Title: Oliver Twist
Author: Charles Dickens
Publication date: 1837-9 (serialised form); 1838 (book form)
Genre: Classic fiction
What’s it about?
This is the story of orphan Oliver Twist, who escapes his workhouse beginnings and, after first becoming apprenticed to an undertaker, makes his way to London in the hope of a better life. Along the way he makes friends and gains adversaries, and ultimately discovers not only a permanent home but also his true identity.
The most familiar scenes from this story are those featuring Fagin and his gang of street criminals, including the Artful Dodger. Hardened villain Bill Sikes also appears alongside his Nancy. However, a far more vital role (from Oliver’s point of view, at least) is played by the character of Monks – omitted from the famous musical version.
The extreme poverty of the less fortunate inhabitants of Dickens’ society is described in all its depressing and filthy detail, and yet Dickens manages to keep a lightly satirical tone throughout. There are no tangential musings on the state of the nation here: all asides are connected to the tale in hand, and it zips along at an unputdownable pace.
Read more information on Goodreads.
Where did I get hold of the book?
I’m embarrassed to admit that, yet again, I downloaded this to my Kindle app. See later on in this post for what I intend to do about this sorry state of affairs.
- Find the book in a library near you.
- Support local independent bookshops by buying the book from Hive (UK).
What did I learn from it?
I got my usual fix of historical information, as I was cast back in time to the society of this period. In particular I was reminded, as I had been while reading The Three Musketeers, of the practice of transporting criminals to the colonies: a fate that befalls one of the more renowned characters in this book. It got me wondering about the differences in crimes – or in criminals: what made some fit for transportation and others fit only for the gallows?
I was also reminded of the growth of London over the last couple of centuries. In Dickens’ time, some of the now-outlying suburbs of modern London were mere villages, and it could take an entire day’s travelling, on foot and by waggon, to get from the East End to the western reaches of Chertsey.
Finally, I learned that I still have a terribly childish sense of humour at times, as I discovered the existence of a character called Master Bates…
How did it make me see the world differently?
This book brought it home to me that, although there are significant differences between our world and Dickens’, human nature itself remains constant. Maybe it’s because this is the first story set in Britain that I’ve read for a while (my last three novels have been continental in origin), but I was very aware of the differences in urban infrastructure and social setup that exist between 1830s London and 2010s London.
And yet, attitudes to society as a whole, and individuals in particular, are resoundingly familiar. For example, although it’s tempting to view Bill Sikes’ villainy as exemplary of that period, by the end of the book we see that he is just as widely reviled by his peers for the murder of Nancy as by those of us with more modern sensibilities.
Similarly, Nancy’s explanation of why she remains with Bill, her abuser, despite being offered a safe way out, says as much to me as any thought piece in today’s papers.
It does sound blazingly obvious to say all of this, as one of the reasons these novels remain popular is because they touch on eternal traits of humanity. But if we don’t experience certain things in our own day-to-day lives, we can become complacent about what other people think and feel; and so I am happy to let the classics remind me of what I should not forget – but probably have.
What changes will I make to my life as a result of it?
The two changes I’m going to make following this book are both to do with my own creative enterprises:
- As I hinted above, I’ve become annoyed with myself for resorting to the lazy option of downloading books to Kindle when I could be supporting my local library service. So, for my 2016 Book Diaries, I’m going to use the library as the primary source of all my reading material. I’m hoping to get more involved with some other activities at the library, so as long as I am organised, it shouldn’t be difficult to fit in!
- When researching the publication details of Oliver Twist I found out that, like many other of Dickens’ novels, it was first published in serial form. This triggered something in my creative brain! I’m already planning a spin-off project related to our radio show Calon Talks Books: a zine, which will include updates from the show plus lots more bookish goodness. It could be the ideal place for some serialised fiction of our own… Watch this space!
Over to you…
Has this post inspired you to read the book for yourself?
If you’ve read it, do you agree with what I’ve said? Did you have insights that I’ve not mentioned?
Please share in the comments below!