Bill Sikes: My favourite Charles Dickens character - Telegraph Charles Dickens Bill Sikes: My favourite Charles Dickens character Bill Sikes - from Oliver Twist - is one of Dickens's nastiest characters and is the eighteenth in the Telegraph pick of the best Charles Dickens characters. Image 1 of 4 Drunken Bill Sikes, one of Charles Dickens's meanest villains, kidnaps Oliver Twist. Sikes is accompanied by his dog Bulls Eye in this portrait by Frederick Barnard. Photo: Alamy Image 1 of 4 Kay Walsh (Nancy) is attacked by Bill Sikes (Robert Newton) in the classic 1948 film version of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. KAY WALSH AND ROBERT NEWTON Image 1 of 4 Charles Dickens's books have been published all over the world. This Oliver Twist was, appropriately, one of the Dover Thrift Editions. By Catherine Gee , Writer, TV & Radio 7:00AM GMT 15 Feb 2012 Follow My Favourite Charles Dickens character: Bill Sikes from Oliver Twist (1838) Rarely has a villain come along who is more dark and frightening than Bill Sikes.

He’s drunk, brutal, selfishly bullish and possesses a consuming desire for revenge and control that is further blinkered by his inability to be reasoned with – all made all the more fearsome by his realism. Men much like him existed then and men much like him exist now. He is the one man on the streets of London who never showed a scrap of kindness – apparent or otherwise – to young orphan Oliver and remains probably Charles Dickens’s darkest character. He manages his career as a criminal and those who work with him with a harsh iron fist. He beats those closest to him – his girlfriend Nancy and his dog Bulls Eye – without remorse and when he discovers that Nancy plans to return Oliver to his wealthy guardians he murders her in a fit of anger. Oliver Twist has been adapted many times for stage and screen but it is probably Oliver Reed’s portrayal of Sikes in Carol Reed’s 1968 musical film that is best remembered. He became every inch of the drink and rage-filled criminal – no doubt helped along by Reed’s own substantial alcohol problem. The full series of 'My favourite Charles Dickens character' is: Related Articles SparkNotes: Oliver Twist: Character List Character List Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Oliver Twist - The novel’s protagonist.

Oliver is an orphan born in a workhouse, and Dickens uses his situation to criticize public policy toward the poor in 1830s England. Oliver is between nine and twelve years old when the main action of the novel occurs. Though treated with cruelty and surrounded by coarseness for most of his life, he is a pious, innocent child, and his charms draw the attention of several wealthy benefactors. His true identity is the central mystery of the novel. Read an in-depth analysis of Oliver Twist. Fagin - A conniving career criminal. Fagin takes in homeless children and trains them to pick pockets for him. He is also a buyer of other people’s stolen goods. He rarely commits crimes himself, preferring to employ others to commit them—and often suffer legal retribution—in his place. Dickens’s portrait of Fagin displays the influence of anti-Semitic stereotypes. Read an in-depth analysis of Fagin. Nancy - A young prostitute and one of Fagin’s former child pickpockets. Nancy is also Bill Sikes’s lover. Her love for Sikes and her sense of moral decency come into conflict when Sikes abuses Oliver.

Despite her criminal lifestyle, she is among the noblest characters in the novel. In effect, she gives her life for Oliver when Sikes murders her for revealing Monks’s plots. Read an in-depth analysis of Nancy. Rose Maylie - Agnes Fleming’s sister, raised by Mrs. Maylie after the death of Rose’s father. A beautiful, compassionate, and forgiving young woman, Rose is the novel’s model of female virtue. She establishes a loving relationship with Oliver even before it is revealed that the two are related. Mr. Brownlow - A well-off, erudite gentleman who serves as Oliver’s first benefactor. Mr. Brownlow owns a portrait of Agnes Fleming and was engaged to Mr. Leeford’s sister when she died. Throughout the novel, he behaves with compassion and common sense and emerges as a natural leader. Monks - A sickly, vicious young man, prone to violent fits and teeming with inexplicable hatred. With Fagin, he schemes to give Oliver a bad reputation. Bill Sikes - A brutal professional burglar brought up in Fagin’s gang.

Sikes is Nancy's pimp and lover, and he treats both her and his dog Bull’s-eye with an odd combination of cruelty and grudging affection. His murder of Nancy is the most heinous of the many crimes that occur in the novel. Mr. Bumble - The pompous, self-important beadle—a minor church official—for the workhouse where Oliver is born. Though Mr. Bumble preaches Christian morality, he behaves without compassion toward the paupers under his care. Dickens mercilessly satirizes his self-righteousness, greed, hypocrisy, and folly, of which his name is an obvious symbol. Agnes Fleming - Oliver’s mother. After falling in love with and becoming pregnant by Mr. Leeford, she chooses to die anonymously in a workhouse rather than stain her family’s reputation. A retired naval officer’s daughter, she was a beautiful, loving woman. Oliver’s face closely resembles hers. Mr. Leeford - Oliver and Monks’s father, who dies long before the events of the novel. He was an intelligent, high-minded man whose family forced him into an unhappy marriage with a wealthy woman. He eventually separated from his wife and had an illicit love affair with Agnes Fleming.

He intended to flee the country with Agnes but died before he could do so. Mr. Losberne - Mrs. Maylie’s family physician. A hot-tempered but good-hearted old bachelor, Mr. Losberne is fiercely loyal to the Maylies and, eventually, to Oliver. Mrs. Maylie - A kind, wealthy older woman, the mother of Harry Maylie and adoptive “aunt” of Rose. Harry Maylie - Mrs. Maylie’s son. Harry is a dashing young man with grand political ambitions and career prospects, which he eventually gives up to marry Rose. The Artful Dodger - The cleverest of Fagin’s pickpockets. The Dodger’s real name is Jack Dawkins. Though no older than Oliver, the Dodger talks and dresses like a grown man. He introduces Oliver to Fagin. Charley Bates - One of Fagin’s pickpockets. Charley is ready to laugh at anything. Old Sally - An elderly pauper who serves as the nurse at Oliver’s birth. Old Sally steals Agnes’s gold locket, the only clue to Oliver’s identity. Mrs. Corney - The matron of the workhouse where Oliver is born. Mrs.

