Influences
Many influences from Dickens' life show up in his work. For example, A Tale of Two Cities was written under the influence of Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish writer and historian. Dickens read The French Revolution of History written by Carlyle 500 times and carried it with him while he was writing A Tale of Two Cities! Dickens also asked Carlyle for recommendations for background research on the French Revolution and ended up taking home two large carts full of books. Much of Dickens' style is also adapted from Carlyle. In addition to Carlyle, there were many other influences in Dickens' life that made it into his works. The theme of violence, fierceness, and fear originated from Dickens' terrible temper which he inherited from his father. Themes of prison is his works did not even begin until his visit to Newgate Prison. Dickens' also had an appreciation for French academic/classical painting and because of this, included them as historical motifs in many of his novels. Before he even started writing A Tale of Two Cities, he was jotting down stray suggestions as early as 1855. One stray idea he had was for a story that took place in two different time periods. In writing A Tale of Two Cities he further explored this concept. Around the time he was writing the novel, the Resurrectionist was in the news. This idea fascinated Dickens and later became the influence for the character of Jerry Cruncher.