The Great Fear

Decathletes:

There is a period of the French Revolution--after the storming of the Bastille but before the Reign of Terror--that is called the Great Fear. During this period, the peasants in the countryside burned down a number of estates owned by the aristocracy. We see this period in A Tale of Two Cities when the estate of the Marquis St Evermonde--the uncle of Charles Darnay--is burned down by a mob. This is a key event in the story because it results in the servant Gabelle writing to Charles Darnay asking for his help. This, in turn, results in Darnay returning to Paris and getting imprisoned.