Tale of Two Cities Study Guide

Glossary of Terms

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.