Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens summary

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Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens summary

OLIVER TWIST – about the book

Oliver Twist, also known as The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published in 1838.

The book was originally published in Bentley's Miscellany (an monthly English literature magazine) as a serial from February 1837 until April 1839.

Oliver Twist has been the subject of numerous film and television adaptations.

Oliver Twist – a film adaptation, 1948
Oliver! – a musical play, 1960
Oliver! – the musical 1968, it won 5 Oscars
The Adventures of Oliver Twist – an animated series (1997-1998)
Oliver Twist – a mini-series, 1999
Oliver Twist – a film adaptation, 2005 (directed by Roman Polański)

Oliver Twistis very popular in China, where its title is translated as Foggy City Orphan.

Other books by Dickens which have been made into movies include Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol

A short summary of Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist is born in a workhouse in a provincial town. His mother has been found very sick in the street, and she gives birth to Oliver just before she dies. Oliver is raised under the care of Mrs. Mann and the beadle Mr. Bumble in the workhouse. When it falls to Oliver’s lot to ask for more food on behalf of all the starving children in the workhouse, he is trashed, and then apprenticed to an undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry. Another apprentice of Mr. Sowerberry’s, Noah Claypole insults Oliver’s dead mother and the small and frail Oliver attacks him. However, Oliver is punished severely, and he runs away to London. Here he is picked up by Jack Dawkins or the Artful Dodger as he is called. The Artful Dodger is a member of the Jew Fagin’s gang of boys. Fagin has trained the boys to become pickpockets. The Artful Dodger takes Oliver to Fagin’s den in the London slums, and Oliver, who innocently does not understand that he is among criminals, becomes one of Fagin’s boys.
When Oliver is sent out with The Artful Dodger and another boy on a pickpocket expedition Oliver is so shocked when he realizes what is going on that he and not the two other boys are caught. Fortunately, the victim of the thieves, the old benevolent gentleman, Mr. Brownlow rescues Oliver from arrest and brings him to his house, where the housekeeper, Mrs. Bedwin nurses him back to life after he had fallen sick, and for the first time in his life he is happy.

However, with the help of the brutal murderer Bill Sikes and the prostitute Nancy Fagin kidnaps Oliver. Fagin is prompted to do this by the mysterious Mr. Monks. Oliver is taken along on a burglary expedition in the country. The thieves are discovered in the house of Mrs. Maylie and her adopted niece, Rose, and Oliver is shot and wounded. Sikes escapes. Rose and Mrs. Maylie nurse the wounded Oliver. When he tells them his story they believe him, and he settles with them. While living with Rose and Mrs. Maylie Oliver one day sees Fagin and Monks looking at him in through a window. Nancy discovers that Monks is plotting against Oliver for some reason, bribing Fagin to corrupt his innocence. Nancy also learns that there is some kind of connection between Rose and Oliver; but after having told Rose’s adviser and friend Dr. Losberne about it on the steps of London Bridge, she is discovered by Noah Claypole, who in the meantime has become a member of Fagin’s gang, and Sykes murders her. On his frantic flight away from the crime Sykes accidentally and dramatically hangs himself. Fagin and the rest of the gang are arrested. Fagin is executed after Oliver has visited him in the condemned cell in Newgate Prison. The Artful Dodger is transported after a court scene in which he eloquently defends himself and his class.
Monks’ plot against Oliver is disclosed by Mr. Brownlow. Monks is Oliver’s half-brother seeking all of the inheritance for himself. Oliver’s father’s will states that he will leave money to Oliver on the condition that his reputation is clean. Oliver’s dead mother and Rose were sisters. Monks receives his share of the inheritance and goes away to America. He dies in prison there, and Oliver is adopted by Mr. Brownlow.

The main themes in Oliver Twist

"Society and Class" - In Oliver Twist, Dickens often shows how superficial class structures really are – at the core, everyone’s really the same, regardless of the social class into which they’re born. Dickens also exposes how callous and uncaring Victorian society was – folks just ignored the plight of the less fortunate because they were so self-satisfied, and so convinced that the systems they had in place to take care of the poor were the best and most humane systems possible.
"Poverty" - Dickens is very concerned in showing just how miserable the lower classes really were. With Oliver Twist, he doesn’t shy away from depicting the conditions of the poor in all their misery with gritty realism.
Crime was a huge problem in London in the 1830s, when Dickens was writing the novel. Novels and plays about crime were hugely popular. Some novelists wrote about crime because they had a particular point to make about the source of criminal behavior, or possible solutions to the crime wave. Other novelists wrote about crime just because they knew it would sell. Dickens wanted to show how criminals really lived, in order to discourage poor people from turning to crime.
Good versus Evil – Dickens shows the battle between good and evil, bad characters constantly try to manipulate the good ones, the theme was a popular conflict in Victorian times, the “Happy ending’ mans the good wins the battle against the evil.
Alcohol abuse – alcohol was drunk in all social classes, mainly in Faggin’s surroundings
Emotional and physical abuse of children – children are deprived of any kind of love and affection, they are insulted, scared, live in horrible conditions ‘‘a wretched home where one kind word or look had never lighted the gloom of his infant years‘‘(a description of the baby-farm), Dickens places a critical emphasis on violence against children, the children are given less food in workhouses and baby-farms, employers saw only the benefit earned with cheap child labour.

Indications of the Victorian economy in Oliver Twist

Production of the workhouses/means of the workhouses:

The workhouses operated on the principle that poverty was the consequence of laziness and that the dreadful conditions in the workhouse would inspire the poor to better their own circumstances. Yet the economic situation of the Industrial Revolution made it impossible for many of the poor to make their circumstances better, and the workhouses did not let the people have a chance to better their situations. Oliver was born into the horrible conditions of the workhouse with little to eat and was given no opportunity to leave. The people simply worked and starved. An example of this is when the boy at the workhouse said he would eat a little boy in his sleep if he wasn’t given more food. Although unlikely that he would actually eat a human, it shows the extremes that the people do or think about doing because they are fed so little.

Class differences:
Poverty is a prominent theme in the novel. Oliver starts his life in the workhouses alongside the poorest people in town. However, throughout the novel, he is helped by wealthier people, such as Mr. Brownlow and Miss Maylie. Mr. Brownlow takes him in after the attempted robbery and nurses him back to health. Miss Maylie takes him in after Oliver was shot when trying to rob her house and again Oliver is nursed back to health. Oliver told her his life story and she tries to protect him from Fagin and Monks. Oliver was helped and pitied by the wealthy.

Crime:
Oliver is brought into the pick pocketing business by the Artful Dodger. He joins Fagin and Nancy and becomes associated with several other criminals. Oliver is caught by the police after going out on a pick pocketing adventure. That event leads to Mr. Brownlow taking pity on Oliver. Luckily Mr. Brownlow does not press charges and lets him into his house. Unfortunately, Oliver gets taken back into Fagin’s gang while on an errand for Brownlow. Although a fundamentally good boy, Oliver still gets sucked into the criminal underworld.

Why was the book written?

The economic conditions portrayed in Oliver Twist were designed to shock readers, and change the terrible conditions of the poor working class. Due to the large number of people that read the book, the message was undoubtedly delivered to many citizens with the ability to help. While the book might not have directly changed economic policy within England, it inspired many people to give to charities and other organizations that could help the poor.

In the mid 1800s, there existed a huge divide between the rich and the poor. The wealthy were essentially free to do as they wished, while the poor were subjected to the harsh Poor Law Amendment passed in 1834. Paupers were forced to work in Parish workhouses with horrible conditions and even more horrible food. The poor were looked down upon as second class citizens with few rights. Because they didn’t want to subject themselves to workhouse conditions, the poor would often choose a life of crime on the streets, where some would eventually starve to death.

Seeing these mistreatments, Dickens was inspired to write Oliver Twist. Oliver himself experienced the harsh workhouse conditions; he was given so little food and was forced to beg for more out of fear of being eaten by an older boy. Through Oliver's escape to London and his shelter by the thief Fagin, Dickens portrayed the horrors of the seedy underbelly of London society in which many paupers were forced to participate. (Another character in Oliver Twist exemplary of Victorian economic conditions is Mr. Brownlow, who's large amounts of wealth enabled him to believe he could control the magistrate and free Oliver. However, the magistrates negative view of paupers, and therefore Oliver, prevented Oliver from being freed until the owner of the bookshop testified that Oliver had not stolen Mr. Browlow's handkerchief.)

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Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens summary

CHARLES DICKENS OLIVER TWIST

THE PLOT - SHORT PLOT SUMMARY (Synopsis)

Oliver Twist is born an orphan when his pretty vagrant mother dies in a parish workhouse to the annoyance of Bumble the beadle. Oliver is raised by parish charity, unloved, underfed, and overworked. At the age of nine, after he dares to ask for seconds at dinner one night, he is sold as an apprentice to a local undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry. Taunted by another apprentice, Noah Claypole, about his unmarried dead mother, Oliver valiantly gets into a fistfight and is eventually locked in the cellar for punishment. Then, taking matters into his own hands, Oliver runs away to London.

The first person he meets in London is the enthusiastic Artful Dodger, who offers him a home with a "gentleman" named Fagin and his group of boys. Oliver is happy there, until he discovers to his horror that they're thieves. One day, while being trained by other boys, Oliver is falsely arrested for picking an elderly gentleman's pocket. In the courtroom, however, Oliver collapses. He attracts the pity of his accuser, Mr. Brownlow, who takes him home. Oliver gets his first taste of kindness and wealth there as he is nursed back to health.

