18 h 2 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 18 h 2 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What chance does a hungry child have when even the people meant to protect him turn him away?
Oliver Twist wants food, safety and someone to love him. Instead, the gentle, stubborn orphan faces hunger and cruelty in a workhouse. When he reaches London, the Artful Dodger brings him to Fagin, who trains boys to pick pockets. Oliver needs shelter, but the welcome comes with a dangerous price.
In Charles Dickens’s novel, kindness and cruelty stand close together. Mr Brownlow offers Oliver care, while the violent burglar Bill Sikes wants him for crime. Nancy feels pity for the boy despite her loyalty to Sikes. Through their tangled lives, Dickens turns a story of survival into a sharp challenge to the treatment of the poor.
What you’ll discover
- A child worth protecting Follow Oliver’s search for ordinary comforts in a world that denies him even enough food.
- London’s dangerous welcome Enter Fagin’s circle, where stolen goods and lessons in theft threaten Oliver’s hope of safety.
- Kindness under pressure Meet Nancy, whose pity for Oliver pulls against her loyalty to the brutal Sikes.
- Humor with sharp teeth Watch Dickens expose pompous officials through irony that makes their claims of wisdom look foolish.
- Poverty behind the plot Discover how workhouse hunger and harsh laws give this suspenseful story its fierce social conscience.
Who will love it
For readers who love a strong plot, vivid villains and a social conscience, and anyone curious about Victorian London.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A child is born into the workhouse
- Hunger drives one boy to ask
- Sold, mistreated, and pushed to run
- London offers Oliver the wrong kind of friends
- Fagin teaches theft as a game
- Mr Brownlow offers a short taste of home
- Sikes and Nancy drag Oliver back down
- Poverty, law and goodness are the real subjects
- How Dickens tells it: satire, contrast and suspense
Who’s who
- Oliver TwistA gentle, stubborn orphan raised in a workhouse who wants food, safety and someone to love him.
- FaginAn old receiver of stolen goods who trains boys to pick pockets and wants Oliver in his gang.
- Bill SikesA violent burglar who rules by fear, keeps a fierce dog and wants Oliver to serve his crimes.
- NancyA young woman of the thieves' world, loyal to Sikes yet moved by pity for Oliver.
- Mr BrownlowA kind, learned gentleman who takes Oliver in and wants to know whether the boy can be trusted.
- Mr BumbleThe pompous parish beadle who runs the workhouse boys and loves his own importance.
- The Artful DodgerA quick, cheeky young pickpocket who brings Oliver to Fagin and takes pride in his skill.
- Rose MaylieA gentle young woman who, with her guardian, shelters the wounded Oliver and wants to do right by him.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 18 h 2 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Oliver Twist in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens · 1837
A hungry orphan reaches London, where thieves want to use him and kind strangers fight to give him a home.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Oliver Twist is the second novel by Charles Dickens. It first appeared in monthly installments in a magazine called Bentley's Miscellany, starting in 1837, and came out as a book in 1838.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A child is born into the workhouse
The story opens in a workhouse in an unnamed market town, some way from London. A young woman is brought in, weak and alone, and gives birth to a boy. She dies soon after, and nobody knows who she was or where she came from. The only clue to her past is a small piece of jewelry she wore.
The baby is given a name by the parish beadle, Mr Bumble, who is proud of his own power. Bumble names children in alphabetical order, and it is the turn of the letter T. So the boy becomes Oliver Twist. Dickens uses this small joke to show how little care the system has for any child it handles.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Oliver Twist
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Oliver Twist about?
It follows an orphan born in a workhouse who runs away to London and falls among thieves. Kind people try to save him, while villains try to use him. It also attacks the cruelty of poor relief in Victorian England.
Who is Fagin in Oliver Twist?
Fagin is an old man who leads a gang of young pickpockets in London and receives their stolen goods. He takes in Oliver and trains him as a thief. He is one of the central villains of the book.
Is Oliver Twist a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction. Dickens published it in installments from 1837, and the book form followed in 1838. It is based on real conditions, especially the workhouses created by the Poor Law of 1834.
The author
Charles Dickens
1812–1870 · English novelist
Charles Dickens was an English novelist born in Portsmouth in 1812. He lived in London and later at Gad’s Hill Place in Kent, where he died in 1870. His books include The Pickwick Papers (1836–1837), A Christmas Carol (1843), David Copperfield (1849–1850), and Great Expectations (1860–1861).
More by Charles Dickens
All 27 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
