FROM THE PUBLISHER

"Dickens's classic morality tale of a starving orphan caught between opposing forces of good and evil is a powerful indictment of Victorian England's Poor Laws. Filled with dark humor and an unforgettable cast of characters - Oliver Twist, Fagin, Nancy, Bill Sykes, and the Artful Dodger, to name a few - Dickens's second novel is a compelling social satire that has remained popular since it was first serialized in 1837-39." The text for this Modern Library Paperback Classic is taken from the 1846 New Edition, revised and corrected by the author. It includes new explanatory notes and an appendix, "A Brief History of the English Poor Laws."

SYNOPSIS

Oliver Twist has long held a position of great popularity among readers of Charles Dickens. It has been adapted for film, for the theater and for television, and has also been turned into the stage musical, Oliver! In a wonderfully absorbing novel, Charles Dickens tells the story of an unfortunate orphan boy in his journey from a harsh workhouse, where he is punished for asking for more, into the wider, more dangerous world. Many of the book's characters have become household names, in particular Fagin and the "Artful Dodger," two of the colorful criminals that Oliver meets in his adventures through the lowlife haunts of Victorian London. The story is a thrilling one of good fighting against evil, packed with suspense, humor, vitality, pity and drama, with an innocent young boy at its center. Dickens was a great showman and this is one of his finest shows.

The handsome volumes in The Collectors Library present great works of world literature in a handy hardback format. Printed on high-quality paper and bound in real cloth, each complete and unabridged volume has a specially commissioned afterword, brief biography of the author and a further-reading list. This easily accessible series offers readers the perfect opportunity to discover, or rediscover, some of the world's most endearing literary works.

The volumes in The Collector's Library are sumptuously produced, enduring editions to own, to collect and to treasure.

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