Corney is hypocritical, callous, and materialistic. After she marries Mr. Bumble, she hounds him mercilessly. Noah Claypole - A charity boy and Mr. Sowerberry’s apprentice. Noah is an overgrown, cowardly bully who mistreats Oliver and eventually joins Fagin’s gang. Charlotte - The Sowerberrys’ maid. Charlotte becomes romantically involved with Noah Claypole and follows him about slavishly. Toby Crackit - One of Fagin and Sikes’s associates, crass and not too bright. Toby participates in the attempted burglary of Mrs. Maylie’s home. Mrs. Bedwin - Mr. Brownlow’s kindhearted housekeeper. Mrs. Bedwin is unwilling to believe Mr. Bumble’s negative report of Oliver’s character. Bull’s-eye - Bill Sikes’s dog. As vicious as his master, Bull’s-eye functions as Sikes’s alter ego. Monks’s mother - An heiress who lived a decadent life and alienated her husband, Mr. Leeford. Monks’s mother destroyed Mr. Leeford’s will, which left part of his property to Oliver.

Much of Monks’s nastiness is presumably inherited from her. Mr. Sowerberry - The undertaker to whom Oliver is apprenticed. Though Mr. Sowerberry makes a grotesque living arranging cut-rate burials for paupers, he is a decent man who is kind to Oliver. Mrs. Sowerberry - Sowerberry’s wife. Mrs. Sowerberry is a mean, judgmental woman who henpecks her husband. Mr. Grimwig - Brownlow’s pessimistic, curmudgeonly friend. Mr. Grimwig is essentially good-hearted, and his pessimism is mostly just a provocative character quirk. Mr. Giles - Mrs. Maylie’s loyal, though somewhat pompous, butler. Mr. Brittles - A sort of handyman for Mrs. Maylie’s estate. It is implied that Mr. Brittles is slightly mentally handicapped. Mrs. Mann - The superintendent of the juvenile workhouse where Oliver is raised. Mrs. Mann physically abuses and half-starves the children in her care. Mr. Gamfield - A brutal chimney sweep. Oliver almost becomes Mr. Gamfield’s apprentice.

Bet - One of Fagin’s former child pickpockets, now a prostitute. Mr. Fang - The harsh, irrational, power-hungry magistrate who presides over Oliver’s trial for pickpocketing. Barney - One of Fagin’s criminal associates. Like Fagin, Barney is Jewish. Duff and Blathers - Two bumbling police officers who investigate the attempted burglary of Mrs. Maylie’s home. Tom Chitling - A rather dim member of Fagin’s gang. Tom has served time in jail for doing Fagin’s bidding.

More Help Web Page: Content: (BBB, CC, PC, L, VV, N, AA, D, M) Very strong moral worldview with positive references to God and forgiveness and a powerful appeal to praying a prayer of forgiveness, marred by legalistic Christian orphanage with forced prayers, and mean-spirited banners about God, and brief political correctness when mean-spirited, stingy woman makes a snide comment about being "liberal," thus implying that conservatives are like she is; four "d" words and a few old-style English sounding like "Gaw!" or "Gol!" which may be slang for the light profanity, "God!"; brief strong violence such as boys fight, man slaps woman, a few drops of blood splatter table as man beats woman to death off screen, pool of blood when a murder victim is discovered, man tries to drown dog, man falls in river, policemen fire pistols at murderer, boy shot in arm, bloody gash in boy's arm where he has been shot, people kidnap boy, villain threatens people with violence, man accidentally hangs himself, and references to public hangings; no sex scenes, but unmarried villain seems to live with girlfriend and couple in saloon in

 poverty-stricken area are seen hugging closely as they flirt; brief upper male nudity; alcohol use, including by some children during Victorian Age, and two or three brief scenes in saloon with drunken rowdy people; smoking pipes, including by some children; and, kidnapping, stealing, picking pockets, elderly man teaches boys to steal, attempted burglary, minor character is a henpecked husband, and weak clergyman in scene with officials who run workhouse.

Summary: OLIVER TWIST is a new version of the famous tale by Charles Dickens about a young orphan in Victorian England who gets involved with criminals in London. Slightly theatrical, OLIVER TWIST is a beautifully realized filmed version of this story that rebukes both legalism and lawlessness in favor of gentle God-given Grace. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for young children because of violence and the tragic circumstances surrounding the gentle hero's life. Review: Screened by MOVIEGUIDE® at the Toronto Film Festival and in Los Angeles, OLIVER TWIST is a beautifully realized filmed version of the famous novel by Charles Dickens. Though it is not the definitive movie version (that title may still go to the 1948 version by David Lean), it is an absorbing, poignant drama about the trials and tribulations of the poor orphan boy in Victorian England. Unlike Lean's version, which opens with the death of Oliver's poor mother, this OLIVER TWIST begins with Mr. Bumble dragging poor Oliver through muddy streets to the workhouse. There, Oliver is forced to work with hundreds of other boys who are recycling bits of rope for the Royal Navy.

You're serving your country, my boy, one of the workhouse officials tells Oliver, but the only things they give the boys to eat are clumps of porridge or oatmeal. Stern prayers and stark banners extolling God’s justice reinforce the legalism of the orphanage. Oliver quickly gets into trouble when, by drawing lots, he becomes the unfortunate boy who must ask for more food. Considered a troublemaker, Oliver is sold to a meek undertaker and his mean, ugly wife. Unhappy and mistreated by the wife and the undertaker's helper, Oliver runs away to London. Hungry and destitute in London, Oliver runs into The Artful Dodger, a slightly older boy who introduces Oliver to a gang of young thieves, led by an unattractive old man named Fagin. Fagin teaches Oliver the finer points of pickpocketing, but Oliver gets caught by the police on his first trip out with The Artful Dodger. Oliver is saved from prison by a kindly gentleman named Mr. Brownlow who takes custody of the boy. Fagin and his violent cohort, Bill Sykes, are concerned, however, that Oliver will reveal the whereabouts and identity of their criminal gang.

They hatch an evil plan to kidnap Oliver and rob Mr. Brownlow. Of course, things go from bad to worse, and Sykes eventually threatens Oliver's very life. As with all movie versions of this story, even David Lean's, OLIVER TWIST cuts out many plot details from Dickens' masterpiece. Even so, this OLIVER TWIST manages to heighten the jeopardy for our diminutive hero, who, despite getting into a fight with the undertaker's help, is a gentle, kindly boy with a big forgiving heart. In fact, despite all the trials Oliver goes through from the evil people surrounding him in London, the emotional climax of the movie comes in a scene where Oliver pleads for forgiveness from God for one of the worst people who has tried to lead him astray. Thus, the movie often reveals the grace and love that lies in Oliver's little heart, not to mention the heart of Mr. Brownlow and Nancy, Sykes' mistreated girlfriend. Little Barney Clark as Oliver does a marvelous job in this heartfelt moment, as he does in the rest of the movie. Ben Kingsley (GANDHI and SXCHINDLER'S LIST) is simply amazing as the horrible, wretched Mr. Fagin.

