Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
Oliver Twist (1837–1839) was one of Charles Dickens's earliest novels. It tells the story of an orphan boy in Victorian England who moves from a workhouse to the criminal underworld of London, and his struggle to escape both and find a respectable life.
Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse and his mother dies immediately after his birth. He grows up in terrible conditions — the orphan children are deliberately kept half-starved. In one of the novel's most famous scenes, Oliver asks the workhouse master for more food: 'Please, sir, I want some more.' He is immediately punished and sold as an apprentice to an undertaker.
Oliver runs away to London and is befriended by the Artful Dodger, who introduces him to Fagin — an elderly criminal who trains boys to be pickpockets. Oliver is dragged into the gang's activities against his will. He is caught and briefly arrested, then taken in by the kind gentleman Mr Brownlow.
Fagin recaptures Oliver and forces him to assist in a burglary. Oliver is shot and badly wounded at the home of Mrs Maylie and her ward Rose, who nurse him back to health. The violent burglar Bill Sikes is manipulated by the mysterious Monks (who turns out to be Oliver's half-brother) into keeping Oliver away from any decent life. Nancy — Sikes's girlfriend — secretly contacts the Maylies to try to help Oliver.
Monks is revealed to be Oliver's half-brother, who wants to prevent Oliver claiming his inheritance. Oliver's true origins are revealed — he is the illegitimate son of a gentleman. Fagin is arrested and hanged. Sikes accidentally hangs himself while fleeing. Nancy is murdered by Sikes when her betrayal is discovered. Oliver is adopted by Mr Brownlow and lives happily.
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