The novel tells the story of Oliver Twist, an orphaned boy born into the brutal conditions of a 19th-century English workhouse. After daring to ask for more food, Oliver is sold into harsh apprenticeship before escaping to the grim streets of London. There, he is tricked into joining a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the notorious criminal, Fagin, and the clever thief, The Artful Dodger. …
Our Mutual Friend is Charles Dickens's final, dark social critique of Victorian London's materialism. The central plot is triggered by a large inheritance, a fortune made from dust heaps (garbage), which is intended for John Harmon. Believed dead, John secretly returns to London, assumes the identity of John Rokesmith, and observes the society, particularly Bella Wilfer, the woman he must marry…