Kinsgley completely disappears into the role as if God intended him to play it. It was also nice to see Edward Hardwicke as Mr. Brownlow, because it reminded us that Mr. Hardwicke also once played Dr. Watson on TV in a series on Sherlock Holmes. This version of OLIVER TWIST may remind viewers who love Sherlock Holmes that this novel by Dickens is like a mystery novel with Victorian gangsters, the kind of Victorian villains that Holmes and Watson sometimes encounter too. Director Roman Polanski does a fine job of depicting Oliver's world and Victorian England. The cinematography, set design, costumes, and makeup are equally wonderful. Only the opening credits diminish the quality of the production. The filmmakers handle the story in a naturalistic manner, which gives it a realistic edge that enhances the jeopardy to the hero. Some may think that this version cuts out too much from the book and others may be disappointed that Polanski and his crew don't take more chances with the story and characters, but MOVIEGUIDE®'s reviewers enjoyed this movie. It is well made and has a lot of heart, though, as with most movies, it could be better.

The last 20 minutes, however, are some of the finest in this year’s movies in terms of intense, jeopardy driven dramatic action and dialogue, punctuated by a powerful prayerful appeal to repentance and reformation by young Oliver. Like other versions of OLIVER TWIST, however, Bill Sykes abuses and murders his girlfriend, Nancy, who tries to save Oliver. This version also shows a splatter of blood as Bill beats Nancy to death off screen, and there is a pool of blood when her body is discovered. There is also some other violence showing the jeopardy threatening Oliver and his friends. Thus, MOVIEGUIDE® is issuing a caution for young children. In the final analysis, however, OLIVER TWIST is one of the best movies of the year rebuking both legalism and lawlessness in favor of gentle God-given Grace. In Brief: OLIVER TWIST is a beautifully realized, slightly theatrical movie version of the novel by Charles Dickens. In this well-known story, a poor young orphan in Victorian England makes his painful way to London after being abused in a workhouse and an undertaker's shop.

Destitute in the big city, Oliver gets impressed into a gang of young thieves, led by an elderly, wily criminal named Fagin. When Oliver gets caught by the police and rescued by a gentleman benefactor, Fagin and his evil cohort Bill Sykes plan to kidnap Oliver and rob the benefactor. Things go from bad to worse, and Sykes threatens Oliver's very life. This OLIVER TWIST wonderfully manages to heighten the jeopardy. Directed with skill, the movie beautifully contrasts the goodness within Oliver, plus the goodness of his benefactor and Sykes' girlfriend, with the villainy threatening them. The climax comes, however, when the grace in Oliver's heart leads him to plead to God for mercy and forgiveness for Fagin. Thus, it rebukes both legalism and lawlessness in favor of gentle God-given Grace. OLIVER TWIST is one of the best of 2005, but the violence and tragedy demand a caution for young children.

SparkNotes: Oliver Twist: Chapters 42–48 Chapters 42–48 Chapters 42–48, page 2 page 1 of 2 Summary: Chapter 42 Noah Claypole and Charlotte flee to London after robbing Mr. Sowerberry. They stop at the Three Cripples inn, where they meet Fagin and Barney. Fagin invites Noah to join his gang, assigning him to rob children. Summary: Chapter 43 Noah meets Fagin at his home. The Artful Dodger has been arrested for attempting to pick a pocket. Noah’s first job is to go to the police station to watch the Dodger’s trial. The Dodger, joking all the while, is convicted and sentenced to transportation. Noah hurries back to tell Fagin. Summary: Chapter 44 Fagin is visiting Sikes when Nancy tries to leave for London Bridge at eleven on Sunday. Sikes drags her into another room and restrains her for an hour. When he departs, Fagin asks that Nancy conduct him downstairs. He whispers to her that he will help her leave the brute Sikes if she wants.

Fagin imagines that Nancy has wanted to meet a new lover that night. He hopes to persuade her to murder Sikes and bring her new love into his gang, so he can solidify his control over her. He plans to watch her in order to discover the identity of her new love, hoping to blackmail her with this information. Summary: Chapter 45 Fagin tells Noah that he will pay him a pound to follow Nancy. The following Sunday, when Sikes is away, he takes Noah to Sikes’s residence. At eleven, Nancy leaves the apartment. Noah follows at a discreet distance. Summary: Chapter 46 Nancy meets Mr. Brownlow and Rose on London Bridge and leads them to a secluded spot. Noah hears Nancy beg them to ensure that none of her associates get into trouble because of her choice to help Oliver. They agree, and Nancy tells them when they will most likely see Monks visiting the public house. They hope to catch Monks and force the truth about Oliver from him. Nancy’s description of Monks startles Mr. Brownlow, who appears to know him. Brownlow begs Nancy to accept their help, but she says that she is chained to her life. He and Rose depart.

Nancy cries violently and then heads for home. Noah hurries to Fagin’s house. Summary: Chapter 47 When Sikes delivers stolen goods to Fagin that night, Fagin and Noah relate the details of Nancy’s trip. Fagin does not tell Sikes that Nancy insisted that her associates not get into trouble. In a rage, Sikes rushes home and beats Nancy to death while she begs for mercy. 1 SCREEN IT! ARTISTIC REVIEW: OLIVER TWIST "OLIVER TWIST" (2005) (Barney Clark, Ben Kingsley) (PG-13) If you've come from our parental review of this film and wish to return to it, simply click on your browser's BACK button. Otherwise, use the following link to read our complete Parental Review of this film. QUICK TAKE: Drama: A young orphan must deal with a host of unsavory characters, criminals and the circumstances they create for him in 19th century London.