The first time Oliver leaves the house, Fagin's gang kidnaps him so he won't give evidence against them. Back in the London slums, Oliver earns the affections of a young prostitute named Nancy who sticks up for Oliver when Fagin and her lover, Bill Sikes, try to abuse him.

Unfortunately for Oliver, he's just the right size to help Sikes commit a robbery, and he is taken along on a dangerous job. But, Oliver is wounded in the attempt and is taken in by the Maylies, the people Sikes wanted to rob.

In the idyllic months that follow, Oliver stays with Mrs. Maylie and her niece Rose and grows to love them. He's sad that their attempts to find Mr. Brownlow are unsuccessful, but otherwise things seem perfect. Rose falls seriously ill but recovers. Rose has other troubles, however; her romance with Henry Maylie is impeded by the fact that, because she thinks she is illegitimate, she's unwilling to damage his political career by marrying him.

Safe as he feels, Oliver dreams one night of his troubled past. When he wakes, the evil Fagin and an unknown companion are lurking outside the window.

One of Fagin's cohorts, a grim fellow named Monks, visits the Bumbles to buy the evidence of Oliver's parentage-a locket left by his mother. Monks throws the locket into a river, then presses Fagin to recapture Oliver and make a thief of him.

Even though Oliver has been away, Nancy often thinks about him. When she overhears conversations between Fagin and his strange accomplice, Monks, she becomes worried that Oliver is in danger. She drugs Sikes and seeks out Rose Maylie who happens to be passing through London. Nancy reveals that Monks is Oliver's half brother, and that, in order to keep an inheritance for himself, Monks may cause harm to Oliver.

Rose finally finds Mr. Brownlow and enlists his help. They meet Nancy on London Bridge to learn more about Monks. When they offer Nancy refuge, she refuses, insisting that she must go home to Sikes, whom she loves even though he is brutal to her. What she doesn't know is that suspicious Fagin has had her followed and that her conversation has been overheard. Angered by Nancy's betrayal, Fagin incites Sikes to such fury that he beats Nancy to death. Brownlow, using Nancy's information, locates Monks. Evil Monks is, ironically, the son of Brownlow's best friend, and Oliver Twist is his illegitimate younger brother. Their father, who hated Monks' mother and loved Oliver's, wrote a will leaving most of his money to the younger son, Oliver-unless he turned out to be a criminal. That is why Monks plotted with Fagin to make Oliver a thief. After wandering around for two days, Sikes is finally tracked down and surrounded by police in a hideout. He hangs himself accidentally while trying to escape. The threat to Oliver is eliminated.

Brownlow forces Monks to reveal the rest of his information: not only is Oliver entitled to a fortune, but his mother was Rose Maylie's sister! All at once, Oliver has money and a family too. The questions about Rose's parents are answered, and she can marry Henry Maylie. Fagin is arrested, convicted, and hanged. His gang is scattered. Monks goes off to America, where he later dies in prison. Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver and they all live happily in the county.

Underline the parts of the plot that are not in Roman Polanski’s film.

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Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens summary

OLIVER TWIST – SUMMARY

7 sessions – 53 chapters =

1. Ch 1-7 [baby farm, workhouse, apprenticeship]

2. Ch 8-15 [Fagin, Mr. Brownlow’s trust]

3. Ch 16-23 [Sikes and the attempted burglary]

4. Ch 24-32 [aftermath of the burglary]

5. Ch 33-39 [life with the Maylies; Monks]

6. Ch 40-47 [Nancy’s betrayal and death]

7. Ch 48-53 [Monks unmasked, Sikes and Fagin executed]

1. Ch 1-7 [baby farm, workhouse, apprenticeship]

I TREATS OF THE PLACE WHERE OLIVER TWIST WAS BORN AND OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES ATTENDING HIS BIRTH

II TREATS OF OLIVER TWIST'S GROWTH, EDUCATION, AND BOARD

III RELATES HOW OLIVER TWIST WAS VERY NEAR GETTING A PLACE WHICH WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN A SINECURE

IV OLIVER, BEING OFFERED ANOTHER PLACE, MAKES HIS FIRST ENTRY INTO PUBLIC LIFE

V OLIVER MINGLES WITH NEW ASSOCIATES. GOING TO A FUNERAL FOR THE FIRST TIME, HE FORMS AN UNFAVOURABLE NOTION OF HIS MASTER'S BUSINESS

VI OLIVER, BEING GOADED BY THE TAUNTS OF NOAH, ROUSES INTO ACTION, AND RATHER ASTONISHES HIM

VII OLIVER CONTINUES REFRACTORY

2. Ch 8-15 [Fagin, Mr. Brownlow’s trust]

VIII OLIVER WALKS TO LONDON. HE ENCOUNTERS ON THE ROAD A STRANGE SORT OF YOUNG GENTLEMAN

IX CONTAINING FURTHER PARTICULARS CONCERNING THE PLEASANT OLD GENTLEMAN, AND HIS HOPEFUL PUPILS

X OLIVER BECOMES BETTER ACQUAINTED WITH THE CHARACTERS OF HIS NEW ASSOCIATES; AND PURCHASES EXPERIENCE AT A HIGH PRICE. BEING A SHORT, BUT VERY IMPORTANT CHAPTER, IN THIS HISTORY

XI TREATS OF MR. FANG THE POLICE MAGISTRATE; AND FURNISHES A SLIGHT SPECIMEN OF HIS MODE OF ADMINISTERING JUSTICE

XII IN WHICH OLIVER IS TAKEN BETTER CARE OF THAN HE EVER WAS BEFORE. AND IN WHICH THE NARRATIVE REVERTS TO THE MERRY OLD GENTLEMAN AND HIS YOUTHFUL FRIENDS.

XIII SOME NEW ACQUAINTANCES ARE INTRODUCED TO THE INTELLIGENT READER, CONNECTED WITH WHOM VARIOUS PLEASANT MATTERS ARE RELATED, APPERTAINING TO THIS HISTORY

XIV COMPRISING FURTHER PARTICULARS OF OLIVER'S STAY AT MR. BROWNLOW'S, WITH THE REMARKABLE PREDICTION WHICH ONE MR. GRIMWIG UTTERED CONCERNING HIM, WHEN HE WENT OUT ON AN ERRAND

XV SHOWING HOW VERY FOND OF OLIVER TWIST, THE MERRY OLD JEW AND MISS NANCY WERE

3. Ch 16-23 [Sikes and the attempted burglary]

XVI RELATES WHAT BECAME OF OLIVER TWIST, AFTER HE HAD BEEN CLAIMED BY NANCY

XVII OLIVER'S DESTINY CONTINUING UNPROPITIOUS, BRINGS A GREAT MAN TO LONDON TO INJURE HIS REPUTATION

XVIII HOW OLIVER PASSED HIS TIME IN THE IMPROVING SOCIETY OF HIS REPUTABLE FRIENDS

XIX IN WHICH A NOTABLE PLAN IS DISCUSSED AND DETERMINED ON

XX WHEREIN OLIVER IS DELIVERED OVER TO MR. WILLIAM SIKES

XXI THE EXPEDITION

XXII THE BURGLARY

XXIII WHICH CONTAINS THE SUBSTANCE OF A PLEASANT CONVERSATION BETWEEN MR. BUMBLE AND A LADY; AND SHOWS THAT EVEN A BEADLE MAY BE SUSCEPTIBLE ON SOME POINTS

4. Ch 24-32 [aftermath of the burglary]

XXIV TREATS ON A VERY POOR SUBJECT. BUT IS A SHORT ONE, AND MAY BE FOUND OF IMPORTANCE IN THIS HISTORY

XXV WHEREIN THIS HISTORY REVERTS TO MR. FAGIN AND COMPANY

XXVI IN WHICH A MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER APPEARS UPON THE SCENE; AND MANY THINGS, INSEPARABLE FROM THIS HISTORY, ARE DONE AND PERFORMED

XXVII ATONES FOR THE UNPOLITENESS OF A FORMER CHAPTER; WHICH DESERTED A LADY, MOST UNCEREMONIOUSLY

XXVIII LOOKS AFTER OLIVER, AND PROCEEDS WITH HIS ADVENTURES

XXIX HAS AN INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNT OF THE INMATES OF THE HOUSE, TO WHICH OLIVER RESORTED

XXX RELATES WHAT OLIVER'S NEW VISITORS THOUGHT OF HIM

XXXI INVOLVES A CRITICAL POSITION

XXXII OF THE HAPPY LIFE OLIVER BEGAN TO LEAD WITH HIS KIND FRIENDS

5. Ch 33-39 [life with the Maylies; Monks]

XXXIII WHEREIN THE HAPPINESS OF OLIVER AND HIS FRIENDS, EXPERIENCES A SUDDEN CHECK

XXXIV CONTAINS SOME INTRODUCTORY PARTICULARS RELATIVE TO A YOUNG GENTLEMAN WHO NOW ARRIVES UPON THE SCENE; AND A NEW ADVENTURE WHICH HAPPENED TO OLIVER

XXXV CONTAINING THE UNSATISFACTORY RESULT OF OLIVER'S ADVENTURE; AND A CONVERSATION OF SOME IMPORTANCE BETWEEN HARRY MAYLIE AND ROSE

XXXVI IS A VERY SHORT ONE, AND MAY APPEAR OF NO GREAT IMPORTANCE IN ITS PLACE, BUT IT SHOULD BE READ NOTWITHSTANDING, AS A SEQUEL TO THE LAST, AND A KEY TO ONE THAT WILL FOLLOW WHEN ITS TIME ARRIVES

