Summary

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens follows the story of a young boy. It starts with Oliver’s birth in the workhouse, where his mother dies in childbirth. Oliver survives his difficult childhood as a poor orphan, and when he is nine years old, he is sent to the workhouse. When he asks for more food, he is punished and offered up as an apprentice. 

He is taken on by Mr Sowerberry, the undertaker, where the assistant Noah Claypole treats him badly. Oliver runs away to London, where he meets a boy called the Artful Dodger, who takes him to live with Fagin, an old criminal who trains young boys to be thieves. 

One day, the other boys steal a handkerchief from an old gentleman, Mr Brownlow, but Oliver is caught and accused of the theft. Oliver is very ill and Mr Brownlow takes pity on him and takes him home. 

Fagin and his friend Bill Sikes are worried about what Oliver might tell the police about their gang. They send a young woman, Nancy, to look for Oliver, who has been recovering at Mr Brownlow’s house. When Mr Brownlow sends him out on an errand, Nancy catches Oliver and brings him back to Fagin. 

Later, Bill Sikes takes Oliver with him to rob a large house in the countryside. Oliver is horrified, but he is forced into the house, where he is shot. Oliver is taken in by the owner, Mrs Maylie, and her adopted niece Rose and helped ...