PLOT: It's 19th century London and Oliver Twist (BARNEY CLARK) is a 9-year-old orphan who goes from one bad situation -- slaving away and starving in a workhouse for beadle Mr. Bumble (JEREMY SWIFT) -- to another such as working for and living in undertaker Mr. Sowerberry's (MICHAEL HEATH) home and workplace where he's terrorized by the man's wife. Having enough of that, young Oliver sets out on foot for London where he runs into Artful Dodger (HARRY EDEN), the leader of a pack of pickpockets and shoplifters who bring home their daily booty to their ringleader Fagin (BEN KINGSLEY). Always open for another petty criminal hand, Fagin takes in Oliver and feeds and educates him in the ways of the boys' trade. He also meets Fagin's criminal acquaintance Bill Sykes (JAMIE FOREMAN), that man's girlfriend, the comely Nancy (LEANNE ROWE), and eventually Sykes' criminal partner Toby Crackit (MARK STRONG).

While watching Dodger and another boy "working," Oliver is mistakenly pointed out as the one who tried to pickpocket Mr. Brownlow (EDWARD HARDWICKE), a proper gentleman who, upon learning of Oliver's innocence, decides to take in the boy and give him a proper upbringing. Yet, Oliver's past acquaintances won't let him be, eventually kidnapping and forcing him to assist in a robbery of Brownlow's home. From that point on, things spiral out of control for all involved. OUR TAKE: 5.5 out of 10 Although I'm not much of a fan of either kind, there are two types of movie remakes. There are those that simply want to make a quick buck off the name recognition of a previous film or TV show. Then there are the ones that are the latest entry in a long line of adaptations of older material. Much like theatrical revivals of previously successful stage shows (where it's something of a badge of artistic honor to appear in a well-known work), such films usually stem from the masters such as Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens.

Such is the case with the latest revival, adaptation, remake or whatever you want to call it of the latter's "Oliver Twist." I have no idea how many theatrical and TV movies have preceded this one, but there have been many including David Lean's from 1948 and the award-winning musical from 1968, "Oliver!" Thus, you have to wonder what inspired critically acclaimed director Roman Polanski ("Chinatown," "Tess") to take on this beloved, well-known and seemingly tapped-out material. While competently staged, told and performed, the visually impressive but mostly emotionally disconnected film doesn't capture the sense of isolation that the director so perfectly created in "The Pianist." While thematically related to that 2002 picture -- a loner tries to get by while dealing with the adverse effects of society and authority figures' decisions regarding him -- this film shows both the strength (in written form) and weakness (the results on the screen) of the source material. In the original work, the title character is a sympathetic figure for sure, but he's really a vehicle for Dickens' satire, ridicule and attack on the social classes of Victorian London.

That's easy to discern here -- and a little of it goes a long way in today's storytelling world where far worse things have been tackled, resulting in such material pretty much seeming quaint -- but the problem lies in the otherwise empty vessel that is the title character. All of the action and observations occur through his eyes, and although we feel sorry for him and root for his success, that's mainly by default as the character otherwise isn't terribly engaging. That's not really a fault of young Barney Clark ("The Lawless Heart") who embodies him. Yet, when compared to the title character in the similarly plotted and themed "Nicholas Nickleby" (also written by Dickens) this one comes up far short in creating a character we really like. The other major problem is the inevitable, episodic nature of the film's first half. It's unavoidable because so much ground is covered and so many characters are crammed into the novel's early chapters, and Polanski and screenwriter Ronald Harwood ("The Pianist," "Being Julia") obviously feel obligated to include as much of the source material as possible. The result, however, is that the plot feels fractured as it jumps from one circumstance to the next.

Things settle down for the better once the main plot thrust kicks in, but for a while Oliver feels like a baton at a track and field relay race where he's passed from one mean character and bad situation to the next. That finally ends with the infamous pickpocket mentor Fagin, played here to over the top glory by Ben Kingsley ("A Sound of Thunder," "House of Sand and Fog"). Nearly unrecognizable under all of the makeup and tattered clothes, the veteran actor knows he's supposed to ham it up, and he goes "full boar" (sorry, couldn't resist) here. Jamie Foreman ("Layer Cake," "Elizabeth") is appropriately menacing as the real villain and Harry Eden ("Peter Pan") plays the appropriately named lead pickpocket Artful Dodger. It's Leanne Rowe ("Warrior Queen," "Jane Eyre") as the apparent hooker with a heart of gold (a clich�, I know) and eventual conscience, however, who embodies one of the more compelling characters. With all of the plot machinery and social satire constantly in motion, however, her and the other's characters never get the chance to blossom and/or deepen to any real, appreciable extent.

Technical credits -- the cinematography, production design (including sets) and costumes -- are all topnotch, nicely recreating and interpreting the varying levels of life in Victorian London. The place looks, feels and even seems to smell real. I supposed you could do worse than delivering a competent adaptation of a classic work. Coming from an auteur like Polanski, however, and working from the "why bother if you're not going to do something special with the source material" philosophy, the results are likely to be somewhat disappointing to those expecting more than what ends up on the screen. This latest version of "Oliver Twist" rates as a 5.5 out of 10. Reviewed September 12, 2005 / Posted September 30, 2005 If You're Ready to Find Out Exactly What's in the Movies Your Kids are Watching, Click the Add to Cart button below and join the Screen It family for just $7.95/month or $47/year Oliver Twist | U Star Novels 348 pages, 15.6cm x 23.3cm Free Excerpt Look Inside!

Few works of adult literature are so well known that they become embedded in our cultural fabric the way that Oliver Twist has. Now you can revisit this cherished, heartwarming classic by starring as some of the most memorable characters Dickens' has ever created such as robber Bill Sykes, his dog Bull's-eye, Mr. Bumble, and Mr. Brownlow and of course, Oliver Twist, the loveable, sympathetic, young boy who the story based on. Like so many of Dickens' novels, Oliver Twist is a fantastically crafted and engrossing novel. Synopsis Born into poverty and hardship, Oliver Twist is an unfortunate young boy. His mother is found very sick in the street, and she gives birth to Oliver just before she dies. Oliver spends the first nine years of his life in a badly run home for young orphans and then is transferred to a workhouse for adults. After the other boys bully Oliver into asking for more gruel at the end of a meal, Mr. Bumble, the parish beadle, offers five pounds to anyone who will take the boy away from the workhouse. Oliver is soon taken in as an undertaker's apprentice.

