Oliver Twist is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Oliver is led to the lair of their elderly criminal trainer Fagin, naively unaware of their unlawful activities. Oliver Twist is notable for Dickens's unromantic portrayal of criminals and their sordid lives. An early example of the social novel, the book calls the public's attention to various contemporary evils, including the Poor Law, child labor and the recruitment of children as criminals. Dickens mocks the hypocrisies of his time by surrounding the novel's serious themes with sarcasm and dark humor. It is likely that Dickens's own early youth as a child laborer contributed to the story's development.
弃婴奥利弗在孤儿院挣扎了9年，又被送到棺材店老板那儿当学徒。难以忍受的饥饿、贫困和侮辱，迫使奥利弗逃到伦敦，又被迫无奈当了扒手。他曾被富有的布朗劳先生收留，不幸让小扒手发现又入贼窝。善良的女扒手南茜为了营救奥利弗，不顾贼头的监视和威胁，向布朗劳报信，说奥利弗就是他找寻已久的外孙儿......小说描写了善与恶、美与丑、正义与邪恶的斗争，赞扬了人们天性中的正直和善良，也无情地揭露和鞭挞了当时资本主义社会的黑暗和虚伪。