XXXVII IN WHICH THE READER MAY PERCEIVE A CONTRAST, NOT UNCOMMON IN MATRIMONIAL CASES

XXXVIII CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF WHAT PASSED BETWEEN MR. AND MRS. BUMBLE, AND MR. MONKS, AT THEIR NOCTURNAL INTERVIEW

XXXIX INTRODUCES SOME RESPECTABLE CHARACTERS WITH WHOM THE READER IS ALREADY ACQUAINTED, AND SHOWS HOW MONKS AND THE JEW LAID THEIR WORTHY HEADS TOGETHER

6. Ch 40-47 [Nancy’s betrayal and death]

XL A STRANGE INTERVIEW, WHICH IS A SEQUEL TO THE LAST CHAMBER

XLI CONTAINING FRESH DISCOVERIES, AND SHOWING THAT SUPRISES, LIKE MISFORTUNES, SELDOM COME ALONE

XLII AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE OF OLIVER'S, EXHIBITING DECIDED MARKS OF GENIUS, BECOMES A PUBLIC CHARACTER IN THE METROPOLIS

XLIII WHEREIN IS SHOWN HOW THE ARTFUL DODGER GOT INTO TROUBLE

XLIV THE TIME ARRIVES FOR NANCY TO REDEEM HER PLEDGE TO ROSE MAYLIE. SHE FAILS.

XLV NOAH CLAYPOLE IS EMPLOYED BY FAGIN ON A SECRET MISSION

XLVI THE APPOINTMENT KEPT

XLVII FATAL CONSEQUENCES

7. Ch 48-53 [Monks unmasked, Sikes and Fagin executed]

XLVIII THE FLIGHT OF SIKES

XLIX MONKS AND MR. BROWNLOW AT LENGTH MEET. THEIR CONVERSATION, AND THE INTELLIGENCE THAT INTERRUPTS IT

L THE PURSUIT AND ESCAPE

LI AFFORDING AN EXPLANATION OF MORE MYSTERIES THAN ONE, AND COMPREHENDING A PROPOSAL OF MARRIAGE WITH NO WORD OF SETTLEMENT OR PIN-MONEY

LII FAGIN'S LAST NIGHT ALIVE

LIII AND LAST

General Summary

Oliver Twist is the story of a young orphan, Oliver, and his attempts to stay good in a society that refuses to help.

Oliver is born in a workhouse, to a mother not known to anyone in the town. She dies right after giving birth to him, and he is sent to the parochial orphanage, where he and the other orphans are treated terribly and fed very little. When he turns nine, he is sent to the workhouse, where again he and the others are treated badly and practically starved. The other boys, unable to stand their hunger any longer, decide to draw straws to choose who will have to go up and ask for more food. Oliver loses. On the appointed day, after finishing his first serving of gruel, he goes up and asks for more. Mr. Bumble, the beadle, and the board are outraged, and decide they must get rid of Oliver, apprenticing him to the parochial undertaker, Mr. Sowerberry. It is not great there either, and after an attack on his mother’s memory, Oliver runs away.

Oliver walks towards London. When he is close, he is so weak he can barely continue, and he meets another boy named Jack Dawkins, or the artful Dodger. The Dodger tells Oliver he can come with him to a place where a gentleman will give him a place to sleep and food, for no rent. Oliver follows, and the Dodger takes him to an apartment in London where he meets Fagin, the aforementioned gentleman, and Oliver is offered a place to stay. Oliver eventually learns that Fagin’s boys are all pickpockets and thieves, but not until he is wrongfully accused of their crime of stealing an old gentleman’s handkerchief. He is arrested, but the bookseller comes just in time to the court and says that he saw that Oliver did not do it. The gentleman whose handkerchief was taken, Mr. Brownlow, feels bad for Oliver, and takes him in.

Oliver is very happy with Mr. Brownlow, but Fagin and his co-conspirators are not happy to have lost Oliver, who may give away their hiding place. So one day, when Mr. Brownlow entrusts Oliver to return some books to the bookseller for him, Nancy spots Oliver, and kidnaps him, taking him back to Fagin.

Oliver is forced to go on a house-breaking excursion with the intimidating Bill Sikes. At gun point Oliver enters the house, with the plan to wake those within, but before he can, he is shot by one of the servants. Sikes and his partner escape, leaving Oliver in a ditch. The next morning Oliver makes it back to the house, where the kind owner, Mrs. Maylie, and her beautiful niece Rose, decide to protect him from the police and nurse him back to health.

Oliver slowly recovers, and is extremely happy and grateful to be with such kind and generous people, who in turn are ecstatic to find that Oliver is such a good-natured boy. When he is well enough, they take him to see Mr. Brownlow, but they find his house empty—he has moved to the West Indies. Meanwhile, Fagin and his mysterious partner Monks have not given up on finding Oliver, and one day Oliver wakens from a nightmare to find them staring at him through his window. He raises the alarm, but they escape.

Nancy, overhearing Fagin and Monks, decides that she must go to Rose Maylie to tell her what she knows. She does so, telling Rose that Monks is Oliver’s half-brother, who has been trying to destroy Oliver so that he can keep his whole inheritance, but that she will not betray Fagin or Sikes. Rose tells Mr. Brownlow, who tells Oliver’s other caretakers, and they decide that they must meet Nancy again to find out how to find Monks.

They meet her on London Bridge at a prearranged time, but Fagin has become suspicious, and has sent his new boy, Noah Claypole, to spy on Nancy. Nancy tells Rose and Mr. Brownlow how to find Monks, but still refuses to betray Fagin and Sikes, or to go with them. Noah reports everything to Fagin, who tells Sikes, knowing full well that Sikes will kill Nancy. He does. Mr. Brownlow has in the mean time found Monks, who finally admits everything that he has done, and the true case of Oliver’s birth.

Sikes is on the run, but all of London is in an uproar, and he eventually hangs himself accidentally in falling off a roof, while trying to escape from the mob surrounding him. Fagin is arrested and tried, and, after a visit from Oliver, is executed. Oliver, Mr. Brownlow, and the Maylies end up living in peace and comfort in a small village in the English countryside.

SESSION 1 – CH 1-7

CH 1. Oliver Twist is born into a workhouse, but seems unlikely to survive at first. He manages to catch his breath, however, but his mother is not so lucky. After giving him one kiss, she dies. Mrs. Thingummy tells the doctor that she had been brought to the workhouse the night before, after collapsing in the street, so nobody knew her name or where she came from, and Oliver Twist is left an orphan.

CH2. There is no one on hand who can nurse Oliver, so the parish authorities send him to an orphanage about three miles away, run by Mrs. Mann, an elderly woman who keeps most of the money meant for the care of the orphans for herself. It is not unusual in this orphanage for the children to die from weakness leading to illness, or accidents arising from neglect. Somehow, though, Oliver makes it to his ninth birthday, although he is rather pale and undersized.

At nine, Oliver is too old to stay in the orphanage, so Mr. Bumble comes to get him and take him back to the workhouse where he was born. There, Oliver is taken before the board, who think he is a fool and decide that he will begin to pick oakum so he can learn a useful trade. (The board has recently instituted a program whereby they will slowly starve those in the workhouse so that there won't be so many of them.)

The boys get so hungry that one threatens to eat the weakest of them if he doesn’t get more gruel, so they draw straws to decide who will have to ask for more. Oliver is chosen. After finishing his gruel that evening, he approaches the master and asks for more. The master is shocked, strikes a blow at Oliver and calls for Mr. Bumble. Mr. Bumble tells the members of the board, who are outraged. They decide to offer five pounds and Oliver Twist to anyone who will take him off of their hands.

CH 3. Oliver is confined to a small dark room while the board waits for someone to take him. Mr. Gamfield, a chimney-sweep who is in debt to his landlord and badly needs five pounds, sees the notice for Oliver and offers to take him. The board negotiates with him, and agrees to give him Oliver and a little over three pounds. When Mr. Bumble takes Oliver before the magistrate, however, Oliver can't help but show his terror at having to go with such a scary-looking man, and the magistrate therefore refuses to sign the authorizing papers, and orders the board to take Oliver back to the workhouse.

CH 4. Mr. Bumble finds Mr. Sowerberry, the parochial undertaker, looking at the posting about Oliver Twist, and after a short discussion they agree that he shall take him. Mr. Bumble brings Oliver to the coffin-maker’s shop, where he meets Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry. Mrs. Sowerberry thinks he will be more trouble than he is worth, but Mr. Sowerberry makes the decision. Oliver is fed the dog’s leftovers for dinner, and shown to his sleeping space beneath the counter among the coffins.

CH 5. Oliver is woken after his first night in the undertaker's by a kicking on the door. It is Noah Claypole, a charity-boy who works for the Sowerberrys. He, used to being looked down on for being a charity-boy, is delighted to now have someone that he can look down on himself, and he immediately begins to bully Oliver. Mr. Sowerberry tells Mrs. Sowerberry that he thought Oliver's melancholy aspect would make him perfect for a mute for a child's funeral, and she agrees.

Mr. Bumble soon brings an order for a coffin and a funeral. Mr. Sowerberry goes to measure the body, and brings Oliver with him, and the next day they bring the coffin back and take it to the graveyard for the funeral. Mr. Sowerberry asks Oliver how he liked it, and Oliver replies not very much, but Mr. Sowerberry tells him that he will get used to it.

