Jeremiah "Jerry" Cruncher is a fictional character in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

' 1859 novel ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long impr ...

''.

Overview

Jeremiah "Jerry" Cruncher is employed as a ''porter'' for Tellson's Bank of London. He earns extra money as a resurrection man removing bodies from their graves for sale to medical schools and students as cadavers. During the story, Jerry Cruncher accompanies

Jarvis Lorry Jarvis Lorry is a character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel, '' A Tale of Two Cities''. Overview Jarvis Lorry is one of the oldest employees of Tellson's Bank, and he frequently deals with the bank's offices in London and Paris. He is a confirm ...

and Lucie Manette to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to retrieve Dr. Alexandre Manette. Back in England, he helps

Sydney Carton Sydney Carton is a central character in Charles Dickens' 1859 novel '' A Tale of Two Cities''. He is a shrewd young Englishman educated at Shrewsbury School, and sometime junior to his fellow barrister Stryver. Carton is portrayed as a brillia ...

"get something" on the paid government witness and spy, John Barsad. He accompanies Lucie and Miss Pross to church the night they run into

and later that night Cruncher tries to unsuccessfully "resurrect" Barsad's colleague and fellow spy Roger Cly in the graveyard. Later in

, Jerry will remember that Cly was not in his coffin and will pass this information onto Carton who will use it to blackmail Barsad into getting Carton into the prison to rescue

Charles Darnay Charles Darnay, Charles D'Aulnais or Charles St. Evrémonde is a fictional character in the 1859 novel '' A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens. Overview Darnay is a wealthy gentleman who spends time in both France and England during the tim ...

who has been imprisoned by revolutionaries. Before leaving Paris, Cruncher will renounce grave robbing and resolve to be more gentle with his wife, toward whom he had been abusive physically and verbally.

Cinematic and theatrical portrayals

In the 1935

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

, Jerry Cruncher is portrayed by Billy Bevan. In the 1958

, Jerry Cruncher is portrayed by

Alfie Bass Alfie Bass (born Abraham Basalinsky, 10 April 1916 – 16 July 1987) was an English actor. He was born in Bethnal Green, London, the youngest in a Jewish family with ten children; his parents had left Russia many years before he was born. He a ...

. In the 1980 TV Movie ''

'', Jerry Cruncher is portrayed by

George Innes George Innes (born 8 March 1938) is a British actor. Stage career George Innes was born in Wapping, Stepney, East London on 8 March 1938, and he began his career on the stage with the Royal National Theatre, National Theatre of Great Britain ...

. In the 2008 Broadway musical adaptation of '

,' Jerry Cruncher was played by Craig Bennett.

References

External links

Character Profile of Jerry Cruncher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruncher, Jerry A Tale of Two Cities characters Body snatching Literary characters introduced in 1859 Fictional English people Male characters in film Male characters in literature