Carton is continually buffeted by fate, but seeks redemption if only to justify Lucie and others’ faith in him. Inspired by Lucie’s faith in him, and her simple goodness, Carton determines to recall himself to life and travels to France, where he finds himself in the middle of a Revolution - a revolution that will, as it continues to mold France’s destiny, force Carton and others to choose their own paths. Instead, Alleyn focuses on what love drives Carton to do. Though we see inside Carton’s soul, Alleyn does not make her readers bedroom voyeurs.

Indeed, those bodices which are mentioned remain firmly fastened.

While romance is inevitable - Carton’s enduring love for Lucie Manette drives him throughout the plot, here as in Dickens’ original - this is not a bodice-ripper. This, I’m happy to report, was a misjudgment on my part.

A Far Better Rest is Carton’s story, told through his eyes - and an excellent complement to the classic, I might add.Īt first the novel did not too much impress me: its cover and opening chapters made me suspect I was in for a period romance instead of a ‘proper’ historical novel. Regarded as a classic of western literature, the novel warns against the dangers of Revolution and celebrates individual self-sacrifice, unpredictably embodied by the figure of Sydney Carton, who rouses himself from a drunken slumber to save a man’s life, returns to his rest, and rises once more at the novel’s end to save an innocent man from the guillotine’s murderous wrath. Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is the story of a family beset by revolution.

A Far Better Rest by Susanne Alleyn