Shocking its middle-class Victorian readers when it was first published in 1838, Oliver Twist tells the story of a young orphan that's cruelly mistreated from birth and falls in with a gang of thieves. The seedy underbelly of London casts a long shadow over Oliver's innate optimism, but never quite manages to dim his light as he dodges all obstacles thrown in his path.

A champion of social reform, Dickens believed that a novel should be more than just entertainment. Oliver's innocence and pure spirit is a criticism of the Victorian beliefs that criminals and the poor are born evil, rather than their circumstances driving them to desperate acts to survive. The dark and gritty depictions of workhouse conditions, orphanages, and the criminal element give Oliver Twist a distinctly Gothic feel.

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