Soon realising that his fate has become no less desperate, Oliver runs away to London where he is picked up by Jack Dawkins, also known as the Artful Dodger. The Artful Dodger takes Oliver to Fagin’s den in the London slums, and Oliver, who innocently does not understand that he is among criminals, becomes one of Fagin’s boys. Along with other young thieves working for Fagin, Oliver turns to a life of crime against his better judgment. Narrowly escaping being convicted of theft, Oliver faces no such luck in escaping the gang as Bill Sikes and his lover Nancy, capture Oliver and return him to Fagin. Although it is here, in the midst of wickedness, that he finds the only kindness he has known, Oliver's destiny is far from complete. Will these criminals succeed in their attempts at ruining the life of a child? Or will Oliver’s true identity be revealed freeing him from a life of degradation, poverty and enforced crime? All these questions and more are answered as the story unfolds in this powerful work. Book in Detail Characters To Personalise Oliver Twist - Oliver is the hero of the novel.

A naive desperate boy whose desperate struggle for acceptance blurs his vision when it comes to right and wrong. It is this vulnerability that makes him an easy target for the artful dodger and Fagin to recruit. His adventures make him the best of friends and the worst of enemies. Agnes Fleming - Oliver’s mother. After falling in love with and becoming pregnant by Mr. Leeford, she chooses to die anonymously in a workhouse rather than stain her family’s reputation. The only thing she left was a locket with her name inscribed. John (Jack) Dawkins - "Artful Dodger" is a young accomplished thief who finds Oliver on the road to London and introduces him to Fagin. A pickpocket and thief, he teaches Oliver the tricks of the trade and leads the cohorts of youngsters as the ultimate example they should all be aspiring to. Ultimately the Dodger has to answer for is crimes as he is finally caught and sent to jail. Fagin - The main antagonist in the story, "The Jew" takes Oliver under his wing and tries to make a pickpocket out of him.

He is a powerful crime leader, controlling the orphaned children as pickpockets and the adults like Bill Sikes as thieves. His role in the novel appears to be to expose the questionable character and the corruption to which poverty can bring a man. He has affection for only money and will kill anyone who stands in his way. Nancy - Is one of the kinder characters who immediately warms to Oliver and his innocence. She works for Fagin and is the “girlfriend” of Bill Sikes who she longs to stay with despite his brutality. She is the unlikely heroine of the story, helping Oliver escape the life that she cannot. But this will eventually lead to her downfall. Mr. Bumble - Mr. Bumble is the overseer of the orphanage and workhouse where Oliver lives. Mr. Bumble likes power, and he likes to use it. He mistreats the residents in his care and becomes the symbol of Dickens' distaste for the workhouse system. He displays characteristics of self-righteousness, greed and hypocrisy. Bill Sikes - A brutal professional burglar brought up in Fagin’s gang, he is the feared villain of the novel.

Bill has a dark, austere appearance and a black heart and cares for no one and nothing except money and possessions. However, he will look after people if he needs something from them. For example, he ensures Oliver is fed before taking him out thieving. But his cruelty knows no bounds as when he catches Nancy trying to help young Oliver escape, he beats her to death. Bulls-Eye - Bill Sikes’s dog. As vicious as his master, Bull’s-eye functions as Sikes’s alter ego. Mr. Brownlow - Is the benevolent old gentleman of the story, who serves as Oliver’s first benefactor. He takes care of Oliver giving him kindness and love, the two things that he has been denied of for his entire life. He instinctively trusts Oliver and decides to take him into his home and take his part against Bill Sikes and Mr. Bumble. He behaves with compassion and common sense and emerges as a natural leader.

SHOPPING WITH US The bloody killing of the real-life Nancy that so obsessed Charles Dickens it drove him to an early grave | Daily Mail Online comments Shani Wallis pictured as Nancy in a publicity image for the1968 film directed by Carol Reed, based on the stage musical by Lionel Bart As the early morning sun cast a pale pink glow over the streets of Victorian London, the inhabitants of the slums of Waterloo were woken by the cries of a man named William Hubbard. 'Murder!' he shouted. 'Murder!' Grabbing a passing policeman, Hubbard led him to a rundown lodging house where, on that tragic May morning in 1838, the officer discovered the body of Hubbard's girlfriend, Eliza Grimwood - her throat slit from ear to ear and the walls of her bedroom sprayed with blood. While there were stab wounds to her stomach and chest, little blood had issued from them, suggesting the killer had continued attacking Eliza long after she had died. There were also incisions around the back of her neck, indicating that her assailant had tried to behead her, too.

In fact, the brutal attack on this pretty young woman, who was just 25 when she died, was so violent that it was the talk of Victorian London for decades. Indeed, though we may not realise it, the tale is still being told today. For while researching her novel The Twisted Heart, which is published this week, author Rebecca Gowers discovered that the Grimwood case was the real-life inspiration for the killing of Nancy in Charles Dickens' classic book Oliver Twist. More than a century later, Nancy's death would become one of the most memorable moments in Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!, not least the much-loved film version of 1968. Its latest theatrical incarnation is wowing the crowds in London's West End and stars Jodie Prenger, winner of the role of Nancy in the highly popular reality TV contest I'd Do Anything. But all versions of Oliver! have avoided depicting the full horror of this gruesome murder, and even Dickens shied away from the goriest details - even though he regarded Nancy's murder as one of his best scenes. Indeed, those closest to him believed his fixation with it in later life may even have contributed to his own death.

Like many of his books, Oliver Twist was originally published as a serial, appearing in monthly instalments in a literary magazine called Bentley's Miscellany from February 1837. Each part ended on a cliffhanger to encourage readers to buy the next edition. Dickens originally conceived Oliver Twist as only a short series, designed to call the public's attention to the social ills of the day. He had not considered how the story might pan out as a full-blown novel. But when it became apparent there was a public appetite for a whole book about Oliver, Dickens had to decide the fate of some of his characters - including Nancy, the young prostitute who was part of the gang led by Fagin, the notorious 'kidsman' who gave children food and shelter in return for the goods they stole. Shani Wallis pictured as Nancy, Ron Moody as Fagin, and Oliver Reed as Bill Sikes in a scene from the film By September 1838, Dickens' publishers were pushing him to finish the story. By the spring of that year, however, he had only reached the point where Nancy contemplates helping Oliver to escape the gang.

