Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

***This review contains spoilers*** Oliver Twist is the second novel published by Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers being his first. Like many novels of the day it was released in serial form; with monthly instalments in Bentley's Miscellany, it was then printed as a novel in 1838. Oliver is a young boy being raised in the orphanage of an unnamed town, his father being unknown and his mother having died upon his birth in the local workhouse. When he reaches the age of nine, Oliver is moved to that very workhouse where he is forced into an occupation for his stay. With meagre portions of gruel for sustenance, Oliver and the other young workers ...  Read the complete review

Who can forget the immortal words "Please Sir, I want some more".......... I wonder if there is anybody who wouldn't be able to give the name of the poor urchin who uttered those words. Oliver Twist and the author, Charles Dickens are known to lovers of classics worldwide and the story has been portrayed in countless films and television series over at least the past 50 years or so. I think I am correct in saying that Oliver Twist was written as a series in a newspaper for which Dickens worked and certainly it is easy to envisage it beginning life in this way as Oliver's life progresses from one heartrendering scene to another. We ...  Read the complete review

This is of course the classic tale of the orphan boy who asked for more. Oliver Twist is born and raised in a workhouse but is thrust out into the world when he is forced to run away to save his life. He ends up on the streets of London where he meets a host of villians who inhabit the underbelly of the filthy city; Fagin, the jew, who presides over a group of pick-pocketing boys, Nancy the prostitute with a heart, the comical Artful Dodger and of course, the evil Bill Sykes. There are wonderful twists and turns in the story, Oliver going from rags to riches and back again, murderous plots and plenty of villany. Dickens wanted to show the world what it was like for the ...  Read the complete review

I personally think that we do not pay enough attention to the classics. There are a lot of great modern authors, but classics can teach a lot as well as giving enjoyment. Oliver twist is the well known story of an orphan who is brought up in an orphanage. Do not expect the tales about his mother or a lot of the additional bits which have been added to the story by way of dramatic licence. In reading this book the real greatness of the classics comes to the fore because in none of the more modern versions will you find a better or more complete story which is satisfying to read. The advantage of these classics is that as well as a good story there is also the ...  Read the complete review

I could not help but to see a televised or staged version of Oliver Twist before I read the novel, but I was just as taken with the novel as I was with the films and stage versions that I had seen. Dickens creates a very dark atmosphere and the whole novel is very gloomy and claustrophobic. The story is based around many of the saddest people in society and 'Oliver Twist' moves the reader in such a way that once you have read the book once, it remains with you forever and some of the images haunt you. ...  Read the complete review