Summary: Chapter 1

Oliver Twist is born a sickly infant in a workhouse. The parish surgeon and a drunken nurse attend his
birth. His mother kisses his forehead and dies, and the nurse announces that Oliver’s mother was found
lying in the streets the night before. The surgeon notices that she is not wearing a wedding ring.
Summary: Chapter 2
Authorities at the workhouse send Oliver to a branch-workhouse for “juvenile offenders against the
poor-laws.” The overseer, Mrs. Mann, receives an adequate sum for each child’s upkeep, but she keeps
most of the money and lets the children go hungry, sometimes even letting them die.
On Oliver’s ninth birthday, Mr. Bumble, a minor church official known as the parish beadle, informs Mrs.
Mann that Oliver is too old to stay at her establishment. Since no one has been able to discover his
mother’s or father’s identity, he must return to the workhouse. Mrs. Mann asks how the boy came to
have any name at all. Mr. Bumble tells her that he keeps a list of names in alphabetical order, naming
the orphans from the list as they are born. Mrs. Mann fetches Oliver. When Mr. Bumble is not looking,
she glowers and shakes her fist at the boy, so he stays silent about the miserable conditions at her
establishment. Before Oliver departs, Mrs. Mann gives him some bread and butter so that he will not
seem too hungry at the workhouse. The workhouse offers the poor the opportunity to starve slowly as
opposed to quick starvation on the streets. For the workhouse, the undertaker’s bill is a major budget
item due to the large number of deaths. Oliver and his young companions suffer the “tortures of slow
starvation.” One night at dinner, one child tells the others that if he does not have another bowl of gruel
he might eat one of them. Terrified, the children at the workhouse cast lots, determining that whoever
loses shall be required to ask for more food for the boy. Oliver loses, and after dinner, the other children
insist that Oliver ask for more food at supper. His request so shocks the authorities that they offer five
pounds as a reward to anyone who will take Oliver off of their hands.
Summary: Chapter 3
in the parish, Oliver has been flogged and then locked in a dark room as a public example. Mr. Gamfield,
a brutish chimney sweep, offers to take Oliver on as an apprentice. Because several boys have died
under his supervision, the board considers five pounds too large a reward, and they settle on just over
three pounds. Mr. Bumble, Mr. Gamfield, and Oliver appear before a magistrate to seal the bargain. At
the last minute, the magistrate notices Oliver’s pale, alarmed face. He asks the boy why he looks so
terrified. Oliver falls on his knees and begs that he be locked in a room, beaten, killed, or any other
punishment besides being apprenticed to Mr. Gamfield. The magistrate refuses to approve the
apprenticeship, and the workhouse authorities again advertise Oliver’s availability. The workhouse
board considers sending Oliver out to sea as a cabin boy, expecting that he would die quickly in such
miserable conditions. However, Mr. Sowerberry, the parish undertaker, takes Oliver on as his
apprentice. Mr. Bumble informs Oliver that he will suffer dire consequences if he ever complains about
his situation. Mrs. Sowerberry remarks that Oliver is rather small. Mr. Bumble assures her that he will
grow, but she grumbles that he will only grow by eating their food. Mrs. Sowerberry serves Oliver the
leftovers that the dog has declined to eat. Oliver devours the food as though it were a great feast. After
he finishes, Mrs. Sowerberry leads him to his bed, worrying that his appetite seems so large.

Summary: Chapter 4
in the morning, Noah Claypole, Mr. Sowerberry’s apprentice, wakes Oliver. Noah and Charlotte, the
maid, taunt Oliver during breakfast. Oliver accompanies Sowerberry to prepare for a pauper’s burial.