In doing so, she knows she is risking the wrath of her pimp and lover, Bill Sikes, and possibly even her life. But at this point, her fate had yet to be sealed, as is clear from the detective work of Rebecca Gowers. Searching through some dusty volumes about Dickens' life at the Bodleian Library in Oxford, Gowers came across a letter he wrote in March 1837 to Frederick Yates, a famous actor of the day who had appeared in many plays based on the author's work. Addressing concerns that there were plans for an unauthorised stage version of Oliver Twist, Dickens was confident nobody could reveal the correct ending. 'I am quite satisfied nobody can have heard what I mean to do with the inasmuch as at present I don't quite know, myself,' he wrote. But then he found his solution. On the evening of Friday, May 25, 1838, just two months after Dickens wrote that letter, Eliza Grimwood left her home in a notorious red-light area of London just south of Waterloo Bridge and set off for the theatre district of the West End.

Singing and dancing star Shani sings one of the hit numbers with Oliver, played by Mark Lester and Bet played by Sheila White Dressed in a fawn-coloured dress and a blue silk bonnet, Eliza - nicknamed The Countess because of her beauty and noble poise - was said to have worked as a maidservant in her early years. According to the more lurid newspaper stories of the day, she had become a fallen woman only after becoming engaged to her employer, supposedly a well-known aristocrat, only for him to break off his promise of marriage as soon as he had succeeded in bedding her. Whether this is true or not, we know that Eliza had been working as a prostitute for a number of years at the time of her death. Her pimp was her lover, William Hubbard, a married man who had reportedly squandered all his wife's money and beaten her up before taking up with Eliza. Although Eliza clearly loved him - their servant girl reported that she often bought him gifts out of the money she was allowed to keep - Hubbard still forced her out to work.

Unlike Dickens' fictional Nancy - a 'tuppenny upright', as the lowest street-walkers were known - Eliza was a slightly better class of strumpet. Gory death: Jodie Prenger as Nancy in Oliver! As was common then, she frequented the entertainment venues of Central London in her search for clients, bringing them home to the bed she usually shared with Hubbard, who would move to another room when she had a customer. On the night she died, she visited the Strand Theatre in Covent Garden, now renamed the Novello. By a tragic coincidence, this is only yards from the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane, where Jodie Prenger is playing Nancy. The last person to report seeing Eliza alive was her maidservant Mary Fisher, who reported that Eliza had returned home at about midnight, accompanied by a tall, well-dressed man who Fisher judged to be one of her customers. They disappeared into Eliza's room, locked the door and Fisher heard no more until five o'clock the following morning, when William Hubbard claimed to have found Eliza's body. At the subsequent inquest, it was suggested that Eliza's client might have killed her in a dispute over money.

But if this were the case, the coroner wondered, why had he launched such a demented attack on her corpse? There was also the question of how this man, soaked in blood as her murderer must have been, could have melted away unnoticed afterwards. This seemed so unanswerable that many people assumed the killer must have been William Hubbard, who, if the scandal-sheets were to be believed, had been violent towards his wife and had frequently argued with Eliza, too. This theory also appears to be supported by the fact that she hadn't screamed for help - even though her maidservant was asleep in the kitchen and could easily have raised the alarm. Indeed, it seemed Eliza knew her attacker and may even have wished to protect him from discovery - realising only too late that, this time, his violence would cost her life. But there is also evidence in Hubbard's favour. His clothes were all clean, none of the meagre supplies of fresh water in the house were tainted with blood, and there was no proof he ever owned a weapon capable of inflicting the injuries she sustained. The case against Hubbard was never proved, but in the months following Eliza's death, the Press speculated endlessly about his involvement.

As a result, Dickens would have undoubtedly been aware of a case as famous in its day as the Moors Murders were more than a century later. Having already established Bill Sikes as a violent bully who shares a room with his benighted prostitute girlfriend, Dickens must have been struck by the similarities between his book and the Eliza Grimwood case - as well as the solution it provided to his plot dilemma. Charles Dickens seems to have remained obsessed with the murder of Nancy/Eliza for the rest of his life And so on July 10, just six weeks after Eliza's murder, he wrote to his publisher assuring him that he could meet his September deadline for the completion of the full, novel version of Oliver Twist. 'I have planned the tale to the close,' he said with a certainty lacking in the letter he wrote to Yates before the Grimwood case hit the headlines. When the completed story was published in 1839, critics slammed the slaying of Nancy for being melodramatic - ironic, given its basis in an even more sensational real-life killing. The murder weapon was different, Bill Sikes opting for a club rather than a knife, but suspect and victim were the same - a pimp and a prostitute.

In Lionel Bart's musical, Nancy is murdered on the steps leading to London Bridge. In Dickens' original novel, however, she is, like Eliza, dragged from her bed on to the floor. And though she makes a desperate attempt to defend herself, Dickens also depicts her dying without screaming for help in an attempt to save Sikes from the hangman's noose. Another striking similarity between the fictional Nancy and the real Eliza was the unusual position in which they were found - both lying on their backs and staring up at the ceiling, their legs tucked under them. In Eliza's case, this suggested she had been killed while kneeling and had then fallen backwards in her final throes, an idea taken up by Dickens. 'Raising herself, with difficulty, on her knees, she breathed one prayer for mercy to her Maker,' he wrote of Nancy. 'The murderer staggering backward to the wall, and shutting out the sight with his hand, seized a heavy club and struck her down. 'There had been a moan and motion of the hand; and, with terror added to rage, he had struck and struck again.' Like Eliza's killer, this suggested that Sikes had continued attacking Nancy long after it was clear that her injuries had proved fatal.

In basing the death of Nancy so closely on that of Eliza Grimwood, Dickens may have been sending a message to his readers. Known for his concern for the plight of prostitutes, as shown by his sympathetic portrayal of Nancy, he would have been outraged that Eliza's murderer had escaped justice. The involvement of Nancy's pimp in her death was perhaps Dickens' way of finding William Hubbard guilty in a way that the justice system could not. Dickens certainly seems to have remained obsessed with the murder of Nancy/Eliza for the rest of his life. By the early 1860s, he needed to raise money for repairs to the large country home he had bought in Kent. Long a frustrated actor, Dickens began giving readings of his works in theatres across the country - and the highlight of these shows was always the murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes. These presentations were given in defiance of the Lord Chamberlain, who had banned all theatrical adaptations of Oliver Twist because of the effect they might have on audiences still worked up about the death of Eliza Grimwood. But it was the impact on Dickens himself which gave those around him the most cause for concern.