CH 6. Oliver makes it through his month trial and is formally apprenticed to Mr. Sowerberry. This increases Noah's ire, and so Noah treats Oliver even more badly. Meanwhile, Mrs. Sowerberry continues her original ill treatment. One day in the kitchen, Noah decides to be especially unpleasant to Oliver, and insults his mother. Oliver becomes so enraged that his meekness is overcome and he attacks Noah. Noah calls for help, and Charlotte and Mrs. Sowerberry come running. Together with Noah they beat Oliver, then lock him in the cellar. Mr. Sowerberry not being home, Mrs. Sowerberry sends Noah to get Mr. Bumble.

CH7. Noah tells Mr. Bumble that Oliver tried to murder him, Charlotte and Mrs. Sowerberry. Mr. Bumble goes to the undertaker's to deliver a thrashing, where he finds Oliver is not afraid of him. He tells Mrs. Sowerberry that she has overfed Oliver, and that is why he has become so vicious. Mr. Sowerberry returns home and hears the story, and is forced to beat Oliver to appease Mrs. Sowerberry. The next morning, Oliver runs away, stopping by the workhouse to say goodbye to Dick, a former companion.

SESSION 2 – CH 9-15

CH 8. While on the road, Oliver decides to make London his destination - according to a sign post, it is seventy miles away. His first day he manages to walk twenty miles, with only a crust of bread and little else. He keeps walking, getting weaker along the way and having to beg for food and water. After a week of walking, he arrives in the town of Barnet, and is by then too weak to stand. He sees a boy watching him, who appears to be about Oliver’s age but has the airs and manners of an adult. This boy buys Oliver a meal and asks him if he is on his way to London. He tells Oliver that he can introduce him to an old gentleman who will give him a place to stay and not ask anything in return.

The boy’s name is Jack Dawkins, but he is known to his friends as the artful Dodger. Oliver begins to think that the Dodger might not be the most desirable companion, but he still plans to follow him to the gentleman’s place in London. There Oliver meets Fagin, the old gentleman, and sees that there are many other boys there about his age. Fagin feeds him and the other boys, and Oliver falls asleep.

CH 9. While pretending to be asleep, Oliver sees Fagin pull a small box out of a trap door in the floor and admire the watches, jewelry and trinkets held therein. Fagin catches Oliver watching him, and questions him threateningly, but seems reassured and lets Oliver wash up. Fagin, Oliver, the Dodger and Charley Bates have breakfast together. The Dodger and Charley say they have been working, and produce some pocket-books and pocket-handkerchiefs. Oliver is very impressed by their workmanship, and hopes Fagin will teach him to make things as well.

Fagin and Bates and the Dodger then play a game, where Fagin pretends to be an old man walking along, and Bates and the Dodger pickpocket him. Two young women, Bet and Nancy, stop by, and Oliver likes them both very much. Everyone goes out except for Oliver and Fagin, and Fagin tells Oliver if he works like Dodger and does as he says, he will end up a great gentleman.

CH 10. Oliver spends most days playing the pickpocket game with Fagin and other boys, and taking the monograms out of handkerchiefs. He wants fresh air, however, so he asks Fagin if he can go out to work with the Dodger and Bates. Fagin finally gives his assent, and Oliver goes out with the two boys. He starts to worry, because they don’t seem to be going anywhere at all, when Bates and the Dodger spot an old gentleman at a book-stall and approach him from behind. Oliver sees the Dodger pull a handkerchief from the old man’s pocket, and then the two run around the corner. Oliver suddenly understands what has been going on at Fagin’s all along, and becomes delirious, running away down the street.

At this same moment the old gentleman - named Mr. Brownlow - realizes that his handkerchief is gone, and, noticing Oliver running away, assumes he is the thief. Bates and the Dodger join in the cry, happy to have the attention drawn away from themselves, and soon everyone is shouting, Stop thief! Someone eventually knocks Oliver down, and a police officer comes and drags him off, with the victimized gentleman following.

CH 11. Although Mr. Brownlow says he would rather not press charges, Oliver is taken to the police station. Mr. Brownlow doubts that Oliver is guilty, and sees something in his face that reminds him of someone, although he cannot think who. Mr. Fang, the magistrate, is offended by Mr. Brownlow’s impertinence in not being cowed by him, and so won’t listen to what he says in defense of Oliver. Oliver is quite ill, and can’t respond to the questions, but Mr. Fang believes he is just trying to trick them, so Oliver ends up fainting. Mr. Fang sentences him to three months hard labor. Just then, however, the bookseller comes into the court and demands to be heard. He tells Mr. Fang that he saw the whole thing, and Oliver was in no way guilty. Mr. Fang dismisses the charges, and Mr. Brownlow takes the sick Oliver and the book-stall keeper away in a coach.

CH 12. Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver home with him, where a bed is prepared for the boy and he is taken care of with great solicitude - unlike any he has ever known in his life. For many days he doesn’t wake, but after he does, he slowly regains his strength. When he is able, Mrs. Bedwin takes him down to her room, where Oliver sees a portrait of a lady that entrances him. Mr. Brownlow comes to see him, and notices that Oliver looks exactly like the portrait. Oliver, surprised by Mr. Brownlow’s exclamation, faints.

CH 13. Fagin questions the Dodger and Bates to find out what happened to Oliver. Fagin throws a pot of beer at Bates, which ends up getting on Bill Sikes, who has just appeared. Sikes has a few drinks, then hears from Dodger and Bates about the story of Oliver’s capture. Fagin says that he is worried about the boy, because he thinks that Oliver will say something to get them in trouble.

Sikes declares that they must go and find out what happened to the boy, but none of them wants to go anywhere near the police station. Bet and Nancy return, though, so Fagin asks Bet to go. She refuses, as does Nancy, but Sikes ultimately convinces her to go. At the station Nancy asks for her brother Oliver, and the officer tells her that he was taken off by a gentleman to somewhere in Pentonville. Nancy gives this information to Fagin and Sikes, and Fagin sends her and Dodger off to find him.

CH 14. After Oliver’s fainting fit, Mr. Brownlow takes down the picture for fear that it overexcites him. Oliver misses it the next day, but Mrs. Bedwin just says they will put it back up when he has recovered. Mrs. Bedwin tells Oliver about her family, and teaches him cribbage until it is time for him to go to bed. One evening, after Oliver has regained much of his strength, Mr. Brownlow asks for him to come to see him in his study. Oliver worries that he is going to be turned back out onto the streets, and says so, but instead Mr. Brownlow says that he won’t even desert Oliver, so long as Oliver doesn’t give him reason to, and he asks Oliver to tell him the story of his upbringing.

Before Oliver can begin, however, a servant comes to announce Mr. Grimwig has arrived. Mr. Grimwig joins Oliver and Mr. Brownlow in the study. After tea, Mr. Brownlow sends Oliver to the book-stall with some books to be returned, and some money that he owes. Mr. Grimwig believes that Oliver will make off with the money and the books, but Mr. Brownlow has faith that he will return quickly, and so they wait together to see who is right.

CH 15. Fagin goes to see Bill Sikes, who is busy beating his dog, at a pub, to give him his cut of some profits. Sikes learns that Nancy is in the pub too, and sends for her. She starts to tell him about Oliver, but Fagin cuts her off, and soon she leaves with Sikes. At the same time, Oliver has gotten a little lost on his way to the book-stall, and Nancy comes upon him. Nancy makes a big scene, and tells those watching that Oliver had run away from his respectable parents to join a gang of thieves, so that when Oliver shouts that they are taking him against his will, everyone turns against him, and so Nancy and Sikes drag him away.

SESSION 3 – CH 16-23

CH 16. Sikes and Nancy take Oliver to a house, where the artful Dodger lets them in, and where they also find Charley Bates and Fagin. They all take Oliver’s new belongings, and Fagin and Sikes fight over the five pound note that Mr. Brownlow gave Oliver. Oliver begs them to send the books and the note back to Mr. Brownlow so that he won’t think that Oliver stole them, but this only makes Fagin and Sikes happier, because it means that Mr. Brownlow won’t go looking for Oliver.

Oliver suddenly runs out of the room, but Fagin and the boys catch him before he gets far. Fagin starts to beat Oliver with a staff, but Nancy runs over and grabs the staff and throws it into the fire. She implores them to leave him alone, having already done enough to hurt him, and she says that she wishes that she had never helped them to kidnap him. In fighting off Fagin and Sikes, she eventually faints, and Oliver is sent to bed.

CH 17. Mr. Bumble goes to Mrs. Mann’s orphanage to tell her that he is going to London to deal with a legal matter, as appointed by the board. Mrs. Mann tells Mr. Bumble that Dick is still very ill, and Mr. Bumble asks to see him. Dick asks if they could write down and keep a message for him, after he has died, to Oliver Twist, which disgusts Mr. Bumble and Mrs. Mann.

While in London, Mr. Bumble sees an advertisement in the paper offering an award for information about Oliver Twist, put out by Mr. Brownlow. Mr. Bumble goes immediately to Mr. Brownlow’s house, where he is taken to see Mr. Brownlow and Mr. Grimwig. Mr. Bumble tells the men everything he knows of Oliver, and Mr. Brownlow pays him. Mr. Brownlow is quite vexed by Mr. Bumble’s perspective of Oliver, but Mrs. Bedwin refuses to believe it. Mr. Brownlow orders, however, that Oliver’s name is never to be spoken in his presence again.

