Born and raised in the appalling deprivation of a Victorian-era London workhouse, the orphan Oliver escapes the drudgery of apprenticeship only to fall into the hands of the notorious Fagin and his gang of child thieves. But Oliver is an innocent at heart and the attempts by Fagin and the impudently witty Artful Dodger to teach the boy the trick of the pick-pocket's trade lead only to his almost immediate capture. Oliver's rescue by the kindly Mr. Brownlow is only the beginning of a series of adventures that lead him to an incredible discovery of his true identity. With the publication of this fiercely comic second novel, Charles Dickens's eminent literary reputation was firmly established.

A classic story.