Oliver Twist

The second novel by Dickens, and considered one of his best, Oliver Twist is the story of an orphan boy who is essentially born into an English workhouse. There he must suffer the abject miseries of poverty and hunger, cruelty and greed. Finally Oliver takes his chances on the streets, and runs away only to get mixed up with a gang of pickpockets. After a while he is taken in by a gentleman of means and is cared for... until one day the thieves return, and a web of secrets and mystery is exposed. Oliver Twist has a similar plot to Great Expectations, and like it has also been made into a heap of movies and plays. Like many novels of Victorian England it was serialized over many months, which must have been like the television of the day. "Can't wait for the new Oliver Twist episode to come out. Love that 'Please, sir, I want some more,' bit."