Oliver Twist, or, The Parish Boy's Progress

A gripping portrayal of London's dark criminal underbelly, this Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by Philip Horne. The story follows Oliver Twist, an orphan who faces evil and adversity from birth, shocking readers upon its publication. After escaping the workhouse and the pompous Mr. Bumble, Oliver is drawn into a den of thieves filled with vivid characters like the Artful Dodger, the brutal burglar Bill Sikes, his dog Bull's Eye, and the prostitute Nancy, all under the watchful eye of master-thief Fagin. Blending Gothic Romance, Newgate Novel elements, and popular melodrama, Dickens crafted a new kind of fiction that critiques a cruel society, imbued with a sense of threat and mystery. This critical edition reproduces the text as originally encountered by readers during its serialization in Bentley's Miscellany. It includes 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 over seventy years, Penguin has been a leading publisher of classic literature, offering authoritative texts enhanced by scholarly introductions and notes, as well as contemporary translations.