ancien régime
The pre-revolutionary monarchical, aristocratic rule of France.
barrister
A lawyer who handles court cases.
château
A French aristocrat's country home.
conciergerie
A prison in Paris.
doll
A disparaging term for women in the nineteenth century.
flambeau
A torch.
fortnight
Two weeks; fourteen days.
garret
An attic or room on the top floor of a house or apartment.
guillotine
A heavy blade held up by two posts which is dropped on the victim's neck in order to behead the victim.
hackney-coach
A coach for hire; an older equivalent of a taxi.
head drawer
Man in charge of a hotel.
incarceration
Imprisonment.
jackal
An accomplice who assists in menial or slightly disreputable acts.
letter de cachet
A sealed letter, especially from a sovereign, often ordering arbitrary imprisonment.
mail-coach
Before the introduction of railways there were two types of coaches on English roads: the mail-coach and the stage-coach. The mail-coaches were subsidized by the Post Office, whereas stage-coaches were privately owned.
miller
A man whose profession is to grind wheat. Millers are usually portrayed as all white because they are covered in flour.
Old Bailey
The Old Bailey Court, the central court where criminals were prosecuted.
pike
A long spear.
postilion
Man who rides the near horse of the leaders to guide the horses drawing a coach.
punch
A spiced fruit beverage with an alcoholic base.
quartering
An antiquated punishment for criminals involving dismembering them into four parts.
quid
Slang for a pound (British currency).
Resurrection-Man
A person who digs up dead bodies to sell parts of them to scientists. Also called "Resurrectionist."
Saint Antoine
A district of Paris very active in the revolution, especially in the storming of the Bastille.
scrivener
Scribe or copier.
shoe
Type of brakes under a carriage.
snuff
Powdered tobacco inhaled through the nose.
solicitor
A lawyer who handles wills and estates and most matters not involving a court.
spectre
A ghost or apparition.
Temple Bar
A London landmark located near Tellson's Bank.
Tower of London
The state prison in London.
tumbril
A crude two-wheeled cart used to carry prisoners to be executed in the French Revolution.
turnkey
A jailor.
Versailles
A city southwest of Paris known for the opulent French royal palace built for King Louis XIV.
ward
someone for whom someone else has responsibility, especially financially
Whitefriars
In Dickens's time, a disreputable district of London.
wood-sawyer
A man who chops wood.
