Plot Summary
Book III, Chapter XIII of A Tale of Two Cities opens in the black prison of the Conciergerie on the morning fifty-two condemned prisoners are to die by guillotine. Among them is Charles Darnay, who has spent the night in his cell composing himself for death. Though his hold on life is fierce—the thought of Lucie and their child makes resignation feel selfish—he gradually arrives at a state of quiet fortitude, drawing comfort from the knowledge that his fate carries no disgrace and that his calm bearing will ease the future grief of those he loves.
Darnay writes three farewell letters: to Lucie, explaining that he never knew of Doctor Manette's imprisonment or his own family's role in it until she herself revealed it; to Doctor Manette, entrusting wife and child to his care and urging him away from despondency; and to Mr. Lorry, settling his worldly affairs. Notably, Darnay never once thinks of Sydney Carton. He finishes the letters before the lamps are extinguished, lies down, and dreams of being free and happy at home in Soho—until morning brings the crushing recognition: "This is the day of my death!"
Carton's Substitution
As the clock nears two, footsteps sound in the passage. A voice instructs someone in English to go in alone while he waits nearby. The door opens and Sydney Carton stands before Darnay—bright-eyed, smiling, with a cautionary finger on his lip. Claiming to carry a request from Lucie, Carton commands Darnay to exchange boots, coat, and cravat with him. When Darnay protests that escape is impossible, Carton sits him at the table to write a dictated letter: "If you remember the words that passed between us, long ago, you will readily comprehend this when you see it." As Darnay writes, Carton slowly draws a cloth soaked in a powerful vapour close to his face. Darnay struggles briefly but within a minute lies unconscious on the ground.
Carton dresses in Darnay's clothes, combs his hair to match, and summons the spy Barsad. Together with two guards—who believe the unconscious man is simply a visitor overcome with grief—they carry Darnay out to a waiting carriage. Carton, now posing as Darnay, seats himself at the table and waits for the final summons.
The Seamstress
At two o'clock, a gaoler calls "Follow me, Evremonde!" and Carton joins the fifty-two in a large dark room where their arms are bound. A young seamstress—a frail, innocent girl condemned for imaginary "plots"—recognizes that he is not Darnay and whispers, "Are you dying for him?" Carton answers: "And his wife and child. Hush! Yes." She asks to hold his hand to the end, calling him "stranger," and he tenderly agrees: "to the last."
The Escape from Paris
shifts to the present tense as the Manette-Darnay carriage reaches the city barrier. Jarvis Lorry answers every question at the checkpoint, identifying the passengers—Doctor Manette (broken and murmuring), Lucie, little Lucie, and the unconscious "Sydney Carton, Advocate, English." The papers are countersigned and the coach passes through. The narrative voice becomes urgent and breathless as they race through the countryside, stopping at posting-houses where every leisurely change of horses is agony. At one stop, postilions ask how many were sent to the guillotine that day. The answer—"Fifty-two"—provokes a chilling celebration: "A brave number! The Guillotine goes handsomely. I love it." Night falls, the unconscious Darnay begins to stir, and the coach hurtles onward with wind, clouds, and moon seeming to pursue them—but, so far, nothing else.