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Oliver Twist (Wordsworth Classics) [Paperback]

Charles Dickens (Author), George Cruickshank (Illustrator), Ella Westland (Introduction)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (177 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 2000 | ISBN-10: 1853260126 | ISBN-13: 978-1853260124
This Wordsworth Edition includes an exclusive Introduction and Notes by Dr Ella Westland, University of Exeter.

Illustrations by George Cruickshank.

Dickens had already achieved renown with The Pickwick Papers. With Oliver Twist his reputation was enhanced and strengthened. The novel contains many classic Dickensian themes - grinding poverty, desperation, fear, temptation and the eventual triumph of good in the face of great adversity.

Oliver Twist features some of the author's most enduring characters, such as Oliver himself (who dares to ask for more), the tyrannical Bumble, the diabolical Fagin, the menacing Bill Sikes, Nancy and 'the Artful Dodger'.

For any reader wishing to delve into the works of the great Victorian literary colossus, Oliver Twist is, without doubt, an essential title.

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Oliver Twist (Wordsworth Classics) + David Copperfield (Wordsworth Classics) + Great Expectations (Wordsworth Classics)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 374 pages
  • Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd (2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1853260126
  • ISBN-13: 978-1853260124
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (177 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

An unforgettable journey into criminal behaviour that takes me back to my own childhood fantasies (Malcolm McLaren )

The power of [Dickens] is so amazing, that the reader at once becomes his captive (William Makepeace Thackeray )

Dickens is huge - like the sky. Pick any page of Dickens and it's immediately recognizable as him, yet he might be doing social satire, or farce, or horror, or a psychological study of a murderer - or any combination of these (Susannah Clarke )

The image of little Oliver Twist victimised by poverty, almost seduced by the specious excitement of crime, and then offered the possibility of a lucrative career in authorship is always compelling (Guardian )

We leave him most reluctantly, and so will every reader who has any capacity to see and feel whatsoever is most loveable, hateful, or laughable, in the character of the everyday life about him (Examiner ) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

CD and mini-hardback format ideal for easy comprehension and reading --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
23 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One of Dickens' best 24 Jun 2004
By Ganime B. Akin
Format:Paperback
Having read quite a lot of Dickens novels, I came quite late to Oliver Twist. I had read a children's version of it and since I knew the story, I thought I might not find it very interesting. How wrong I was!. The first chapters, although they are a very good critic of the poor workhouse conditions, were a bit dragging. But once Oliver goes to London and meets Fagin's gang, it was a pleasure to read. As in most of Dickens' works, the villains are the ones who make the story interesting. The dingy places that they live, the squalor and filth is so well described as the evil turn of their minds that the "good" people in the story, including Oliver, are quite dull compared to them. It seems Oliver is just an accessory that the plot evolves around but the bad people are the ones that draw us into it. Especially the murder, the haunting conscience and the death at the end are one of the best that I have ever read.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Prince and a Pauper 23 Feb 2010
By Noel TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Dickens' famous story of a young orphan's struggle to survive on the streets of London is rightly one of his most remembered.

Two outstanding characters have been contributed to literature - Fagin and Jack Dawkins the Artful Dodger.

Dickens writes Fagin as a puppet master, controlling the orphaned children as pickpockets and the adults like Bill Sikes as thieves. His subterfuge of a penniless pauper with a kindly approach are at odds with the moments he steals gazing at his hidden stash of jewels and his barking moments of brutality. Though his name is Fagin, Dickens refers to him more often than not as "the Jew", a label quite jarring in today's culture. Fagin is sinister though and many see him as a devil like character. His many schemes, plans, and selfishness all contribute to the image.

The Artful Dodger is a whirling dervish of charisma and charm, teaching Oliver the tricks of the trade and leading the cohorts of youngsters as the ultimate example they should all be aspiring to. Dickens chooses to have the Dodger answer for his crimes as he is finally caught and sent to jail. Tantalisingly, Dickens implies that the Dodger will be deported to Australia though we never see Dodger again after he is led away back to jail. Maybe he was thinking of writing a sequel with him as a grown up character?

Oliver is by no means a great character but a likeable one. His tribulations put us on his side early on and his base survival has us enthralled and rooting for him throughout. Bill Sikes isn't also that great a character. A one dimensional thug and bully, his character is indeed menacing and ugly but unfortunately never goes further.

