A Far Better Rest

by Susanne Alleyn, Charles Dickens

Filling in the "missing years" of Sydney Carton in the Dickins novel A Tale of Two Cities, this book follows the troubled, love-stricken man to France, where he takes part in the revolution.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, French Revolution, Literature, Historical, France

353 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2000

About the author

The granddaughter of children’s author Lillie V. Albrecht (author of Deborah Remembers, The Spinning Wheel Secret, and three other historicals, all now available for Kindle), Susanne Alleyn definitely doesn’t write for children, unless, like her, they have found guillotines, high drama, and the French Revolution fascinating since the age of ten or so.

Susanne grew up in Massachusetts and New York City. After studying acting and singing, and earning a B.F.A. in theater from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Susanne eventually came to the conclusion that, as an actor, she was quite a good writer, and that sending out manuscripts to editors and agents was still easier on the nerves than going to auditions. (She can, nevertheless, still sing a high C when requested.) Having been unwholesomely fascinated by the French Revolution since she read the Classics Illustrated comic-book version of A Tale of Two Cities, she set out to write about it. Her first novel, A Far Better Rest, a reimagining of A Tale of Two Cities (what else?) from the point of view of Sydney Carton, was published in 2000.

Though a longtime fan, she had never considered writing mysteries, however, until she suddenly found herself creating a historical mystery plot suggested by an actual series of murders committed in Paris in the early 1800s. Police agent Aristide Ravel made his first appearance in Game of Patience and returned in A Treasury of Regrets, both set in Paris in the Directoire period of 1796-97. Susanne is currently at work on a third mystery in the series, a prequel, and intends to cover the entire Revolutionary period in future novels.

She would like to add that she speaks French very badly.

Reviews

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: A Tale of Two Cities is the story of Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette, but Sydney Carton is the hero who makes the ultimate sacrifice for love. Sydney disappears from the novel in London and turns up years later in Paris to bring the story to its heartbreaking end. A Far Better Rest imagines his missing personal history and makes him the center of this tragic tale. Born in England of an unloving father and a French mother, Sydney is sent to college in Paris, where he meets Charles Darnay and the other students who will have enormous influence on his life and alter the course of French history -- Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins among them. The beauty and kindness of Charles's wife, Lucie Manette, affects Sydney so deeply that he secretly devotes his life to her happiness.

Sydney becomes a major participant in the formation of the French Republic at the end of the eighteenth century and a witness to one of the most gruesome periods in history, as the significant people in his life fall to the guillotine. A Far Better Rest is a novel of passion, identity, and history that stands fully on its own.

My Review: The Doubleday UK meme, a book a day for July 2014, is the goad I'm using to get through my snit-based unwritten reviews. Today's prompt, in honor of Bastille Day, is to select your favorite novel set in or about France.

Okay. I know this will come as a surprise to y'all, being as how I've kept it such a closely guarded secret, but I have to say this right up front: I don't much care for the novels of Mr. Charles Dickens.

I know, I know, pick your jaws up from the floor, I'm sure you'll recover from the shock soon.

Now, with that bombshell out of the way, consider this: I am rating a book based on Mr. Dickens' dreary, interminable, turgid, jelly-bodied clunking clanking gawdawful sentimental absurdly overblown....

*ahem*

I am rating this novel, even factoring in its source, at four stars. And wanna know a secret? I've read all Alleyn's Aristide Ravel mysteries, set in Revolutionary Paris. And her novel The Executioner's Heir. And her short fiction, Masquerade. And her non-fiction Medieval Underpants (I mean, how could one not read something titled Medieval Underpants?).

So absorb for a moment the improbability of a man with the discernment and good taste to loathe Dickens picking up this novel in the first place; reading a snatch of it and getting hooked; buying the Soho Press hardcover at retail; and becoming such a fan that he's read what there is to read by the author.

So I'd say that makes this my favorite novel set in and or about France. Why? Because I've read a lot of books, and unlike most historical fiction, this book reads like it was written by a person from that time who simply, inexplicably, happens to be alive now. The same is true of her Ravel mysteries. I don't know how she does it, exactly, but Alleyn handwaves away the 225 years between the Revolution and today. Forget you're reading a hardcover that did not cost you a month's wages. Or a Kindle whose mere existence would be a marvel to the people you're reading about. And you know what? You *will* forget those things.

