A Tale of Two Cities book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Chapters 1 to 9

1. What makes the contrast between royal confidence and widespread unrest troubling?
2. What does the spilled wine suggest about how hunger shapes a community?
3. What might family affection offer an injured former prisoner that an urgent departure cannot?
4. How much trust would you place in a court where resemblance undermines the prosecution and spectators hunger for blood?
5. Who bears responsibility when Sydney Carton's talent brings unequal rewards and private despair?

Meeting 2: Chapters 10 to 1

6. Why might Mr. Stryver blame Miss Manette rather than reconsider his own expectations?
7. Does Sydney Carton's pledge of devotion suggest hope, despair, or both?
8. What does turning the road mender's royal enthusiasm toward revenge suggest about the use of popular feeling?
9. When does helping a distressed friend justify destroying something linked to that friend's suffering?
10. How does unchanged hunger affect your judgment of the crowd's revenge against Foulon?

Meeting 3: Chapters 2 to 15

11. What can Lucie's appeal and Madame Defarge's refusal tell us about the limits of mercy?
12. How does Doctor Manette's growing strength complicate the idea of recovery when violence still limits what he can achieve?
13. How should the crowd's celebration of Charles Darnay's release affect our reading of his next arrest?
14. Is urging someone to seek mercy worthwhile when you expect the effort to fail?
15. How does Sydney Carton's exchange change your understanding of his earlier pledge of devotion?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.