Nancy meanwhile is another triumph of characterisation.... Read more ›
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Oliver Twist 10 Sep 2010
By M. B. Corrigan
Format:Kindle Edition
I am half way through Oliver Twist and at my age 71 have suddenly realised what a great writer Charles Dickens was wonderful book
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars So Much More in the Book 28 July 2010
By Sir Furboy TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
So many people know the story of Oliver Twist from the film or stage adaptions, and these are indeed excellent and worth their popularity. However there is so much more to this story to be found by reading the book.

I first read this book aged 12 and recently re-read it. It is short enough that children and young people certainly can enjoy it despite the slightly dated nature of the text. And indeed it does not feel as dated as it might. This is a timeless work, laced with a lot of humour that certainly surpised and delighted me when I read it as a boy.

On re-reading, all my old favourite passages were there. The place where Oliver is asked to bow to the board, but not seeing a board fortunately bows to the table instead. The hilarious trial of the Artful Dodger or the comic Mr Bumble and especially his famous "the law is a ass" passage were all just as I had remembered them. I was more surpised by the biting irony I found on rereading the book though. I am not sure if I missed this when I was younger or whether I had just forgotten it, but Dickens does this very well.

The only criticism of the story is a well known one. The "Dickensian Coincidences" make the world of Dickesn seem like a very small place! But this book is rightly a classic and I hope it will be enjoyed by people young and old for many years to come.
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10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Little Orphan Oliver 14 Jan 2005
By Peter Reeve VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Oliver Twist is one of Dickens' early novels - he worked on The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby simultaneously - and one of his best loved. It has what you would expect from him: memorable characters, evocative descriptions, melodrama, pathos (more often bathos) and a plot that relies on completely incredible coincidences. These latter are sometimes explained away by the characters themselves as being ordained by Fate, benign or otherwise, and must have been more acceptable to a Victorian readership than to one of the present day, who are likely to groan at each 'who should it be but' revelation.

The crossovers with Pickwick and Nickleby are noticeable. For example, The Artful's court appearance is clearly intended to be as funny as Sam Weller's, although it pales by comparison.

The most famous character is of course Fagin, and Dickens' casual anti-Semitism in his treatment of him is another thing that might discomfit the modern reader. He references him as The Jew, always in a derogatory manner. That this is a reflection of contemporary attitudes can be seen from Scott's Ivanhoe, in which Jewish characters are treated with similar hostility and contempt. But it is not the main characters that are most successful - and especially not the title character himself, who is innocent and bland beyond belief - but the supporting cast; Mr. Bumble and his lady, the servants in the house that gets burgled, the old bachelor who keeps threatening to eat his own head, and many others. They make the book a delight.

As always, Dickens is the master of descriptive narrative and he conjures a grim and compelling view of Victorian London's underside....

If you have not yet read any Dickens, this is not a bad book with which to start, although for younger readers (teens) I would recommend Hard Times as their first. Either book will probably leave you, like Oliver, wanting more. Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars good
its a good book but i prefer the film version if im honest... books arent exactly my cup of tea
Published 2 days ago by Jennifer
4.0 out of 5 stars What the Dickens
Have to confess I have not read it yet but I believe Mr Dickens is a writer of condiderable talent and I look forward to meeting with him soon.
Published 6 days ago by A. R. Caville
4.0 out of 5 stars Very good read
It was a lot longer than I had expected but very easy to understand considering its age. I enjoyed this book.
Published 9 days ago by Michelle Hudson
4.0 out of 5 stars memories
Re reading after many years, still a good read if you like books by Charles Dickens or books set around this period.
Published 10 days ago by alison stephens
5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you
This was a free item, but I enjoyed it. I used to borrow books from a local library, but have begun to get something to read from Amazon. Thank you.
Published 16 days ago by White owl
1.0 out of 5 stars Where did it go?
Please can we have this back Amazon? I started to read it on my wife's kindle and when I came to download it on to mine a couple of weeks later it wasn't available. Read more
Published 18 days ago by SJN
5.0 out of 5 stars Oliver Twist
A book for my Kindle app.. A classic so why not have it on your list! Think it was a freebie too!
Published 19 days ago by Jade
3.0 out of 5 stars A classic
I guess whilst still a classic rereading it after so many years the language and sintax is much mire elaborate than modern day novels. Read more
Published 19 days ago by Nala Scoorb
5.0 out of 5 stars *
This is a good read and an absolute bargain. This was free so I suppose I have nothing to moan about really.
Published 26 days ago by Sarah
3.0 out of 5 stars Ok.
This book wasn't the best of books. It was interesting for a bit, but it really drags on after a while. Thanks for everything Charles Dickens.
Published 27 days ago by BOOM!!!
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