The Adventures of Oliver Twist

Charles Dickens' (1812-1870) second novel is tale of the orphan Oliver Twist, who escapes from a workhouse, travels to London where he meets the Artful Dodger, leader of a gang of juvenile pickpockets. Dickens exposed the cruel treatment of the large number of orphans in London in that era, calling the public's attention to the Poor Law, child labor and the recruitment of children as criminals.