As he acted out the parts of both murderer and victim, hurling himself from one side of the stage to the other and alternately snarling with anger and pleading to be spared, his performances were so passionate that his family began to fear for his health. 'The finest thing I ever heard,' his son Charley told him after one particularly energetic show, 'but don't do it again.' Now nearing 60, and increasingly fragile, Dickens ignored these warnings, although he did agree to have a doctor on hand for every performance - his medical records later revealed that his pulse rose dramatically every time he read the scene. Despite this precaution, he collapsed halfway through his last run of shows in 1869 and had to cancel the rest of the tour - against his will. On June 7 the next year, he collapsed in his garden - where he had once again been acting out Nancy's murder. Two days later, he died of a stroke, his family convinced his sudden end was due to his obsessive re-enacting of the murder. If this was the case, and the death of Nancy really was inspired by the fate of Eliza Grimwood, then it leads us to a remarkable conclusion.

Whoever killed that unfortunate young woman also had a hand in the demise of Charles Dickens - a plot twist worthy of the great novelist himself. The Twisted Heart by Rebecca Gowers , published by Canongate at £12.99, is out now. Oliver Twist (Literature) - TV Tropes Oliver Twist You need to login to do this. Get Known if you don't have an account Share "Please, sir, I want some more." — Oliver Twist A novel by Charles Dickens , originally published as a serial in Bentley's Miscellany between 1837 and 1839. Oliver Twist is born an orphan and raised to a young age in a cruel workhouse that exploits the poor. Eventually he escapes the workhouse, only to run afoul of the London underworld. He's recruited into a pickpocket gang, but rescued by a kindly gentlemen who discovers Oliver's real identity and finally finds him a happy home. The story is one of Dickens' most famous tales and includes some of his most enduring characters, including the crooked Jewish ringleader Fagin and the sly Artful Dodger.

Like many of Dickens' works, the novel contains a great deal of social commentary on the way British society at the time treated its poor. Of particular note is the famous scene in which the starving Oliver begs for more gruel from the workhouse cook and is harshly punished. The story has been adapted many times throughout the years, including: Oliver Twist (1922), featuring Lon Chaney as Fagin Oliver Twist (1948), directed by David Lean and featuring Alec Guinness as Fagin Las Aventuras de Oliver Twist, a Mexican animated adaptation. This book contains examples of: Adorkable : Mr. Brownlow at times seems to give off this vibe. All Girls Want Bad Boys : Played with. Nancy is fiercely loyal to the abusive Sikes, though she has no illusions about what he is. On the other hand, Rose falls for the Incorruptibly Pure Harry. Adults Are Useless : Played straight then later subverted.

This includes the magistrate who refuses to give Oliver over to a chimney sweeper (who is obviously going to use him to clean chimneys until he gets stuck in one and can't get out just like every other boy he's adopted) when he sees Oliver is obviously terrified by the man. This is the first time an adult actually shows genuine kindness and concern for Oliver, a poor, sweet little orphan boy. Then there was Mr. Brownlow, who pretty much offers to adopt the young boy, his lovely housekeeper, his grumpy friend Mr. Grimwig, and then of course the Maylie family. Dirty Coward : Monks prefers to get others to do his dirty work for him, and he's shown to be easily intimidated when Mr Brownlow questions him. Noah Claypole is even worse. Fagin and Sikes may be criminals, but at least they're willing to be bold about it. Noah considers stealing the bags from old ladies too dangerous for him, despite acting The Bully whenever he's alone with someone younger and weaker than him. When he's captured, he immediately sells out Fagin to escape prison.

Disproportionate Retribution : Oliver asks for a second helping of food and is severely punished for it. (This was intended as a cutting satire on social conditions, of course.) To modern eyes, having a kid deported because you found a stolen snuffbox on him seems a tad harsh. Disney Villain Death : Bill Sikes technically dies by falling off a roof. But he never hits the ground, because he gets a rope tangled around his neck on the way down. Bullseye the dog then gives a straight example. Domestic Abuser : Bill Sikes, to Nancy; Noah Claypole, to Charlotte (to a certain extent, anyway; it's verbal, not physical); Widow Corney, to Mr Bumble; and Mrs Sowerberry, to Mr Sowerberry. The last two probably qualify more as Henpecked Husband , but it's still portrayed as somewhat abusive. Even Evil Has Standards : Charley may be a pickpocket and street urchin, but he's VERY upset when Sikes kills Nancy.

Females Are More Innocent : Most of the women are wholesome, decent people (special mention goes to The Ingenue Rose), save for Nancy, who is a Love Martyr for Bill Sikes, someone who is less than pleasant. But Nancy, compared with the other members of Fagin's gang, is still the most moral of them. To be fair with the use of this assumption, male members of Fagin's gang get to live Tom Sawyer's dream, and the females get to be sluts in the eyes of the public. Oliver's father stipulates in his will that Agnes' child, should it be a girl, will get an inheritance unconditionally. If the child was born a boy, he could only claim his inheritance provided that he should not have done anything to publicly dishonor his name during his minority. Which is why Edwin's first son Edward/Monks wants to completely discredit his half-brother Oliver, who is said child. Subverted, somewhat humorously, with the Bumbles.

While Mr Bumble is by no means innocent, the fact that his wife would be seen by law as 'acting under his influence', thus less guilty, is shown to be absurd since he's a Henpecked Husband subjected to Domestic Abuse from her. Bumble even lampshades it, stating that the law must be a bachelor and an idiot. Subverted with Mrs Mann, the baby farm keeper. While the farm gets enough money to feed them, she keeps most of it to herself while underfeeding the children to the edge of starvation. Mortality rate due to neglect and starvation is a staggering 85 percent. Even the otherwise neglectful parish is disturbed by the rumors, but nothing is ever proven. Rose Maylie, a virtuous, pure, innocent, beloved seventeen-year-old ingenue to Nancy, a miserable, alcoholic, unloved, hardened prostitute who happens to be seventeen years old. Mr. Brownlow to Fagin. Harry Maylie to Bill Sikes. Oliver to the Artful Dodger.

Getting Crap Past the Radar : Charley Bates, who is always going around with his hands and is prone to fits of laughter, is frequently referred to as "Master Bates." This might be interpreted as simply an instance of Have a Gay Old Time , but as the term "masturbate" was already in use when Dickens wrote Oliver Twist, and had the same meaning then as it does today, it seems more likely it was completely intentional. In one scene, Nancy rages at Fagin for corrupting her when she was a child. While Fagin explicitly employs several individuals in different illegal activities (pickpockets, housebreakers, spies), Dickens has separately confirmed that, yes, he's also a pimp, and Nancy (and probably Bet) are prostitutes. Greedy Jew : Dickens indulges in this trope to the hilt with Fagin, however it does not appear that Dickens himself held any grudge against Jews. Creating exaggerated characters out of all walks of life was simply his stock in trade. He also claimed that he only made Fagin Jewish because he legitimately believed that most London "kidsmen" were Jewish.