CH 18. Fagin gives Oliver a long lecture on loyalty, and tells him the story of a boy like him who ended up hanged for betraying them. For many days, Oliver is locked in his room, but then even when he is allowed to wonder the house, he can’t leave. One evening, the Dodger has Oliver come and clean his boots, and tries to convince him to become a thief, using twisted moral arguments. Oliver is not convinced, but is afraid to say too much. He then meets Tom Chitling, who is an older one of Fagin’s boys and has just come back from prison. From this evening on, they rarely leave Oliver alone, constantly trying to convince and train him to be a thief.

CH 19. Late one night, Fagin leaves the house and goes to see Sikes. He finds Nancy there, who he hasn’t seen since their argument, but she is friendly to him. Fagin and Sikes plan a robbery together, one that requires a small boy to unlock a window for them, and Fagin recommends they use Oliver, since he is the smallest. Sikes agrees, and they finalize the plans.

CH 20. When Oliver gets up in the morning, Fagin tells him that he is going to be taken to Bill Sikes that night. Fagin sets Oliver up with a candle and a book while he waits for Nancy to come and fetch him, and right before he leaves, he warns him to do just as Sikes says, otherwise he might kill him. While waiting, Oliver reads the book, which is a terrifying account of many crimes and criminals. Nancy arrives, and seems quite ill and distraught, but she gathers herself together.

Nancy tells Oliver that if he tries to escape from her as she takes him to Sikes, she will probably be killed. When they arrive at Sikes’s place, Sikes makes Oliver watch as he loads his gun, then holds it to his head as he tells Oliver that he will shoot him if he says a word while they are out. Sikes and Oliver go to bed while Nancy watches over and is ready to wake them at five. They get ready to go, and Sikes leads Oliver out.

CH 21. Sikes leads Oliver through the crowded streets until they find an empty cart and manage to get a ride. They spend awhile at a pub, where they find another ride to take them further on. Late at night, they finally arrive at a dilapidated shack next to the water.

CH 22. Barney lets Sikes and Oliver into the house, where Toby Crackit is waiting for them. Crackit serves Sikes some food, and they both make Oliver drink a glass of wine. Oliver sits on a stool by the fire and dozes off while Sikes and Crackit take a nap.

They wake up, and get everything they need together, including more pistols. Crackit and Sikes each take one of Oliver’s hands and lead him out. They arrive at a house and climb over the wall surrounding it, and Oliver finally realizes that the aim of the night is to rob a house, and even possibly murder the occupants.

Oliver collapses in fear, and begs not to have to help them. Sikes almost shoots him, but Crackit stops him and drags Oliver to the house. They break into a very small window and put Oliver through, telling him to open the front door for them. Oliver plans to raise the alarm for those in the house, but suddenly a dog starts barking, and two men appear and shoot Oliver. Sikes drags him back and runs away with him.

CH 23. Mrs. Corney, matron of the workhouse where Oliver was born, is just about to sit down for a cup of tea when Mr. Bumble appears. Mr. Bumble explains the concept of out-of-door relief, which is to give the poor people exactly what they don’t want so that they won’t come back. Mr. Bumble gives Mrs. Corney the port wine ordered for the infirmary, and then stays for a cup of tea. Mr. Bumble flirts with her, and then finally kisses her, and she threatens to scream, but right then there is a knock on the door. It is an old woman, who tells Mrs. Corney that Old Sally is dying, and insists on telling Mrs. Corney something before she does.

SESSION 4 – CH 24-32

CH 24. When Mrs. Corney and the messenger arrive in Old Sally’s room, she is sleeping. While they wait, the messenger gossips with the other nurse. Mrs. Corney gets impatient, but just as she decides to leave Old Sally wakes up and grabs her arm. Sally tells her that years ago she helped give birth to a boy in the room they are in, and the mother died, and as soon as she did, Sally stole a gold necklace from her. She tells the matron that the boy’s name was Oliver, and she is about to tell her the mother’s name when she dies.

CH 25. The artful Dodger, Charley Bates and Tom Chitling play a game of whist while Fagin stares into the fire. The doorbell rings, and the Dodger goes to see who it is. When he comes back, he whispers to Fagin, who tells Bates and Chitling to hide. The Dodger then leads Toby Crackit in.

Crackit insists on eating before he tells them anything, so Fagin waits impatiently. When Crackit is finally ready to get down to business, he asks Fagin how Sikes is, and then they realize that none of them have seen him. Crackit explains what happened, and that he and Sikes tried to escape with Oliver, but eventually just left him in a ditch and split up in their attempts to evade capture. Upon hearing the news, Fagin rushes from the house.

CH 26. Fagin heads to The Three Cripples, the pub where Sikes usually goes. Sikes isn’t there, however, and the man he questions hasn’t heard any news of him or of Barney.

Fagin next goes to Sikes’s residence, where he finds Nancy alone. He tells her Crackit’s news, and she says that Oliver is better off dead than around all of them. Fagin loses control and to Nancy threatens Sikes if he has lost him Oliver, who could have been worth a lot of money. He regrets his explosion, but he thinks Nancy is too drunk to notice. He leaves, and returns home, where Monks is waiting for him. He lets him in, and they discuss Crackit’s news. Monks thinks he sees the shadow of a woman listening to them, but they don’t find anyone. He leaves.

CH 27. Mr. Bumble, while waiting for Mrs. Corney, inventories her goods, going so far as to rifle through her drawers. Mrs. Corney returns, very flustered at having been so put out by a pauper, so Mr. Bumble gives her a glass of wine. Mr. Bumble proposes to Mrs. Corney, who accepts. Mr. Bumble goes to the undertaker’s to tell him of Old Sally’s death. No one answers the door, so he goes around back and peeks into the window, where he sees a drunk Noah Claypole ask Charlotte to come close for a kiss, upon which Mr. Bumble bursts into the room. Noah tries to blame it on Charlotte. A very offended Mr. Bumble leaves his message for Mr. Sowerberry and leaves.

CH 28. In running from the house, Sikes yells to Crackit, who has gotten ahead, to come back and help him with Oliver. Crackit obeys the order, for fear that Sikes would shoot at him. Their pursuers come closer, though, and Crackit runs off again, preferring to risk Sikes’s anger to capture. Sikes drops Oliver and jumps over a hedge. The three pursuers are not enthusiastic about chasing him, so decide to give up, reluctantly admitting that they are all afraid. The pursuers are Mr. Giles, the butler and steward, Mr. Brittle, a lad of all-work, and a traveling tinker who, sleeping in an outhouse nearby, had been roused to join in the chase.

Oliver remains where Sikes left him as day breaks. He regains consciousness and manages to get up, but is in a semi-hallucinatory state as he stumbles forward. He comes to the very house that they had tried to rob, and too weak to go anywhere else, knocks on the door and collapses on the porch. Inside, Mr. Giles is telling the story of the robbery to the other staff, when they hear the knock. Nervous, they all go together to answer the door. Mr. Giles drags Oliver inside, and recognizing him, runs to tell the lady of the house that he has caught one of the thieves.

The lady’s niece, in consultation with her aunt, tells them to put Oliver in Mr. Giles bed and go for the doctor and the constable.

CH 29. Mrs. Maylie, Miss Rose and Mr. Giles wait for the doctor to arrive. Mr. Losberne, the doctor, bursts in, and is quite disturbed by the fact of the attempted robbery. After a rather long wait, the doctor comes out and asks if the ladies have yet to see the boy. They answer that they have not, and the doctor says that he thinks that they should.

CH 30. The doctor leads the ladies up to Oliver. They are shocked by how young and gentle-looking he is. Rose cannot believe he was willingly the associate of robbers, regardless of the doctor's assurances that a pleasant outside does not necessarily mean a pleasant inside, and says that even if he was, it must have been because of a rough childhood. She thus begs her aunt not to let them take him to prison, to which her aunt easily agrees. The doctor says that he will help them help the boy, unless they find him to be hardened in vice upon interviewing him.

Oliver finally wakes, and they are able to hear his story. All three of them are deeply moved, and so the doctor decides that they must find a way to help him. He goes down to question Giles and Brittles in front of the constable, and tries to bully them into saying that they can't swear for sure that Oliver is the boy they saw the night before. Before they can answer, however, the officers from Bow Street, who had been called in the morning, arrive.

CH 31. Mr. Blathers and Mr. Duff, the officers, come in and request an interview with Mrs. Maylie. Mr. Losberne tells them the story of the robbery. The officers believe that the robbery was the work of men from the city. Mr. Blathers and Mr. Duff examine the scene of the crime, then interview the servants. Mr. Losberne and the ladies wait anxiously, hoping that they will not take Oliver away. Rose thinks that they should tell the officers the truth, but Mr. Losberne thinks that is a bad idea. The only provable things in Oliver’s tale, he notes, are those areas in which the boy does not look good. His good intentions and unwillingness to participate in crime are impossible to prove.

When the officers go in to see Oliver, he is very ill, and Mr. Losberne gives a cover story to explain his wound. Giles, under pressure, says that he cannot swear that it is the same boy, and Brittles says that he wouldn’t have recognized him anyway, but only took Giles's word for it. Giles, instead of being embarrassed, is relieved to think that he probably didn’t hurt a young boy. The officers are convinced, and leave Oliver to Mrs. Maylie, Mr. Losberne and Rose'’s care, under which he gradually thrives.

