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Ratings: ★★★★★ (4.8/5)
Genre: Classic Literature / Social Criticism / Crime Fiction / Victorian Novel

Book Review:
Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist (1837-39) shocked Victorian England with its savage portrayal of workhouses, child poverty, and the London criminal underworld. The orphan Oliver dares to ask for more food — and is punished. He escapes to London, only to fall into the hands of Fagin, a villainous old man who trains homeless boys to be pickpockets. Among the unforgettable characters: the Artful Dodger, the brutal Bill Sikes, and the doomed Nancy. Dickens combines Gothic thrills, melodrama, and blazing social outrage. William Makepeace Thackeray wrote: “The power of Dickens is so amazing, that the reader at once becomes his captive.” This Penguin Classics edition includes an introduction by Philip Horne. A must-read for lovers of classic literature.