"He felt his wrist held closer, and he stopped" — illustration for "A Tale of Two Cities" by John McLenan in "Harper's Weekly," Vol. III, No. 124 (14 May 1859)

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He felt his wrist held closer, and he stopped.

John McLenan

Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities, Book I, Ch. IV, "The Preparation."

Harper's Weekly, Vol. III, No. 124 (14 May 1859): 305 (in the T. B. Peterson volume, facing p. 24).

8.3 cm high by 8.5 cm wide (3 ¼ by 3 ⅜ inches)

[Mr. Lorry and Lucie Manette in the room at the Royal George, Dover.]

This text appeared in the UK in All the Year Round on 7 May 1859.

[Click on the image to enlarge it, and mouse over the text for links.]

Passage Suggested: What news of Dr. Manette, The Recently Released Bastille Prisoner?

“You know that your parents had no great possession, and that what they had was secured to your mother and to you. There has been no new discovery, of money, or of any other property; but —”

He felt his wrist held closer, and he stopped. The expression in the forehead, which had so particularly attracted his notice, and which was now immovable, had deepened into one of pain and horror.

“But he has been — been found. He is alive. Greatly changed, it is too probable; almost a wreck, it is possible; though we will hope the best. Still, alive. Your father has been taken to the house of an old servant in Paris, and we are going there: I, to identify him if I can: you, to restore him to life, love, duty, rest, comfort.”

A shiver ran through her frame, and from it through his. [Book the First — "Recalled to Life," Chapter IV, "The Preparation," 306]

Other Illustrated Editions (1859-1910)

Related Material

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham. [You may use the image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned it and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Bibliography

Allingham, Philip V. “Charles Dickens's A Tale of Two Cities (1859) Illustrated: A Critical Reassessment of Hablot Knight Browne's Accompanying Plates.” Dickens Studies. 33 (2003): 109-158.

Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. Illustrated by John McLenan. Harper's Weekly: A Journal of Civilization, 7 May through 3 December 1859.

Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities. Illustrated by John McLenan (33 illustrations). Philadelphia: T. B. Peterson, 1859.

Dickens, Charles. A Tale of Two Cities: A story of the French Revolution. Project Gutenberg e-text by Judith Boss, Omaha, Nebraska. Release Date: September 25, 2004 [EBook #98].

Created 5 August 2007

Last modified 15 November 2025