CH 32. Oliver, very ill, takes a few weeks to recover, and as he regains his strength he is desperate to show his gratitude to Mrs. Maylie and Miss Rose for taking him in, but he is still too weak to be able to do anything. Rose tells him that they are planning to take him to their country house soon, where he will be able to spend more time recovering. He expresses interest in being able to see Mr. Brownlow and Mrs. Bedwin again, to be able to express his gratitude for their earlier assistance, and Rose says he shall, as soon as he is well.

When this day comes, Oliver sets out with Mr. Losberne, but on the way he passes and recognizes the house by Chertsey Bridge. Mr. Losberne runs in, but finds only an angry and crazy hunchback, who insists that he has lived there for twenty-five years. Mr. Losberne assumes Oliver has made a mistake. When they finally get to Mr. Brownlow's house, they find it empty with a 'To Let' sign, and hear from the neighboring servants that Mr. Brownlow left for the West Indies six weeks earlier. Oliver is gravely disappointed at not being able to express his gratitude or clear his name to Mr. Brownlow and Mrs. Bedwin.

SESSION 5 Ch 33-39 [life with the Maylies; Monks]

CH 33. Mrs. Maylie and Rose leave shortly thereafter with Oliver to go to their cottage in the country. Oliver enjoys the time in the country greatly, walking with Mrs. Maylie and Rose, getting tutored by an old man in the village, gardening, and going to church on Sundays.By summer, Oliver is finally healthy, but health does not diminish any of his gratitude or gentleness.

One day, while Rose is playing the piano, she starts weeping. She cannot stop, and it comes out that she is very ill, but has kept her illness a secret so as not to alarm anyone. Mrs. Maylie sends her to bed and tries to comfort her, but she makes it clear to Oliver that she is very worried about her. The next morning, Rose is quite unwell. Mrs. Maylie sends Oliver off with a letter to summon Mr. Losberne.

Oliver goes as quickly as he can, and, after having sent it, as he is leaving, he runs into a tall man who he supposes to be mad and who has a fit. Oliver gets help, and then runs back to Mrs. Maylie's. While Oliver has been gone, Rose's condition has grown significantly worse. Mr. Losberne comes, and thinks there is very little hope. Rose falls into a coma, but, to everyone's surprise, awakens, and Mr. Losberne is convinced that she will make a full recovery. Upon hearing this, Mrs. Maylie faints with joy and exhaustion.

CH 34. Oliver goes out to get flowers to bring Rose. On his way home, he sees a post-chaise drive by very quickly, with a man inside who seems familiar to Oliver. It is Mr. Giles, who sees Oliver and asks him for news of Rose. Mr. Giles weeps with joy upon hearing the good news. Another man, Mr. Harry Maylie, Mrs. May lie’s son, is in the carriage too. When they reach the house, Harry is angry that Mrs. Maylie did not notify him sooner of Rose's illness, as he is deeply in love with her.

Mrs. Maylie does not fully approve, because she fears that over time, Rose's doubtful birth and the rumors about it will cause Harry to resent her, but she says that she will not stand in Harry's way. Mrs. Maylie goes in to see Rose, who is too weak to see anyone else, and Mr. Losberne, Harry, and Oliver spend the evening together. Harry begins to go with Oliver on his morning flower-gathering expeditions.

One evening, Oliver falls into a kind of half-sleep while studying. In this state, Oliver thinks he hears Fagin and another man, and is woken by their voices. He is troubled to see them standing right on the other side of the window, and when he raises his head, they make eye contact. It is clear that they recognize him. Oliver too recognizes them: Fagin and the crazy man from outside the post office. He jumps into the garden, and calls for help.

CH 35. Everyone comes to Oliver’s cry, and Harry leads the chase after Fagin and the other man. They find no trace of them, and so think that perhaps Oliver dreamt it, but Oliver is sure that it was real. They continue to search and make inquiries in town over the next few days, but nothing comes of it, and so it is forgotten. Meanwhile, Rose grows stronger and stronger, and yet something still seems to be bothering her.

Harry prepares to leave, but before he does, he requests a few moments alone with Rose. Harry declares his longstanding love for Rose, but she begs him to forget her, because she is below him, and has a blight on her name, and would serve as an obstacle to him in his progress in the world. She considers it her duty to reject him, for his own good, as well as his friends. Harry accepts this, but asks the one favor of being able to renew his suit one time in the future, to which Rose agrees.

CH 36. Before leaving with Mr. Losberne, Harry asks Oliver to write to him secretly every alternate Monday, and tell him how Mrs. Maylie and Rose are doing. Oliver promises to fulfill this duty.

CH 37. Mr. Bumble sits in the workhouse parlor, looking rather glum. By his dress it is clear that he is no longer a beadle. In marrying Mrs. Corney, he became master of the workhouse, and the role of beadle was given to another. Mr. Bumble considers himself to have sold himself to the now Mrs. Bumble for too little, who overhears him making this complaint and gets angry. It has been two months since their wedding, and they are in a battle for dominance. Mrs. Bumble manages to come out on top, much to Mr. Bumble’s surprise. It gets even worse when Mrs. Bumble embarrasses him in front of the paupers, who he hears laughing at him.

To make himself feel better, Mr. Bumble goes to a pub, where there is a stranger sitting who appears to have traveled from a long way off. This stranger speaks to Mr. Bumble, and says that he knew him when he was the beadle. The stranger admits that he came to the town with the specific intention of finding Mr. Bumble to ask him some information. He slips Mr. Bumble some sovereigns, and asks for information about the woman who nurses Oliver’s mother when she gave birth to him. Mr. Bumble tells the stranger that she died last winter. Mr. Bumble, sensing an opportunity for further gain, offers the stranger an interview with Mrs. Corney, who was with Old Sally the night that she died. The stranger tells Mr. Bumble that his name is Monks.

CH 38. Mr. and Mrs. Bumble go to the address that Monks gave them to meet with him. It is stormy, and the thunder seems to send Monks into weird fits. Mrs. Bumble negotiates with Monks, and says he must pay her twenty-five pounds before she will give him her information. He pays her, and Mrs. Bumble tells him what she knows, which, it turns out, includes the very locket itself, which she redeemed from the pawn broker. Monks drops the locket into the river below them, and tells the Bumbles not to speak of it again. The Bumbles agree, and leave.

CH 39. Bill Sikes still lives in the same neighborhood, but now in a smaller and dingier apartment. Sikes himself is also much worse off, as he is very ill. Nancy is with him, also much the worse for wear. She is so weak, in fact, that she faints. Fagin, the artful Dodger, and Charley Bates come in and try to help. Nancy is revived, and goes to lie down on the bed, while Sikes asks what the visitors are doing there. They have brought him some food and spirits, which he quickly eats, but is not thankful, since it is the first time they have helped him in the three weeks that he has been ill.

Fagin gradually wins him over, and after some coaxing, agrees to take Nancy back to his place, and give her some money for Bill. They return to Fagin’s, where Fagin prepares to get the money for Nancy, but stops when he hears someone approaching. It is Monks, who Nancy pretends to pay no attention to, but in reality studies very closely. Monks wants a word alone with Fagin, so they head upstairs, leaving Nancy. She slips off her shoes and sneaks after them, returning to the room just before they do. Fagin gives her the money, and she leaves. She does not go back to Sikes, however, running off in the other direction instead, but after tiring herself she only sits down on a stoop and cries, and then turns back and returns to Sikes’s abode.

The next day Nancy acts strangely, but Sikes is so busy with his new money that he doesn’t notice. By night time, however, her agitation has grown so extreme that even he notices. He is too tired to take it seriously, however, and eventually falls asleep. Once he is out, she immediately gets dressed, and leaves the apartment. She hurries off, worried that she will be too late. She eventually arrives at a family hotel, where she asks to see Miss Maylie. The servants do not want to let Nancy up, but someone agrees to take her message up, and Rose agrees to see her.

SESSION 6. Ch 40-47 [Nancy’s betrayal and death]

CH 40. Nancy, waiting for Miss Maylie to appear, feels a sense of shame at what the contrast will be between the two of them, and Miss May lie’s profound kindness and lack of haughtiness when she arrives causes Nancy to break into tears. She tells Miss Maylie that she is the one who kidnapped Oliver and took him back to Fagin when he was living with Mr. Brownlow. Nancy explains that in the first conversation she overheard between Monks and Fagin, she learned that Monks had seen Oliver with the Dodger and Bates, and had told Fagin that he would pay him if he got him back and made him into a thief.

Then, the second time she overhears the two men talking, she learns that Monks, having disposed of the proof of Oliver’s parentage, has now guaranteed himself what would rightfully be the boy’s inheritance, and she learns that Monks is his brother. Nancy says that she must leave before Sikes or anyone notices that she is gone, but Rose begs her to stay, and be redeemed. Nancy says that she must go back, she cannot be saved, because she cannot leave Sikes, and cause his death in doing so. Rose and Nancy set up that as long as Nancy is alive, she will walk on London Bridge between eleven and midnight every Sunday night, so that Rose can find her if she needs her to help Oliver.

CH 41. Rose tries to decide upon the best thing to do with the information she has been given. She does not think she should tell Mr. Losberne because of his impetuosity, and she doesn’t think that she should tell Mrs. Maylie, because her first reaction will be to tell Mr. Losberne. After a difficult night, she decides to go to Harry with the information. As she prepares to write a letter to Harry, Oliver comes rushing in, and says he has seen Mr. Brownlow. Oliver did not have the opportunity to speak to him, but he now has his address, and wants to go to see him immediately.

