should do more than entertain us. It should provide a roadmap to improving our lives.
In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens introduced readers to Sydney Carton, one of literature's most compelling and deeply flawed characters. Dickens also gives him an unusual title: the Jackal.
His struggles raise questions that remain relevant today.
Are we defined by our past mistakes? Can we overcome our weaknesses? What separates the people we are from the people we could become?
Lessons From the Jackal is a 25-day character study exploring these questions through Sydney Carton’s life, decisions, relationships, and personal development.
This is not a traditional course on A Tale of Two Cities. Our reading assignments will focus specifically on Carton, with sufficient background provided to understand his story. No previous knowledge of the novel is necessary.
Each day will feature selected readings, historical comparisons, reflection questions, discussions, and practical challenges ...
Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816)
Playwright, writer, politician
In 1780, while Sydney Carton was fictionalized as a disillusioned young lawyer struggling with his wasted potential, another young man was making a name for himself in London.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan was only 29 years old, but had already established himself as one of Britain’s most celebrated playwrights.
His plays The Rivals (1775), The School for Scandal (1777), and The Critic (1779) demonstrated extraordinary wit, intelligence, and an understanding of human nature. He was also involved in managing London’s prestigious Drury Lane Theatre. In 1780, he was elected to Parliament, where he would eventually become renowned for his public speaking.
Yet Sheridan’s remarkable abilities did not protect him from his own weaknesses.
He enjoyed drinking, fashionable society, and an extravagant lifestyle. His spending habits, mounting debts, and financial difficulties would follow him throughout much of his life, eventually ...