I love immersive reads. I love to lose myself in a time and a place not here and not now. And Susanne Alleyn has done that for me again, and again, and never failed to make me happy I've spent time in her company.

Best of all? The Kindle edition of this book is a whopping $2.99. Please go buy it. This author deserves our support!


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just ask yourself this question: how crazy is it that this book actually exists, and that it works as well as it does?

Seriously! A book that's half A Tale of Two Cities prequel/midquel and half French Revolution historical fiction novel? No one could possibly write that and make it good. But thanks to Ms. Alleyn's writing style (in the same nineteenth century brand as Dickens' was), eye to historical detail, and gallery of rich characters new and old, this book certainly succeeded my expectations.

I'd read Tale in freshman English, and it was easily my favorite book we'd read that year. After slogging painfully through twentieth-century pieces like Catcher in the Rye and All Quite on the Western Front (actually, that one was pretty okay), this book could only be described as "the dawn after the night". So later that summer, when I discovered this book, I decided to give it a try. BEST. PAYOFF. EVER.

We know very little about Sydney Carton's past in Tale, or what he was doing after the marriage of Lucie and before his heroic death. Alleyn fills in those gaps beautifully. After a heart-renching betrayal that occurred in Sydney's youth, we learn why he's, well..a jaded, cynical drunkard years later. To put it shortly, Sydney's fiancee Sarah leaves him, and he spends almost fifteen years being the drudge of the pompous barrister Mr. Stryver. When he meets Lucie Manette, with her gold hair and blue eyes, she reminds him of Sarah, with the beauty she had and the kindness that she didn't. By the time of the trial, he knows Charles Darnay already (they were schoolmates in France),and the short time where he's a possible match for Lucie and deciding whether or not he's worthy of her is so touching.

But the climax is the long, drawn-put period where Carton returns to France and becomes a key figure in the early stages of the Revolution. Of course, this never happened in real life, but he interacts with people who did: Robespierre, Desmoulins, Saint-Just...the whole crowd. He meets a a woman named Élénore d'Ambert, who just so happens to be Darnay's cousin, and their rocky, passionate relationship was just a delight to read.

I won't spoil the ending (it's quite a jaw-dropper), but i promise it won't be something you expect. Whether you're a fan of the Dickens classic or just a nut for the French Revolution, this is definitely a book for you.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retelling of Dicken's famous anti-hero, Sydney Carton, A Far Better Rest thrusts our beloved protagonist onto the stage of the French Revolution, from the beginning of serious protestations to his tragic end, courtesy of the unforgiving guillotine.

I read this book when I was a young adolescent, before I read Tale of Two Cities, and I fell in love with the reckless, romantic, and redeemed character of Sydney Carton. Upon rereading it again, alongside Dickens this time, I was no longer as impressed.

However, I must say that I'm judging A Far Better Rest more harshly because, well, to compare Dickens with any other author is just silly really, and I must acknowledge that, clearly, Dickens and Alleyn wrote with two extremely differing literary and historical goals. (Also, I'm giving a not-so-great rating because Alleyn's critical note at the end does not do Dickens enough justice, which upset me greatly.)

Dickens wanted to portray the terrors of the unforgiving and tumultuous French Revolution in order to warn his contemporary readers that a repeat of this history is not inevitable in his time period, which itself was quite tumultuous with the advent of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, resulting in the increasingly poor conditions for many Britons. Dickens was probably well aware that the terror isn't all that constituted the French Revolution, but his focus was the artistic rendition of these horrors in order to make his literary claims about the wretched conditions of the plebians, the narcissistic and selfish attitudes of the nobility, and the national redemption of an entire country that was personified by the redemption of the unmotivated and unloved Sydney Carton.

Dickens' work was one of art. Alleyn's work was one of history. Of course, Alleyn's work definitely does more justice to the vicissitudes of the entire French Revolution and preciously captures the hope of a more just and fair nation that spurred the glorious revolution in the first place. Instead of blending the characters into the time period (which Dickens is the master of), Alleyn brings the historical events into the forefront. Though Sydney Carton is undoubtedly the novel's main character, this reader was left feeling as if he was just an excuse for a grand history lesson in literary form. Using the back story of The Tale of Two Cities was more like a slap in Dickens' face because he didn't accurately portray the revolution.

As a mostly historical work, though, Alleyn shines in allowing readers to really interact with the now well-known names of that French period, giving her characters historically accurate voices, personalities, and mannerisms so that we feel more invested in our reading and understanding of how a revolution of hope devolved into a revolution of terror.

