A gripping portrayal of London's dark criminal underbelly, published in Penguin Classics with an introduction by Philip Horne. The story of Oliver Twist - orphaned, and set upon by evil and adversity from his first breath - shocked readers when it was published. After running away from the workhouse and pompous beadle Mr Bumble, Oliver finds himself lured into a den of thieves peopled by vivid and memorable characters - the Artful Dodger, vicious burglar Bill Sikes, his dog Bull's Eye, and prostitute Nancy, all watched over by cunning master-thief Fagin. Combining elements of Gothic Romance, the Newgate Novel and popular melodrama, Dickens created an entirely new kind of fiction, scathing in its indictment of a cruel society, and pervaded by an unforgettable sense of threat and mystery. This Penguin Classics edition of Oliver Twist is the first critical edition to faithfully reproduce the text as its earliest readers would have encountered it from its serialisation in Bentley's Miscellany, and includes an introduction by Philip Horne, a glossary of Victorian thieves' slang, a chronology of Dickens's life, a map of contemporary London and all of George Cruikshank's original illustrations. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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0If we were rating on technical merit alone this would be 5 stars. But since the rating is more of a personal enjoyment scale I'm going with 3.
Things I liked:
1) The snide and satirical details Dickens incorporates into any interactions between our less morally upright characters. Mr Bumble's utter blindness to the irony of his own hypocrisy when scolding teenagers for kissing or having inner monologues about morality, Fagin defending 'fairness' against Sikes, etc.
2) The comedy aspects of men interacting with women. I especially love how Mr Bumble is utterly crushed by Mrs Bumble as we see her deliberately make moves to assert her dominance, or how freaked our Fagin becomes while Nancy is throwing a fit of passion. It's hilarious to see these naturally misogynistic men be confronted and intimidated by 'the fairer sex'.
3) The ending. It pays off. All of it.
Things I didn't like:
1) The length of the story. As this book was published as a serial with chapters being written and prepared for publishing once a month over three years, I'm sure Dickens and readers at the time didn't feel that the story was too long or too dry to stomach. But as someone reading it through it's easy to see all the filler and be annoyed by it.
2) Fagin and his crew's speech. It was impossible for me to comprehend what was being said when the dialogue was written in the style of their speech. Having some sort of translation or paraphrasing to help understand these important conversations would have been nice.
I wouldn't read more Dickens but I'm really glad to have gotten through and enjoyed parts of this one.
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