18 h 2 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 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.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like a strong plot, vivid villains and a social conscience, and anyone curious about Victorian London. If you want a quiet, subtle story, or you dislike melodrama and long Victorian sentences, it may feel less suited to you.
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.
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- 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.
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Oliver Twist
by Charles Dickens· 1837
An orphan faces hunger, cruelty and London's criminal world.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
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.
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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).
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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.
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