Rose goes with him, and has Oliver wait in the coach while she goes in to talk to Mr. Brownlow. Mr. Grimwig is there as well, and she tells them that she is a friend of Oliver’s. Both men are shocked, and Mr. Brownlow asks for evidence that he is as kind and good as she says he is. She tells him Oliver’s story, and as soon as he hears that Oliver is in the coach right outside, he runs out to him. They both return to the study, and Mr. Brownlow calls for Mrs. Bedwin, who is delighted to see Oliver.

In another room, Rose tells Mr. Brownlow the story that Nancy told her. Mr. Brownlow tells Mr. Losberne, who is indeed quite angry, but Mr. Brownlow is able to prevent him from doing anything stupid. Mr. Brownlow thinks they should wait until Sunday to see Nancy, and try to get from her as much information about Monks as they can, so that they can find him, and discover Oliver’s heritage. They all agree.

CH 42. Noah Claypole and Charlotte walk together into London, running away from the Sowerberrys’, because Charlotte took money from their till to give to Noah. They come upon the Three Cripples, and decide that they will spend the night there. Inside there is only Barney, who says he will inquire whether they can sleep there tonight. He leads them to a back room, which is easy to spy on, and tells them that they can stay the night. Barney goes back to the front room right as Fagin comes in.

Barney warns him to be quiet because there are strangers in the next room, and hints that they might be Fagin’s kind of people. Fagin listens to Noah and Charlotte’s conversation, which is about Noah’s desire to be a wealthy thief, and then enters the back room. Fagin tells them that if they are interested in that line of business, then they are in the perfect pub for it. Fagin tells them his terms, and offers them jobs with him, which Noah accepts.

CH 43. Fagin begins to train Noah, and in doing so tells him that his best boy, the artful Dodger, has just been arrested. Charley Bates comes in, and tells Fagin that they found the owner of the snuff box that the Dodger stole, and so he is going to be imprisoned. They want to check on Dodger in prison, so Fagin asks Noah to go, as they won’t recognize him at the police station. Noah is reluctant, but is eventually persuaded by his fear of Fagin. At the station, Noah finally sees someone matching the description he was given of the Dodger. The Dodger puts on quite a show, but is given a full sentence.

CH 44. Nancy has trouble dealing with her guilt for betraying Sikes and Fagin—awful as they are, she does not want them to die by her hand. Because of her emotional turmoil, she cannot manage to act normal. On Sunday night, when the church bells strike eleven, Sikes and Fagin are talking, while Nancy is sitting silently. While they are in conversation, she tries to slip out, but they notice. When she tries to evade Sikes’s questions about where she is going, he refuses to let her leave. She orders and begs Sikes to let her go, and struggles against him until midnight, when she finally gives up.

Fagin and Sikes discuss what could have possibly come over her. Fagin, ready to leave, asks Nancy to show him down the stairs with a light. When they are alone together, he tells her that he is worried her behavior is a result of Sikes being so brutal to her, and he says that she has a friend in him, no matter what. We find out that this is because Fagin has become convinced that Nancy has an attachment for a new man. This suits him, because such a man could be useful to him, and Sikes’s use has diminished because he knows too much. Fagin decides that he will try to convince Nancy to poison Sikes, and his words to her in the passage are the beginning of this attempt. To get more power to convince her, Fagin decides to find out who her new man is, so that he can blackmail her, knowing that Sikes would kill her if Fagin told him.

CH 45. The next morning, Fagin waits for Noah to get up to have a talk with him. He asks Noah to follow Nancy, and tell Fagin everything that she does, and if he does it well, Fagin will give him a pound. The next Sunday, Noah finally gets his chance. Fagin takes him to The Three Cripples, where Noah gets a look at her face so that he can track her. He follows her as she leaves the Cripples.

CH 46. Nancy goes, with Noah following, to London Bridge, where she waits. At two minutes past midnight, Rose and Mr. Brownlow get out of a carriage, and walk towards the bridge. Nancy sees them, and immediately heads towards them. Nancy tells them she can’t talk in the open, and leads them to a staircase going down to the river. Noah, seeing this, finds the perfect spot from which to overhear them. Nancy says that she has had a horrible fear and premonition of death all day, which was why she was too nervous to speak on the bridge. Mr. Brownlow tells Nancy that he believes her story, and that if she leads them to Monks, they will do their best to respect her wishes, and not turn in Fagin or Sikes.

Nancy tells them about The Three Cripples, and gives them all the information they could need to find Monks there, without arousing anyone’s suspicions. Mr. Brownlow tries to convince Nancy to take his help to escape her life with Sikes and Fagin, but she will not be persuaded. She also refuses to take money, only accepting a token of something that Rose has worn, to remember her by. As Mr. Brownlow and Rose walk out of sight, Nancy collapses into tears. As soon as she carries herself off, Noah runs back to Fagin’s.

CH 47. After hearing Noah’s report, Fagin sits in profound anger, waiting for Sikes to return from his thieving. Fagin looks at Sikes with such an extreme facial expression, that Sikes fears he will attack him, but Fagin says Sikes is not the source of his anger. Fagin questions Sikes, asking what he would do to Noah, or Fagin himself, or Charley, etc, if they had done what Nancy did. When Sikes has repeated that he would kill whoever did it, no matter what, Fagin wakes Noah up, and makes him repeat the whole story for Sikes.

Sikes storms out in a rage, and both Fagin and he know that he is going to kill Nancy. He rushes home, where Nancy begs him not to kill her, and instead to leave all of this behind with her as per Mr. Brownlow’s offer, but instead he beats her to death with his gun. She manages to say one prayer for mercy before she dies.

SESSION 7. Ch 48-53 [Monks unmasked, Sikes and Fagin executed]

CH 48. The sun rises, shining especially brightly and beautifully, and although he tries, Sikes cannot block it out from the awful scene. After sitting completely still, staring at Nancy’s body, Sikes finally gets up and cleans himself, his clothes, and his weapon off as best he can. He leaves the apartment with his dog, and locks the door behind him. He wanders around, stopping for a bit to sleep, then wanders some more. Finally, by night, he finds a pub remote enough that he feels comfortable entering, and goes in for dinner. While he is eating, a peddler comes in who is selling stain remover. To encourage buyers, he says that he will get the stain out of Sikes’s hat, and grabs it. Sikes lunges for it, and upon getting back, rushes out of the pub.

Sikes walks on without destination, and begins to feel terrified by the sense that Nancy’s ghost is following him. He finds a shed in which he stops for the night, but while there, he has a vision of Nancy’s dead eyes floating in the darkness, everywhere he looks. He is utterly terrified, until he hears men shouting, which, although actually dangerous, energizes him. He rushes out of the shed and sees that there is a large fire, which he runs to. He joins in the fray of people trying to fight it, and works frantically all night. When the fire is out, he eats some food with the other men, and while doing so hears the firemen talking about the murder, and the manhunt for Sikes.

He hurries off until he drops onto the ground and sleeps. He wanders some more, then decides to go back to London and hideout for a week, before escaping to France. On his way, his dog suddenly refuses to follow him anymore, and runs off. Sikes waits for awhile, but the dog never returns, and so he continues on to London alone.

CH 49. Mr. Brownlow, with two men helping, takes Monks to his house. They do not physically force him to enter, but Mr. Brownlow says that the minute Monks tries to leave, he will call the police, and levy charges of fraud and robbery against him. Mr. Brownlow was Monks’s father’s oldest friend, and Monks’s real name is Edward Leeford. Mr. Brownlow also had been betrothed to Leeford’s aunt, but she had died on the morning of their wedding day. Leeford’s father, Edwin Leeford, had been forced into a very unhappily marriage to Leeford’s mother when he was very young, and they had eventually separated.

After this separation, Edwin became good friends with a naval officer, whose beautiful daughter fell in love with him. Edwin, soon after inheriting a great fortune, dies without a will, so the fortune goes to his first wife, and Edward. Mr. Brownlow reveals to Edward that his father had come to him before he died, and left with him a portrait of the officer’s daughter, Agnes Fleming, and told him that he was planning to convert his new fortune to cash, leave some to his first wife and Edward, and use the rest to flee the country with Agnes.

After Edward’s father’s death, Mr. Brownlow went to try to find Agnes, but her family had moved quite suddenly, and so it was not until Oliver appeared, looking so much like her portrait, that he had any idea of his existence. Mr. Brownlow tells Leeford all he knows about his own actions, and overwhelmed by the charges, Leeford admits his guilt. Mr. Losberne comes in, and says that they are on the point of capturing Sikes.

CH 50. On Jacob’s Island, a place of very deep poverty, Toby Crackit, Tom Chitling, and Kags, an older robber, sit together. It is Toby’s place, and he is not happy that Chitling has come there. Chitling tells them that Fagin and Noah Claypole were taken by the police that afternoon, and Bet, who went mad upon seeing Nancy’s body, was taken to a mental hospital, and everyone at the Cripples was arrested, and Bates is planning to come to Chitling’s too, once it has gotten dark. Sikes’s dog, without its master, jumps into the apartment through an open window. They don’t see Sikes anywhere near, so they relax, but once darkness falls, they hear a knocking on the door, and it is the murderer.

They let him in, seeing no other choice. Sikes looks terrible, and is haunted by the idea that Nancy has not yet been buried. Charley Bates arrives. Upon seeing Sikes, he shrinks back, and when Sikes steps towards him, he calls him a monster. Bates tells everyone that if anyone comes for Sikes, he will give him up in a moment, and starts yelling for help, then runs at Sikes and knocks him over. As Sikes gains the upper hand, Crackit stops him, for the police have arrived. The house is well reinforced, however, so Sikes is emboldened.

