Waterstones Ladybird Classics: Oliver Twist
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Price: £7.99
Brand: Waterstones
Description: This beautiful hardback Ladybird Classic edition of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens is a perfect first illustrated introduction to the classic story for younger readers. It has been sensitively abridged and retold to make it suitable for sharing with young children from 5+, whilst retaining all the key parts of Oliver's adventures around Victorian London, including tangles with Fagin and his gang of thieves, pretty Nancy, kind-hearted Mr Brownlow and villainous Bill Sikes. Detailed full-colour illustrations throughout also help to bring Dickens' Oliver Twist to life. Other exciting titles in the Ladybird Classics series include Alice in Wonderland, Black Beauty, The Secret Garden, Gulliver's Travels and Treasure Island. Waterstones Ladybird Classics: Oliver Twist - shop the best deal online on thebookbug.co.uk
Category: Books
Merchant: Waterstones
Product ID: 9781409311256
Delivery cost: 2.99
ISBN: 9781409311256
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Author: M. Dowden
Rating: 5
Review: First appearing in Bentley’s Miscellany in serial form, between 1837-1839 this then appeared in book form in 1839. This was Dickens’s second novel, the first being of course The Pickwick Papers. This is probably the only book that fell into what was called Newgate Novels that is still regularly read today, although as Dickens wanted to distance himself from allegations that such novels romanticised and increased crime, so this has other elements as well, such as satire and a realistic look at society at the time. For most people, even if they have never read this before they will recognise a number of the characters, such as Oliver himself, Fagin, Artful Dodger, Bill Sikes, Nancy, the dog Bull’s Eye, and of course the beadle Mr Bumble. The story of course follows the character of the title, as we read of Oliver being born, how he got his name, and how he was given birth to in a workhouse. Taking in the conditions in such institutions and the baby farming that went on, along with the abuse of the system, so we can easily see that young Twist’s life is not an easy one. As he grows so we read of trying to get him away from the workhouse by apprenticing him, and then his running away to London, where he falls in with certain characters of the underworld. There is certainly a lot of incident here as we read of plots against our hapless main character and the mystery surrounding his mother. Thus falling between those who are moral and those who are immoral so we see the machinations carried out by the latter to keep him on the path of criminalisation for devious purposes. Taking in the inequalities of the period and the hypocrisy as well as greed of others, although we do see with the likes of the Artful Dodger certain characters of the criminal fraternity glamourizing their deeds, we also see what ends can be awaiting them. This book has always been a popular read, and for many of us this is something that we often come back to, and if this is the first time you are going to read this then prepare to be impressed as you get caught up in the whole tale, although nowadays I should warn you that some of the scenes are a bit oversentimental.
Author: Kindle Customer
Rating: 4
Review: I'm very happy that I bought this book. It's great that I can share this wonderful story with children - my own son and the class I teach. I read it to my son, eight years old, and he said it was excellent. And for the price, one pound and forty nine pence, I have to agree. I have to take one star off for a few things. The art is generally very good. A few.minor flaws with proportion and perspective. I don't count it a mistake that Oliver is drawn to look ridiculously sweet and innocent, because honestly that's pretty much how Sickens wrote him. There are a few changes in the story. It's not necessarily a problem that they left out the Monks subplot and Oliver being the heir to a fortune. But it's a bit strange how they said that Cabin was under thirty (a, he wasn't, he was an old man, and b, that's weirdly specific) and said that Mr. Sowerberry threw Oliver out instead of him running away. Also, that Oliver quickly realised Fagin and his boys were thieves, when in fact he didn't. The final problem is that this was obviously written by someone who didn't speak English as a first language. There are numerous minor English errors that any native speaker of English could have fixed immediately. But even with all these flaws the book is still well worth buying, and I can recommend it. It's a competent retelling of a beautiful tale, with lovely pictures. Children everywhere will enjoy reading it. Besides which, I'm planning on giving it to my class as an English test, to see if they can spot all the mistakes!
