Orphan of the Mist

Author: (English) Charles Dickens
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: The author of Oliver Twist is Charles Dickens, a famous 19th-century British realist writer. At the time of writing this book, he was only twenty-five years old. The protagonist, Oliver Twist, is an illegitimate child from a wealthy upper-class family, whose mother died shortly after giving birth to him. Oliver grew up in an orphanage, where he endured hellish torment, and at the age of nine, he was sent to work as an apprentice in a coffin shop. Unable to bear the bullying and abuse from Noah and others, he ran away to London alone. In London, he met the pickpocket "Fagin" and was tricked into falling into a den of thieves. Fagin, the leader of the thieves, was determined to corrupt his pure heart and make him a thief. In London, Oliver met his father's friend, Mr. Brownlow. Later, he was again trapped by thieves. During an enforced theft, he was shot and nearly died, but was saved by Miss Rose and the elderly Mrs. Maylie. They helped Oliver claim the inheritance he was entitled to. The novel reflects the struggle between good and evil, beauty and ugliness, as well as justice and wickedness. It also criticizes the hypocrisy of some charitable institutions and the tyranny of the police in Britain at the time.