What I enjoyed most is that our anti-hero in Dickens' novel becomes a hero in Alleyn's with all of the necessary qualities that he lacked in A Tale of Two Cities (morality, idealism, courage), and he became a hero not out of only his love for the pure and golden Lucie Manette but because he was changed by her foil, Eleonore D'Ambert, Carton's feisty, outspoken, and fierce heroine.

Though I didn't enjoy my reread of this work as much, its historicity is definitely suitable for all readers who are curious enough for a more intimate look at the French Revolution.

[Marion · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was not for me.
As a person who fell in love with the original book, this one didn't feel right. There were so many inconsistencies, and some very iconic scenes were altered or completely changed. At times, the characters behaved so differently, I had to pause and gather my thoughts.

And I ask, what is the point of writing such a book if you're not going to respect the original?
If I am not mistaken, the purpose of this book was to provide a background for Sydney and fill the gaps of the time leaps, no? Build around the scenes we have been familiar with, no?
Then why, oh, why was this written like fanfiction? There is no other word for it.

Do you remember Sydney's tragic love confession? The "You have been the last dream of my soul... A dream, all a dream, that ends in nothing" one? It was a completely different scene. A beautiful scene, I'll admit. But with different characters. Because it had nothing to do with the characters we knew. Sydney's love was always unrequited. The fact that Lucie reciprocated his feelings was completely out of character. She had always been loyal and devoted to Charles. These mutual feelings absolutely diminish the tragicness of Sydney's character.

I have also deleted from my memory the child he had and the marriage with that woman. I cannot stress how unnecessary and out of character these things were. For me, the only way to appreciate this book is to imagine different characters for them or put them in a different setting. Or maybe if the aspects of the original book weren't so brutally altered, I would have enjoyed it.

While reading the original, it seemed to me like this severely depressed man was psychologically squashed, repeatedly in the past. His belief of being unworthy of anything good and generally considering himself worthless was too embedded in his brain for it to be just a sign of depression. I believe that emotional and verbal abuse were the cause of that, and while they existed in this book, I was expecting something more specific related to this notion. It's hard to imagine he came to believe that on his own.

However, there was something I liked, and it was the blood relation between Sydney and Charles. It added to the plot in a good way and provided us with perfect reasoning for their crazy resemblance.

Lastly, the author's comment regarding the comparison between the victims of the Reign of Terror and the casualties of the Napoleonic Wars was tasteless.

[Shomeret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dickens portrayed Sydney Carton as an unassuming non-entity whose death was his only moment of glory. This novel's Sydney Carton was unexpected. He does many great things before his end, but he judges himself harshly and believes he has accomplished nothing. Perhaps he hasn't on the large scale of history, but he made a difference in the lives of individuals and was well regarded by many.

I expected the revelation that happened near the end of the book. It was fairly predictable. In fact, I was impatient for it to happen. But now that I've finished the book, I think it was appropriately timed.

I think this Sydney Carton was a good man with an outsized sense of responsibility which is often true of the best of humanity. I also thought this was a wonderful re-telling of one of my favorite books.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of those books that leaves you with a sense of disappointment on the last page because you don't want it to be over. I admit, that my strange affinity for "A Tale of Two Cities" makes me somewhat biased towards this book, but I will tout it's graces anyways. A re-telling of the Dickens classic from the standpoint of Sidney Carton, this book brings about incredible emotion and humanity to this lesser character and to the worst months of the French Revolution. The plot could have certainly been applied to a completely random set of characters, but the link to Two Cities made you feel immediately engaged and on familiar terms from the start. I have a feeling that my now bi-annual re-reading of Two Cities may be more often than not followed by a re-read of this book as well.

[Catherine Prystup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction based off of a Charles Dickens character. Was very good, although got a little slow towards the middle. All in all, would recommend!

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this historical fiction based on Charles Dickens A TALE OF TWO CITIES.

[Booklover · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a avid lover of Charles Dickens original tale of Two cities, I say to other fans of him this book was a disappointment. You can read it but don't expect a grand book that adds breathtaking depth to the movie.