The husband of the deceased delivers a tearful tirade against his wife’s death. She has starved to death,
and although he once tried to beg for her, the authorities sent him to prison for the offense. The dead
woman’s mother begs for some bread and a cloak to wear for the funeral. At the graveyard before the
funeral, some ragged boys jump back and forth over the coffin to amuse themselves. Mr. Bumble beats
a few of the boys. The clergyman performs the service in four minutes. Mr. Bumble quickly ushers the
grieving family out of the cemetery, and Mr. Sowerberry takes the cloak away from the dead woman’s
mother. Oliver decides that he is not at all fond of the undertaking business.
Summary: Chapter 5
A measles epidemic arrives, and Oliver gains extensive experience in undertaking. His master dresses
him well so that he can march in the processions. Oliver notes that the relatives of deceased, wealthy,
elderly people quickly overcome their grief after the funeral. Noah becomes increasingly jealous of
Oliver’s speedy advancement. One day, he insults Oliver’s dead mother. Oliver attacks him in a fit of
rage. Charlotte and Mrs. Sowerberry rush to Noah’s aid, and the three of them beat Oliver and lock him
in the cellar.
Summary: Chapter 6
Noah rushes to fetch Mr. Bumble, sobbing so that his injuries from his confrontation with Oliver appear
much worse than they are. Mr. Bumble informs Mrs. Sowerberry that feeding meat to Oliver gives him
more spirit than is appropriate to his station in life. Still enraged, Oliver kicks at the cellar door.
Sowerberry returns home, beats Oliver, and locks him up again. Oliver’s rage dissolves into tears. Early
the next morning, Oliver runs away. On his way out of town, he passes the workhouse where he used to
live and sees an old friend, Dick, in the yard. Dick vows not to tell anyone about Oliver’s flight and bids
him a warm farewell.
Summary: Chapter 7
Oliver decides to walk the seventy miles to London. Hunger, cold, and fatigue weaken him over the next
seven days. In one village, signs warn that beggars will be thrown in jail. Finally, Oliver limps into a small
town just outside London and collapses in a doorway. He is approached by a boy about his own age
named Jack Dawkins, who dresses and acts like a grown man. Jack purchases a large lunch for Oliver and
informs him that he knows a “genelman” in London who will let Oliver stay in his home for free. Oliver
learns that Jack’s nickname is “the Artful Dodger.” He guesses from the Dodger’s appearance that his
way of life is immoral. He plans to ingratiate himself with the gentleman in London and then end all
association with Jack. That night, the Dodger takes Oliver to a squalid London neighborhood. At a
dilapidated house, the Dodger calls out a password, and a man allows them to enter. The Dodger
conducts Oliver into a filthy, black back room where an “old shriveled Jew” named Fagin and some boys
are having supper. Silk handkerchiefs hang everywhere. The boys smoke pipes and drink liquor although
none appear older than the Dodger. Oliver takes a share of the dinner and sinks into a deep sleep.

Summary: Chapter 8
The next morning, Fagin takes out a box full of jewelry and watches. He notices Oliver observing him.
Fagin grabs a bread knife and asks Oliver if he was awake an hour before. Oliver says he was not, and
Fagin regains his kindly demeanor. The Artful Dodger returns with another boy, named Charley Bates.
Fagin asks if they worked hard that morning. The Dodger produces two pocketbooks, and Charley pulls
out four handkerchiefs. Fagin says that they will have to teach Oliver how to pick out the marks on the
handkerchiefs with a needle. Oliver does not realize he has joined a band of pickpockets, so he believes
their jokes about teaching him how to make handkerchiefs and pocketbooks. Dodger and Charley
practice picking Fagin’s pockets. Two young women, Bet and Nancy, whom the narrator describes as
“remarkably free and agreeable,” drop in for drinks. Fagin gives all of them some money and sends them
out. Fagin lets Oliver practice taking a handkerchief out of his pocket and gives him a shilling for a job
well done. For days, Fagin keeps Oliver indoors practicing the art of picking pockets. Oliver notices that
Fagin punishes the Dodger and Charley if they return home empty-handed. Finally, Fagin sends Oliver
out with the Dodger and Charley to “work.” After some time, the Dodger notices a wealthy gentleman
absorbed in reading at a bookstall. Oliver watches with horror as Charley and the Dodger sneak up
behind the man and steal his handkerchief. He finally understands the nature of Fagin’s work. The
gentleman turns and sees Oliver running away. Thinking that Oliver is the thief, he raises a cry. The
Dodger and Charley see Oliver running past them, so they join in, crying, “Stop thief!” A large crowd
joins the pursuit. A police officer arrives and grabs Oliver by the collar, ignoring the boy’s protests of his
innocence. The gentleman who was robbed asks the police officer not to hurt Oliver and follows them to
the police station.
