The New Perception Developed by Weekly Journals in the Mid-Nineteenth Century and Its Influence on the Narration of A Tale of Two Cities

Abstract

This study examines the narration of A Tale of Two Cities (A Tale) to demonstrate that this work of fiction was influenced by and represents how readers of weekly journals from the mid-nineteenth century perceived the world. At this time, editors of English weekly journals began using the telegraph and special correspondents alongside other means of communication. This enabled them to regularly provide readers with information from distant lands faster than before. This acceleration of information developed the perception among readers that weekly journals reported recent events and new information on a weekly basis A Tale, a serialized work published weekly in a weekly journal beside journalistic reports, conformed its narration to this newly created perception. The narrator of A Tale, who is referred to by the singular “they” in this paper, is not involved in the story and knows everything about it. However, they switch the narrated scenes in the novel between issues of the journal as if the story were an on-site report. They stray from this behaviour only once and switch the scene within one issue, but this seemingly exceptional case was based on the weekly journals’ principle of reporting news swiftly. They are portrayed as being well informed about the real world and the specific period when A Tale was published. This contrivance makes it seem consistent that the fictional narrator uses the perception that was developed in the real world.