| Charles
Dickens
|
Oliver
Twist published in monthly parts Jan 1837 - Mar 1839.
Dickens' second novel tells the story of the orphan
Oliver set against the seamy underside of the
London
criminal
world. Published in monthly parts in Bentley's Miscellany, partly concurrent
with Pickwick, the novel was illustrated by George Cruikshank. In this
departure from the merry world of Pickwick, Dickens targets the Poor Law
Amendment Act of 1834 which renewed the importance of the workhouse as a means
of relief for the poor. Dickens was severely criticized for introducing
criminals and prostitutes in Oliver Twist. The novel was well received but not
with the adulation of Pickwick.
Mini
Plot:
Oliver, orphaned when his mother dies giving birth to him, lives in a
parishworkhouse
where he is mistreated by Bumble, the beadle. When the starving
Oliver
asks for more gruel the outraged Bumble apprentices him to Sowerby,
the
undertaker. Oliver runs away to
London
where
he falls in with Fagin and his
band
of pickpockets. Oliver is charged with theft, actually committed by the Artful
Dodger, and later cleared. The object of the theft, Mr. Brownlow, takes
Oliver
into his home. He is re-captured by
Nancy
and
returned to Fagin's band.
Nancy
later
tries to help Oliver and is murdered by Sikes but through her efforts
the
story of Oliver's family is revealed.
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