As the crowd surrounds them and tries to climb into the house, Sikes gets a rope, and climbs onto the roof, intending to drop into the water on the other side. Bates, however, sees this, and yells to the crowd, who circles round to the back, where Sikes sees the tide has gone out, and there is only mud. Brownlow, from the crowd, offers fifty pounds to the man who can take Sikes alive.

The crowd is distracted from Sikes for a moment when the police finally break into the house, and he takes his chance to make a running noose with the rope, and try to lower himself to the muddy ditch. Right as he puts the rope around his neck, however, he sees Nancy’s eyes, and in a paroxysm of fear, slips, and hangs himself. Sikes’s dog, who was also on the roof, leaps off after him, and dies also.

CH 51. Two days later, Oliver, Mrs. Maylie, Rose, Mrs. Bedwin, Mr. Losberne, and Mr. Brownlow travel toward the town where Oliver was born. As they go, Oliver wishes to see Dick again, and to be able to make him as happy as he is now. They arrive at the town’s chief hotel, where Mr. Grimwig is waiting for them, and everything is ready for their arrival. Oliver and Rose, who do not know much of the information that has recently been discovered, wait anxiously.

Mr. Losberne, Mr. Grimwig, Mr. Brownlow, and Leeford enter their room, and Oliver is told that Leeford is his half brother. Although they don’t want Oliver to have to meet him, he must be present for Leeford’s declaration of the truth of Oliver’s birth. Leeford, under pressure from Mr. Brownlow, tells the whole story, and of how he learned the story from his mother on her deathbed, and swore to hunt down Oliver if he existed.

Mr. Grimwig brings Mr. and Mrs. Bumble in, and Mr. Bumble immediately starts fawning over Oliver. Mr. Brownlow questions the Bumbles about selling the locket to Leeford, who deny it, but the two servants who listened when Old Sally told her story to Mrs. Bumble are brought in, and give their evidence. Mrs. Bumble admits her guilt. Mr. Brownlow tells the Bumbles that they will never hold any parochial office again. Leeford also explains that the naval officer’s second daughter was Rose, who was orphaned when her father died of heartbreak from her sister’s death. Rose is therefore legitimate; it was only believed she wasn’t because Leeford's mother spread that lie around.

Harry Maylie comes in, and renews his suit to Rose. She will not accept for the same reasons as before, but he tells her that he has renounced all ambition, and lowered himself to her station, so that they can live together happily. Rose accepts. At the celebration dinner, Oliver comes in crying, because he has learned that his old friend Dick is dead.

CH 52. The courtroom is completely packed for Fagin’s trial, and everyone’s eyes are on him. Fagin scans the faces of the crowd, and sees that not one face contains any sympathy for him. Fagin, terrified at the grave he feels opening at his feet, cannot think of it directly, and so his mind wanders through the mundane. The jury comes back, and pronounces him guilty. The judge sentences him to be hanged. Fagin is led out of the court and put alone into a condemned cell. On the last day before he is to die, he enters into a paroxysm of fear and wrath so extreme that he has to have two guards with him at all times.

As the hour of his death approaches, Mr. Brownlow and Oliver come to the prison to see him. They find him rocking back and forth, apparently having lost his mind and unaware of the present. Mr. Brownlow asks Fagin where he has put the papers that Monks gave him for safekeeping. Fagin draws Oliver to him, and tells him where the papers are, and asks Oliver to help him escape. Mr. Brownlow and Oliver leave, and find that a crowd has already begun to gather outside to watch the execution.

CH 53. Within three months, Rose and Harry are married in the church where Harry will work as clergyman. Mrs. Maylie moves in with them, and lives joyfully for the remainder of her days. Mr. Brownlow, wanting to give Monks a chance, recommends that Oliver and he split the inheritance, which Oliver happily agrees to. Monks takes his share to the New World, where he falls into his old habits, ends up in jail and dies.

Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver as his son, and they and Mrs. Bedwin move to the neighborhood of the Maylies. Mr. Losberne too soon follows, and lives happily in their neighborhood. Mr. Grimwig often visits. Noah Claypole, who is pardoned for his crimes for his testimony against Fagin, and Charlotte take to a safer but still dishonest kind of conning to make a living. Mr. and Mrs. Bumble, without their jobs, end up as paupers in the very workhouse they used to run.

Charley Bates, horrified by Nancy’s murder, decides to turn to honest labor, and with hard work ends up as a happy grazier. The Maylies, Oliver, Mr. Brownlow, and Mr. Losberne are all truly happy, and live in as perfect a state as is possible in this world.

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Charles Dickens summary

A DICKENS CHRONOLOGY

1812 Charles born February 7 to John, a clerk in the Navy Pay Office, and Elizabeth Dickens in Portsmouth, Hampshire

(3) 1815 Family moves to London, educated at William Giles's School, in Chatham

(12) 1824 John Dickens sent some months to the Marshalsea prison for debts with the whole family, except Charles. Charles employed at the Warren's Blacking Factory, pasting labels 10 hours a day; boards with different persons. [> Little Dorrit] Mother kept him working there for longer than needed. Later sent to Wellington House Academy in North London

(15-16) 1827-28 Works as a clerk for attorneys Ellis and Blackmore of Holborn Court, Gray's Inn [>Wemmick]

(16-20) 1828-1832 Reporter of legal proceedings at Doctors’ Commons [> Bleak House]

(18) 1830 Meets Maria Beadnell (Dora? Estella?)

(21) 1833 Relationship with Maria Beadnell ended by her parents. First publication: “A Dinner at Poplar Walk.” Becomes a political journalist, reporting on parliamentary debate and covering election campaigns all over Britain for the Morning Chronicle. [> Sketches by Boz, 1836]

(22) 1834 Begins using pseudonym ‘Boz.’ Meets future wife, Catherine Hogarth, the daughter of an editor.

(24) 1836 First chapters of The Pickwick Papers published. Marries Catherine. Becomes editor of Bentley's Miscellany (until 1839)

(25) 1837 First of 10 children, Charles, born. Beloved Mary Hogarth, Catherine's sister, dies. Oliver Twist begins

(26) 1838 Dickens and Hablot Browne travel to Yorkshire to see the boarding schools (Brontë sisters working there same period). Nicholas Nickleby begins

(28) 1840 The Old Curiosity Shop begins

(29) 1841 Barnaby Rudge published. Takes tour of Scotland.

(30) 1842 Travel to America (American Notes). Begins Martin Chuzzlewit

(31) 1843 A Christmas Carol.

(32) 1844 Dickens and family travel to Italy

(34) 1846 Dickens and his family travel to Switzerland. Dombey and Son begins

(34) 1846 Dickens accepts involvement in Urania Cottage for ‘fallen women,’ founded to help them start a new life as migrants

(37) 1849 David Copperfield begins

(38) 1850 R.L. Stevenson born. Dickens becomes editor of the journal Household Words (1850–1859).

(39) 1851 Catherine suffers nervous collapse. John Dickens, father, and Dora, 8-month daughter die. Starts amateur theatricals at his home Tavistock House

(40) 1852 Bleak House begins. Youngest child, Edward, born.

(41) 1853 First public reading

(42) 1854 Hard Times published

(43) 1855 Disappointing reunion with Maria Beadnell. Little Dorrit begins

(44) 1856 Purchases Gad's Hill Place

(45) 1857 Meets Ellen Ternan, a professional actress. Dickens starts helping programme for sick children at Great Ormond Street Hospital. Joseph Conrad born.

(46) 1858 Dickens separates from Catherine, his wife; probably lives with Ellen in secret. Starts his months-long reading tours all over Britain. Editor of All the Year Round (1858–1870).

(47) 1859 A Tale of Two Cities is published.

(48) 1860 Great Expectations begins.

(52) 1864 Son, Walter, dies in India. Our Mutual Friend begins

(53) 1865 Staplehurst railway accident along with Ellen Ternan and her mother.

(55) 1867 Dickens tours America for the second time.

(56) 1868-69 Farewell reading series; including the “Murder of Nancy.” Collapses with a mild stroke.

(58) 1870 Final public readings. The Mystery of Edwin Drood (unfinished). Dies of a stroke aged 58 at Gad's Hill Place on June 9. Laid to rest in the Poets' Corner of Westminster Abbey

Works

Sketches by Boz (1836)

The Pickwick Papers (monthly, Mar 1836 - Oct 1837)

Oliver Twist (monthly, Jan 1837 - Mar 1839)

Nicholas Nickleby (monthly, Mar 1838 - Sep 1839)

The Old Curiosity Shop (weekly, Apr 1840 - Feb 1841)

Barnaby Rudge (weekly, Feb 1841 - Nov 1841)

Martin Chuzzlewit (monthly, Jan 1843 - July 1844)

A Christmas Carol (Dec 1843)

Dombey and Son (monthly, Oct 1846 - Apr 1848)

David Copperfield (monthly, May 1849 - Nov 1850)

Bleak House (monthly, Mar 1852 - Sep 1853)

Hard Times (weekly, Apr 1854 - Aug 1854)

Little Dorrit (monthly, Dec 1855 - June 1857)

A Tale of Two Cities (weekly, Apr 1859 - Nov 1859)

Great Expectations (weekly, Dec 1860 - Aug 1861)

Our Mutual Friend (monthly, May 1864 - Nov 1865)

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (monthly, Apr 1870 - Sep 1870, unfinished)

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Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens summary