Read John Granger’s Harry Potter’s Bookshelf. In it he makes the argument very well that A Tale of Two Cities is a book about alchemy. So is Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame which I actually prefer to Les Miserables. Watch for gold, red, and white in any of these books. Also twins and dopplegangers.
“A Tale of Two Cities is a book about alchemy”
Interesting. Sir Isaac Newton was also said to be an alchemist. I have tried to learn more about the history of alchemy and how important it was but I have not found any good sources except the ones on Isaac Newton.