Later in life, Dickens befriended some Jewish people and discovered that they were, rather understandably, offended by the character; by way of apology, he want back and excised many references to Fagin's faith. Perhaps even more offensive than Fagin is Barney, the barman at The Three Cripples, who gets no characterisation beyond that he's Jewish, greedy, ugly, evil, and has a speech impediment. Hard-Drinking Party Girl : Nancy, though she also shows shades of The Alcoholic . Fagin gets all his female wards addicted to alcohol. Though the reason is never given, it's most likely so that they'll be more dependent and/or more pleasant company. Have a Gay Old Time : Charley Bates is frequently called "Master Bates." Unless you view that as a deliberate attempt at Getting Crap Past the Radar , it might be an instance of this trope. The intended humor then lies in the fact that Charley is a street urchin unlikely to deserve such an honorific. After helping kidnap him, Nancy starts to care for Oliver and betrays Fagin in order to protect the child. Note: she does not turn on Sikes, and refuses to leave him.

If only he knew that . . . Charley Bates is the only one of Fagin's associates who fully reforms. The eventual outcome of Mr. Bumble's marriage to the Widow Corney. Also Mr. and Mrs. Sowerberry. Heterosexual Life-Partners : The Dodger and Charley Bates, Brownlow and Grimwig, the Doctor and Grimwig (they become this after the events of the book, anyway). If the fact that Bet cried and screamed over Nancy's death to the point where she was sent to a mental institution is any indication of their closeness/friendship, they probably were. Also Brownlow and Oliver's Disappeared Dad Edwin Leeford, to the point of becoming his Secret Keeper . Hooker with a Heart of Gold : Nancy. Charles Dickens stated in a preface written for the full novel that "the girl is a prostitute." Edwin Leefort was on both ends of this. First he married a much older woman (Monks's mother) and theirs was a very unhappy union. After his wife's death he met a much younger girl named Agnes and they hit it off, but he suddenly died and Agnes ran away from her family. And we all know what happened to her .

And he, married at about twenty to a thirty-year-old woman, was treated almost like a child sold to some old hag, while him taking interest in a nineteen-year old girl more than ten years later, was perfectly okay in terms of age . Also, Bill Sikes was thirty-five and Nancy was about seventeen. Meaningful Name : Many, as Dickens is known for this. The most obvious include Bumble, Crackit, Grimwig and Fang. Missing Mom : Oliver's mother Agnes dies at the beginning of the novel. Nice Hat : The Artful Dodger is mentioned to wear a hat which (like the rest of his attire) doesn't quite fit, but which stays on his head at all times because he's developed the habit of jerking his head just right to keep it on. One early illustrator decided that the hat should be a slightly-battered top hat, which has since become a beloved icon of the character. No Celebrities Were Harmed : Mr. Fang is based on the hot-tempered magistrate Allan Laing. Obviously Evil : Dickens describes Sikes in these terms. He even says that his legs alone wouldn't look right without manacles on them.

Orphanage of Fear : Though it's actually a workhouse, Oliver Twist features probably the most infamous orphanage in literature. And this is AFTER surviving the horrors of the baby farm... The Artful Dodger, Charley Bates and the rest of Fagin's pickpockets, including Oliver. Nancy was this once, as well, before Fagin put her on the street and became her pimp. Strong Family Resemblance : Mr. Brownlow started to have thoughts about Oliver's true identity when he noticed that he looked a LOT like the portrait of Agnes that he kept at his home... The Summation : At the end, Mr. Brownlow assembles everyone in a room to explain the mystery of Monks' relationship to Oliver. This Bed of Rose's : Nancy takes Oliver under her wing and is determined to raise him to be a respectable young man. Too Good for This Sinful Earth : Comes very close to playing this straight with Rose but ultimately subverts it. Trailers Always Spoil : When the completed novel was reprinted in parts, the very first cover gave away Fagin's imprisonment and Bill Sikes' death.

Trap Door : Monks meets Mr and Mrs Bumble in his derelict warehouse hideout, and after their conversation reveals that they had been sitting on a trapdoor that he could have used to drop them in the river had he wished. Truth in Television : Charles Dickens wrote the book based on many problems that were prevalent in English society at the time. Fagin was a representative of a type of criminal found in the slums of that day, called a "kidsman." They would train young runaways and "throwaway" children to pick pockets, and pay them for the proceeds, as well as providing a place to sleep. Oliver Twist himself gets used as what was called a "snakesman"—-a young child or very small adult who could insinuate himself into places where an adult could not pass, to open doors and allow older, larger confederates to enter. Villainous Breakdown : Sikes after murdering Nancy; Fagin while awaiting execution. Would Hit a Girl : Sikes, who physically abuses Nancy. This includes the fatal beating of her toward the end of the novel.

Wouldn't Hurt a Child : The Maylie family's manservant, Giles, is quite proud of the fact he managed to shoot one of the would be intruders who tried to break into the household. Until he realizes he shot Oliver, at which point he essentially turns white with sheer horror. Tropes unique to the 1922 film: All Part of the Show : Oliver dives under a puppet show booth, only to be immediately caught by the man pursuing him. The audience briefly thinks it's part of the show before the rest of the crowd chasing Oliver shows up. Coordinated Clothes : During his brief time as apprentice to Mr. Sowerberry, Oliver wears a suit that matches Sowerberry's, including a top hat with a long tail. Dream Sequence : Oliver, after going to bed hungry in the workhouse, dreams of a spoon and a plate dancing. Impairment Shot : Everything goes fuzzy before Oliver faints in court. Pragmatic Adaptation : Besides dropping a lot of plot points in order to squeeze the story into a 74-minute movie, the film fixes the egregious Contrived Coincidences from the novel. The film omits the bits about Rose being Oliver's aunt and Mr.

Browlow being Oliver's father's friend; they are simply nice people who wind up taking an interest in Oliver. :: Indexes ::

Question: What is the name of the girlfriend of Bill Sykes who he murders in the Dickens novel 'Oliver Twist'?
Answer: NANCY