Oliver Twist (Great Illustrated Classics) Paperback – September 2, 2008

I've always loved the story of Oliver Twist-now I finally have an illustrated copy I'm even happier. This book is an unabridged copy and is searchable-a great feature. The cover has a picture of Oliver, all ragged with his little bundle. The table of contents takes you to Charles Dickens' preface, which is well worth reading, and to any chapter in the book. Alas, it does not take you to any of the illustrations, but they are beautifully rendered and very clear. I have the most basic Kindle and I have no trouble seeing all of the detail in the illustrations. The chapter headings list not only the number of the chapter, but the brief description Dickens wrote for each chapter, so that if you want to find a particular spot-say, when Oliver runs away to London, you can see that Chapter VIII has the summary "Oliver walks to London. He encounters on the road a strange sort of young gentleman." This makes it very easy to go to any part of the book you want to read.Warning: SPOILERS!!!!The story is one of a poor orphan boy, sold to an undertaker and abused until he runs away to London. He falls in with thieves and through a strange twist of fate is rescued by the man who was his father's best friend. It's a long story, filled with reversals of fortune and amazing coincidences, and although it has a happy ending, there is some genuine tragedy. It's a very sad scene when Oliver returns to the orphanage to get his best friend, Dick, who saw him off on his journey to London, only to find that Dick has died of untreated sickness. The prostitute, Nancy, has all the attributes of a character in a Greek tragedy-you desperately want her to leave the streets and her brutal boyfriend, Bill Sikes, and when she refuses to go, you have a sinking feeling that she isn't going to last much longer. When he beats her to death in their little room, it's a gruesome scene, but not a surprising one. The only relief from Fagin's gang comes from Charley, who reforms and leaves London to become a grazier.A word about Fagin-some might find the constant description of him as "the Jew" offensive. It is not meant as a pejorative, but rather as a handy label to define the arch-criminal. While it is true that Fagin is constantly described as a Jew and is one of the most repulsive Jewish characters in literature, it was not Dickens' intent to cast slurs upon Jewish people. He wrote in good faith and was troubled later, after becoming friends with Eliza Davis, the wife of the Jewish banker he sold his London house to, by the way he had portrayed Fagin. Eliza wrote to him in 1863 that she considered the way Dickens had portrayed Fagin a great wrong to the Jewish people. Dickens started to revise Oliver Twist, removing over 180 instances of the word "Jew" from the first edition text. He also ommitted sterotypical caricature from his public readings of Oliver Twist and a contemporary report noted, "There is no nasal intonation; a bent back but no shoulder-shrug: the conventional attributes are omitted." Dickens was finally able to write to Eliza, "There is nothing but good will left between me and a People for whom I have a real regard and to whom I would not willfully have given an offence." Fagin might still give offense to those looking for it, but personally I have always seen him as an example of a bad man, not a Jewish man, and I believe that is how Dickens meant to portray him.

"Oliver Twist" is a relatively early novel by Charles Dickens. The title character is a child who ends up affiliated with a band of criminals. I like this novel very much, and in many ways it is a typical novel by Charles Dickens. The novel is clearly meant for mass appeal in the Victorian Society within which it was written. A modern reader may find Victorian fiction to be somewhat ornate and "wordy". Personally I like it very much.Charles Dickens is my second favorite author of Victorian fiction after my favorite author of all, George Eliot. I have never read a Dickens novel that I did not complete enjoy. As stated these novels were written for mass appeal and consumption in Victorian England. Charles Dickens published these novels in serial form in periodicals. He would attempt to assess the reception of his work with his readers and thus the novel may be revised before the next installment.In general, Charles Dickens has a wry and ironic sense of humor. I find hm extremely humorous. His writing is, at times, sentimental, but again, I enjoy it, in doses. I always read Charles Dickens novels while simultaneously listening to a professional audiobook narration and did so with "Olivier Twist" and always find the professional narration adds to my reading experience.I have read this novel twice. I must confess that the first time, I was oblivious to what may be viewed by today's standards as anti Semitic connotations. There is a character who is a criminal who is seemingly endlessly referred to as a "Jew". He seems to lack redeeming virtues. I do not believe in censorship of historical works. But be prepared to encounter these references.In summary, Victorian Fiction will not appeal to every modern reader. However I find it very entertaining and works by Charles Dickens are an excellent example of it. Thank You...

Dickens takes the setting of working-class Victorian England and creates a well-crafted plot of tragedy, mystery, and intrigue, and still manages to instill the cheerful optimism. Oliver Twist is a great book for lovers of classic British literature. Not quite my favorite of Dickens writings, but it’s certainly up there.