About the only compliment I have to give this book is Suzanne Allen's expansion on the ne'er-do-well nature of Sydney. Charles Dickens with English reserve gives hints as to the dissipation and amoral aspect of his character, this writer explores just what Sydney is up that renders him an inappropriate match for Lucy Mannete. Which is odd that she had makes a half hearted attempt to rewrite Charles Dickens character roles, and play that Lucy considered Sydney Carton preferable. Especially in 17th century England, a drunken, harlot carousing lawyer would not be the preferable match for a respectable woman.
Not believable also was the added fiction that Charles Darnay and Sydney knew each other in their childhood. The familiarity and history is not reflected in the relationship within Tale of Two cities, obviously because Charles Dickens didn't intend for there to be a prior relationship, which is another eye roll.
Now to see Sydney carton as a cunning spy in the chaotic, cutthroat atmosphere of the French revolution was very interesting, I wish Dickens had taken the time to explain more of how Sydney got information. Suzanne Allen does a very worthy attempt to flesh out how Sydney got his information, and how clever he was to move in a treacherous environment.

What ultimately soured this halfway decent retelling for me was two things, Suzanne Allen did not have the good sense to keep the 18th century style of writing. I've said it before, modern writing and modern vocabulary is uninspiring and as someone who adores the period pieces, this lazy choice was irritating.
The further lazy choice that turn me off completely was the "revelation" that Sydney and Charles darnay are in fact related by half blood. The entire crescendo of The tale of Two cities was that they were not related in any close way, that is what made Sydney's sacrifice so heroic! I prefer to let Dickens have his mystery, I don't want Dickens plots rewritten by a wannabe new age amateur.

I'm really glad I didn't buy this book, it's not worth the buy. Rent it at the library

[Tony P · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed this a lot more than a Tale of Two Cities.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities is the story of a family beset by revolution. Regarded as a classic of western literature, the novel warns against the dangers of Revolution and celebrates individual self-sacrifice, unpredictably embodied by the figure of Sydney Carton, who rouses himself from a drunken slumber to save a man’s life, returns to his rest, and rises once more at the novel’s end to save an innocent man from the guillotine’s murderous wrath. A Far Better Rest is Carton’s story, told through his eyes -- and an excellent complement to the classic, I might add.

At first the novel did not too much impress me: its cover and opening chapters made me suspect I was in for a period romance instead of a ‘proper’ historical novel. This, I’m happy to report, was a misjudgment on my part. While romance is inevitable -- Carton’s enduring love for Lucie Manette drives him throughout the plot, here as in Dickens’ original -- this is not a bodice-ripper. Indeed, those bodices which are mentioned remain firmly fastened. Though we see inside Carton’s soul, Alleyn does not make her readers bedroom voyeurs. Instead, Alleyn focuses on what love drives Carton to do. Inspired by Lucie’s faith in him, and her simple goodness, Carton determines to recall himself to life and travels to France, where he finds himself in the middle of a Revolution -- a revolution that will, as it continues to mold France’s destiny, force Carton and others to choose their own paths. Carton is continually buffeted by fate, but seeks redemption if only to justify Lucie and others’ faith in him. Lucie is not his only motivation: having grown as a character, Carton only learns of the Mannettes’ presence in Paris in the midst of a personal quest.

Any novel inspired by A Tale of Two Cities cannot very well avoid the Revolution, but Carton’s place in the relative thick of things gives the reader a personal view of the chaos that began to unfold after the First Republic found itself at war with a continent full of adversaries and ruled by a council of ruthless crusaders determined to preserve their gains at all costs. Carton finds in the Republican struggle something to live for, but his hopes are dashed when the Revolution, "like Saturn, eats its own children". Alleyn evidently knows the period quite well, and displays an impressive amount of historical detail. (She even attaches a bibliography -- not something I see in a lot of historical fiction.) This is reflected in the style of the narrative, for Carton-as-narrator employs some older spelling variations ("connexion"), capitalizes random Nouns within sentences, and O! uses period abbreviations, tho' they run the gauntlet between being distracting and somewhat immersive. Alleyn or her editor's choice of font was also well done -- conveying an 18th century feel. The only truly distracting stylistic choice (for me) was Carton's self-censorship: words deemed vulgar are marred by underscores, so damned becomes d___ed and bollocks b_ll_cks. The reader knows d___ed well what's being said, but 'walking through' the underscores tends to slow down the book's pace.

