Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens

Advantages: The full story, excellent humour, writing style
Disadvantages: May be heavy going for some

...magistrate's office in search of Oliver he writes: "It is due to the young lady that she did not positively affirm that she would not, but she merely expressed an emphatic and earnest desire to be 'blessed' if she would; a polite and delicate evasion of the request, which shows the young lady to have been possessed of that natural good breeding which cannot bear to inflict upon a fellow creature, the pain of a direct and pointed refusal." This is ...
...most of us already know, Oliver Twist is a poor boy from a workhouse who runs away to London seek his fortune and to escape the wretched treatment he has been dealt first in the workhouse and then in his apprenticeship to the local undertaker. Once in London he meets the Artful Dodger, who introduces him to his gang headed by Fagin. Naturally as thieves they try to corrupt him. Somehow his naivety doesn't catch up with who they are until he witnesses ... Read review

Advantages: Great story telling, colourful and meaty characters
Disadvantages: Forever doomed to be distorted by the film

...got their first experience of Oliver Twist through the 1969 Lionel Bart film of the musical version, entitled Oliver! and that certainly does stick in the memory, but the story actually dates back ages to the novel by Charles Dickens, the famous recorder of life in Victorian England. Dickens was a classic novelist who wrote some of the finest Victorian novels of all time and was a wonderful observer of the human condition. Oliver Twist vies for ...
...in which he lived and Oliver Twist allows him to give full rein to all three of these talents. Oliver Twist tells the tale of an orphaned boy who is sent to the workforce, the grand symbol of the Victorian welfare system. The name Twist was given simply because T was the next letter to be used by Mr Bumble the Beadle, who ran the workhouse, in his alphabetic naming of the boys in his charge. Oliver grows up like many other boys of his generation ... Read review

Advantages: The sincere and emotional protest of Dickens
Disadvantages: None

...writer named Charles Dickens wrote Oliver Twist with the same theme. He pointed his finger at the social inequalities and class discrimination of the Victorian society of England during the early nineteenth century, with corrupt officials, prejudiced judges and hardened criminals. The middle class stamped the poor as savages of lower qualities. From the very beginning, Oliver Twist serves as a tirade against Victorian society’s treatment of ...
...write a few words. Oliver Twist’s mother dies at his birth. With the absence of his father, he is sent to a regional orphanage. At the age of six he is directed to a town workhouse. The children at this workhouse live in filthy and unhygienic conditions with inadequate food. They remain hungry always, as the food served is insufficient. One day, Oliver Twist, out of sheer hunger asked ” Please, sir, I want some more”. The loathsome ... Read review

Advantages: Colourful characters, captivating story
Disadvantages: Olde world writing if you don't like that sort of thing

...who uttered those words. Oliver Twist and the author, Charles Dickens are known to lovers of classics worldwide and the story has been portrayed in countless films and television series over at least the past 50 years or so. I think I am correct in saying that Oliver Twist was written as a series in a newspaper for which Dickens worked and certainly it is easy to envisage it beginning life in this way as Oliver's life progresses from one heartrendering ...
...the story, attempts to steal Oliver back in order to hold him to ransom. Throughout the tale Dickens introduces the reader to vividly described and aptly named characters. There's Fagin, the ragged evil tramp-like figure,appearing kind but with sinister undertones. Then there's Bill Sykes, violent and frightening and his lover Nancy, lowly bred but gentle and pretty - she takes Oliver under her wing but ultimately dies horrifically at the hands of ... Read review

Advantages: you already know the story!
Disadvantages: none

If your only experience of Oliver Twist is through musicals, films or childrens stories then I highly recommend that you read the orginal. It is one of Dickens' best works, containing interesting characters, lots of highly interesting and sometimes amusing description and a storyline that keeps you engaged throughout the book. It is a wonderful book to read aloud because of the vivid descriptions and I would recommend you read it to your children ...
...for children. It may seem harsh because of the murder, but the way it is dealt with leaves no room to feel it was justified in any way. In fact the descriptions of Sykes' guilt afterwards are, in my opinion, some of the best parts of the novel. A great read, certainly worth revisiting. ... Read review