The title of the first book, "Recalled to Life", refers to the character of Dr. Alexandre Manette, who has been imprisoned in France's Bastille for eighteen years. The old Doctor is finally being released, so in a physical sense he is being set free from "death", as represented by his incarceration, and being given a chance to resume his "life". Indeed, the text of the cryptic message affirming his release is "Recalled to Life".
Thematically, Doctor Manette is being "recalled to life" in more than just the physical sense. Book the First, Chapter 6 presents a graphic picture of the toll the long imprisonment and isolation has taken on the Doctor's mind. He is figuratively "dead" in that his mind is gone. He has forgotten his identity, and spends his days fiddling absently at his workbench, and when asked for his name, replies "One Hundred and Five, North Tower". Doctor Manette is described as a "buried man who (has) been dug out", and when asked if he is pleased about being recalled to life, he can only respond, "I can't say".
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