Summary: Chapter 9
the officer locks Oliver in a jail cell to await his appearance before Mr. Fang, the district magistrate. Mr.
Brownlow, the gentleman, protests that he does not want to press charges. He thinks he recognizes
something in Oliver’s face, but cannot put his finger on it. Oliver faints in the courtroom, and Mr. Fang
sentences him to three months of hard labor. The owner of the bookstall rushes in and tells Mr. Fang
that two other boys committed the crime. Oliver is cleared of all charges. Pitying the sickly young Oliver,
Brownlow takes him into a coach and drives away
Summary: Chapter 10
Oliver is delirious with a fever for days. When he awakes, Brownlow’s kindly housekeeper, Mrs. Bedwin,
is watching over him. He says that he feels as if his mother has come to sit by him. The story of Oliver’s
pitiful life brings tears to Mrs. Bedwin’s eyes. Once Oliver is strong enough to sit up, Mrs. Bedwin carries
him downstairs. A portrait of a young woman catches Oliver’s eye and affects him greatly. Mr. Brownlow
drops in to see how Oliver is feeling. Oliver thanks him for his kindness. Brownlow exclaims with
astonishment that Oliver closely resembles the young lady in the portrait. Brownlow’s exclamation
startles Oliver so much that the boy faints.
Summary: Chapter 11
Fagin erupts into a rage when the Dodger and Charley return without Oliver. Fagin tosses a pot of beer
at Charley, but the pot hits Bill Sikes instead. Sikes is a rough, cruel man who makes his living by robbing
houses. They resolve to find Oliver before he reveals their operation to the authorities, and persuade
Nancy to go to the police station to find out what happened to him. Nancy dresses in nice clothing, and
at the police station she pretends to be Oliver’s distraught sister. She learns that the gentleman from
whom the handkerchief was stolen took Oliver home with him to the neighborhood of Bentonville,
because the boy had fallen ill during the trial. Fagin sends Charley, Jack, and Nancy to Bentonville to find
Oliver. Fagin decides to relocate his operation for the night and fills his pockets with the watches and
jewelry from the hidden box after Charley, Nancy, and Jack leave.
Summary: Chapter 12
When Oliver next enters the housekeeper’s room, he notices that the portrait of the lady whom he
resembles is gone. Mrs. Bedwin says that Brownlow removed it because it seemed to worry Oliver. One
day, Brownlow sends for Oliver to meet him in his study. Assuming that Brownlow means to send him
away, Oliver begs to remain as a servant. Brownlow assures Oliver that he wishes to be Oliver’s friend.
He asks Oliver to tell him his history. Before Oliver can begin, Brownlow’s friend, Mr. Grimwig, arrives to
visit. Grimwig, a crotchety old man, hints that Oliver might be a boy of bad habits. Brownlow bears his
friend’s eccentricity with good humor. Mrs. Bedwin brings in a parcel of books delivered by the bookstall
keeper’s boy. Brownlow wishes to send his payment and some returns back with the boy, but he has
already gone. Grim wig suggests that Brownlow send Oliver but hints that Oliver might steal the
payment and the books. Wishing to prove grim wig wrong, Brownlow sends Oliver on the errand. It
grows dark and Oliver does not return.