Speaking of pace, the book turned into a page-turner after a slow start. The beginning of the book is its weakest -- there's a forced scene in which Carton meets two future revolutionaries while studying in France, one that has no function other than to establish a prior relationship between the boys for when they mature into men destined to lead France from monarchy to Republicanism. The political elements make the book a sort of thriller, and Alleyn's depiction of Carton's relationships with Darton, Lucie, and a third character, coupled with his masterful character growth, created in this book book an absolute winner for me -- one I'd recommend without reserve. Just as Carton redeemed himself, so will his "self-written" account redeem the story of A Tale of Two Cities for those who think it too florid, dense, or inaccurate -- for Alleyn thinks Dickens' exaggerated account of the revolution a blot on his reputation and attempts to portray it more fairly here. She's an author who takes her history seriously.


Related:

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens.
Citizens, Simon Schama

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was ok. That's about it. It filled my need for "more French Revolution!" without getting me a few hundred pages into Les Mis, only to abandon it due to lack of time when getting to South Africa became foremost in my concerns.

This is one of those spin-off books. It imagines the events in the life of Sydney Carton (from Tale of Two Cities) during the parts of the book where he disappears from the narrative. The bits of this novel that of necessity overlap with the action of Tale of Two Cities end up being a bit tedious, because, ok, I had just read Tale of Two Cities. The changed perspective in these parts of the narrative really didn’t add anything for me. I’ve ready plenty of novels & stories where shifting the telling of the same event to a different perspective adds new layers of meaning. This one didn’t really do that for me.

The bulk of the book is taken up with newly invented events, assuming that Carton moved to Paris and established himself in the middle of the political circles of the day. This part of the narrative was most interesting to me because it filled in some details of the political climate of Paris during the French Revolution.

However, I found it a little implausible. If Carton was well-known to such prominent figures as Robespierre, Marat, and Desmoulins, he would have been well-known enough in Paris that his likeness to Darnay would not have gone unnoticed. Kind of throws a wrench into the climax of the story. But (as with many historical novels) this author felt the need to thrust Carton into the middle of the action as far as French politics were concerned. I think this is one of the ways Dickens succeeds in the historical novel genre--he focuses on one group of people caught up in the events of history, rather than making them central to those events, or even adjacent to the people central to those events.

There’s a kind of amusing (to me) afterword/disclaimer at the end, which mildly argues that Dickens sensationalized the Terror and that it wasn’t so bad after all. The author compares the number executed during the Terror to the number killed during one of the Napoleonic battles. Small but important distinction that the author failed to draw out: those executed during the terror were, well... executed. Casualties of war are considerably different from executions carried out over a period of days and weeks. Executions ordered following hasty and dubious trials and convictions, I might add.

What I did enjoy in reading this was learning a bit more about the politics surrounding the time period that’s so central in Dickens’ novel. When I finished Tale of Two Cities, I was curious to read more about the same time period, and this novel did that--filling in some of the political details and context very well. While it was interesting for me to explore some additional fictional narrative focused on this historical time period, I wouldn’t exactly recommend this one heartily.

[Kevin Bensley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good idea for a novel.

A Tale of Two Cities tells us a lot about Charles Darnay, Doctor and Lucie Manette, and Monsieur and Madame Defarge, but not much about Jarvis Lorry (an old banker, what is there to know?), Mr Stryver, and Sydney Carton. This novel fills in the gaps about Sydney Carton and also a bit about Mr Stryver.

The coincidences and twists are worthy of Charles Dickens himself!

[Leigh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Susanne Alleyn's sequel to A Tale of Two Cities , filling in the gaps in Sydney Carton's history. Two Cities is my favorite Dickens, and I spent most of my adolescence in love with Sydney, so I loved the idea of this book; not so much the execution. I need to give it a reread to be able to comment in depth (it's been at least ten years since I read it), so consider this "review" a placeholder.

[Debra Borchert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Alleyn's "A Far Better Rest" made "A Tale of Two Cities" resonate on a deeper level within me. She captured a different side to the story, which made the French Revolution even more interesting to me. A wonderful read.

[Meg · Rating 1 out of 5]

I dig Sydney Carton, but I couldn't get more than 40 pages into this book. The writing style is too breezy, and the added backstory is uninteresting.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at Sidney Carton's life before and leading up to the role he'd play in "A Tale of Two Cities".

[Abbey]

I just started this, and I'm hooked. I've always loved the character of Sydney and wondered what his past was like. Now I'm finding out.

[Mkl]

Good book. I'd read other books from this author.