Guide Note:
Oliver Twist is a classic novel by Charles Dickens, about a young orphan called Oliver & his adventures. This novel also depicts the situation and the setting of London during the period in which Charles Dickens lived.
Fast Facts:
- Writer: Charles Dickens
- Publication: 1838
- Publisher: Bentley’s Miscellany
- Genre: Children’s story; detective story; novel of social protest
- Narrator: Anonymous Narrator
- Themes in the novel:
- The failures of charity
- The folly of individualism
- Purity in a corrupt city
- The countryside idealized
Plot Synopsis
The story revolves around the life of Oliver Twist, a young boy who is born into a life of poverty. Orphaned shortly after birth, the Poor Law provides a bleak existence for him through his childhood through a 'baby farm' and then the 'workhouse'. After receiving a beating at the workhouse stemming from a setup, Oliver decides to run away. Arriving in London some days later, Oliver falls in with the bad company of a man named Fagin and his band of street urchins. In an unexpected turn of events, Oliver is first charged with a crime then cleared and taken in by the man upon whom the crime was committed. He works for this man, Mr. Brownlow, until Fagin's street gang kidnaps Oliver. Fagin is unable to harass Oliver into a life of crime. In the end, Oliver finds a long-lost brother, shares in his inheritance, and has pity when Fagin goes to the gallows.
Guide Note:
Oliver Twist is a classic novel by Charles Dickens, about a young orphan called Oliver & his adventures. This novel also depicts the situation and the setting of London during the period in which Charles Dickens lived.
Fast Facts:
- Writer: Charles Dickens
- Publication: 1838
- Publisher: Bentley’s Miscellany
- Genre: Children’s story; detective story; novel of social protest
- Narrator: Anonymous Narrator
- Themes in the novel:
- The failures of charity
- The folly of individualism
- Purity in a corrupt city
- The countryside idealized
Plot Synopsis
</small> The story revolves around the life of Oliver Twist, a young boy who is born into a life of poverty. Orphaned shortly after birth, the Poor Law provides a bleak existence for him through his childhood through a 'baby farm' and then the 'workhouse'. After receiving a beating at the workhouse stemming from a setup, Oliver decides to run away. Arriving in London some days later, Oliver falls in with the bad company of a man named Fagin and his band of street urchins. In an unexpected turn of events, Oliver is first charged with a crime then cleared and taken in by the man upon whom the crime was committed. He works for this man, Mr. Brownlow, until Fagin's street gang kidnaps Oliver. Fagin is unable to harass Oliver into a life of crime. In the end, Oliver finds a long-lost brother, shares in his inheritance, and has pity when Fagin goes to the gallows. </note>
Oliver Twist Author Information
- Mahalo's Guide to Charles Dickens
- Wikipedia: Charles Dickens
- The Literature Network: Charles Dickens
- San Diego County Office of Education:: Discovering Dickens
- David Perdue's Charles Dickens Page
- Complete Works of Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist Adaptations
Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.
Mini Series
1985: Oliver Twist
1999: Oliver Twist
2007: Oliver Twist
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