When Sydney Carton and Charles Darnay are alone together following his acquittal Carton took him to Fleet Street and into a tavern.
Charles Dickens personally visited a tavern on Fleet Street that is still in operation today. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese is a steakhouse that started operating as a pub in 1538. It burnt down in the great London fire of 1666. It was rebuilt in 1667 and has been in operation ever since. If you are ever in London you can stop in for a meal at 145 Fleet Street.
Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese notes on its website that it was featured in A Tale of Two Cities. This may be the tavern that Carton and Darnay had their meal together.
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 ...
