Charles Dickens's unsentimental and poignant portrayal of London in the early 1800s is simultaneously an uplifting tale and a violent narrative of corruption, degradation, and greed. The orphaned Oliver is trapped in a miserable existence where his only options seem to be the workhouse, a life of crime, prison, or an early death. After being expelled from the workhouse, he secures a position as an apprentice to an undertaker, but a brawl forces him to flee, leading him into the clutches of the notorious criminal Fagin.
Oliver Twist achieved great success when it was published in 1838 and has since continued to captivate generations in its various adaptations. Through Oliver’s life and fate, Dickens exposes many dark aspects of Industrial-era England, particularly the often inhumane conditions of the impoverished population.
CHARLES DICKENS [1812–1870], born in Portsmouth, England, was the most popular English-language novelist of his time. He created a fictional world that reflected the social and technological changes during the Victorian era. Among his most famous works are David Copperfield, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, and The Pickwick Papers.
