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Oliver Twist Book Review: Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist is a book written by the massively talented Charles Dickens back in the late 1830s and still remains one of the most famous books till date. With the Phrase “Oliver Twist” becoming a metaphor to describe someone who shows lack of disrespect or is someone who requests more than what was given to them. The book focuses on an orphan who went through a lot of hardship following his mother’s death at childbirth and the mysterious absence of his father. He is forced to go through a lot of challenges and has lots of experience that a boy of his age, personality, and character shouldn’t have to go through. In the end, after everything he faces, the main character (Oliver Twist) ultimately finds light at the end of tunnel and lives the rest of his life as a happy and well taken care of lad. Let’s dive into my book review of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and go on the rough and almost unbearable journey through life with Young Oliver.

You might also enjoy this list of 35 Oliver Twist quotes about poverty, crime, love and friendship.

Part 1: The Beginning

Young Oliver Twist was brought into the world, and is immediately touched down on earth, lady luck took one look at him and wished him hardship and suffering. His father disappeared under mysterious circumstances and his mother died after giving birth to him thus making him an orphan at birth and forced to be raised with fellow orphans in an orphanage.

At the age of nine, Oliver was taken to a workhouse where he toiled for hours with little food. Although it didn’t take long before he was sent off to go work for Mr Sowerberry, an undertaker. He then built up the courage to request for more food than originally given with the famous words, “Please sir, I want some more.”

Oliver’s troubles seem to continue as Mrs Sowerberry loathed, maltreated, and underfed him whenever Mr Sowerberry wasn’t around. One day, Oliver got in a fight with the much bigger Noah Claypole, his fellow apprentice after he (Noah) insulted Oliver’s mother, but Mrs Sowerberry intervened and helped Noah beat Oliver. Oliver would later be beaten by Mr Sowerberry after being told lies and asked to do so by his wife.

Once it was day break, Oliver snuck out and ran away on foot to London to look for a better life. This is the point that marks the growth and maturity in Oliver as he realises how people are wicked and how they shouldn’t be trusted.

Part 2: The Tunnel

When he was approaching London, Oliver encountered two boys, the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates. Now, as one who has been through a whole lot of hardship, you would expect Oliver to be more sceptical about forming relationships with people, but our hero was easily swayed by the free meal dodger offered him and the promises of being provided a place to rest rent free by an old gentleman in London. In fairness, anyone in Oliver’s shoes would have fallen for the sweet words spoken by dodger.

The generous old gentleman turned out to be Fagin, a notorious criminal who picked young boys up from the streets and turned them to pickpockets. While with them, Oliver believed they all made an honest living making handkerchiefs and wallets till he went on a ‘handkerchief making’ adventure with Dodger and Bates. Things hit the fan when Dodger and Bates stole the handkerchief of a suspecting gentleman who caught the obviously confused Oliver after his pals already fled the scene.

Part 3: The Light

Mr Brownlow, the gentleman whose handkerchief was stolen later took in Oliver Twist after finding out the boy has a good and innocent heart, and showered him with the love he has lacked all his life. However, like all great movies and books, the twist is introduced, the story takes a U-turn and our hero is kidnapped by Fagin and his bands and his cohorts.

In the end, the mystery surrounding Oliver’s life was uncovered and it was revealed that he has a whole lot of inheritance that Fagin and his cohorts were trying to steal. Justice was served to each and every one of them and Oliver Twist lived his life happily ever after.

Overall, the book is a lovely read and it has a lot of teachings. It covers the way orphans are mistreated in orphanages, it also prepares people and teaches them not to expect kindness from everyone they meet as there are some really terrible people out there in the real world. The only thing off putting about the book is the fact that Oliver didn’t seem to learn from all his experiences and for all the courage he showed when he requested for more food, he never really stood up for himself in the face of oppression.

Overall Book Ratings: 9/10

You can get a copy of Oliver Twist from Amazon (This is an affiliate link).

Alice Yoon is an educator who has experience in dealing with kids. Being a Certified Early Childhood Development professional, she writes books and content about kids. She is a member of " paper writers " community which helps students with their college work.

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Dickens' 'Oliver Twist': Summary and Analysis

A Gritty, Crusading Work of Art

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Oliver Twist is a well-known story, but the book is not quite as widely read as you might imagine. In fact, Time Magazine's list of the top 10 most popular Dickens' novels put Oliver Twist in 10th place, even though it was a sensational success in 1837 when it was first serialized and contributed the treacherous villain Fagin to English literature .  The novel has the vivid storytelling and unimpeachable literary skill that Dickens brings to all his novels, but it also has a raw, gritty quality that may drive some readers away.

Oliver Twist was also influential in bringing to light the cruel treatment of paupers and orphans in Dickens' time. The novel is not only a brilliant work of art but an important social document.

'Oliver Twist': Indictment of the 19th-Century Workhouse

Oliver, the protagonist, is born in a workhouse in the first half of the nineteenth century. His mother dies during his birth, and he is sent to an orphanage, where he is treated badly, beaten regularly, and poorly fed. In a famous episode, he walks up to the stern authoritarian, Mr. Bumble, and asks for a second helping of gruel. For this impertinence, he is put out of the workhouse.

Please, Sir, Can I Have Some More?

He then runs away from the family that takes him in. He wants to find his fortune in London. Instead, he falls in with a boy called Jack Dawkins, who is part of a child gang of thieves run by a man called Fagin.

Oliver is brought into the gang and trained as a pickpocket. When he goes out on his first job, he runs away and is nearly sent to prison. However, the kind person he tries to rob saves him from the terrors of the city gaol (jail) and the boy is, instead, taken into the man's home. He believes he has escaped Fagin and his crafty gang, but Bill Sikes and Nancy, two members of the gang, force him back in. Oliver is sent out on another job—this time assisting Sikes on a burglary.

Kindness Almost Saves Oliver Time and Again

The job goes wrong and Oliver is shot and left behind. Once more he is taken in, this time by the Maylies, the family he was sent to rob; with them, his life changes dramatically for the better. But Fagin's gang comes after him again. Nancy, who is worried about Oliver, tells the Maylies what's happening. When the gang finds out about Nancy's treachery, they murder her.

Meanwhile, the Maylies reunite Oliver with the gentleman who helped him out earlier and who—with the kind of coincidental plot turn typical of many Victorian novels—turns out to be Oliver's uncle. Fagin is arrested and hanged for his crimes; and Oliver settles down to a normal life, reunited with his family.

The Terrors Awaiting Children in London's Underclass

Oliver Twist is probably not the most psychologically complex of Dickens' novels. Instead, Dickens uses the novel to give readers of the time a dramatic understanding of the deplorable social situation for England's underclass and particularly its children . In this sense, it is more closely linked to Hogarthian satire than Dickens' more romantic novels. Mr. Bumble, the beadle, is an excellent example of Dickens' broad characterization at work. Bumble is a large, terrifying figure: a tin-pot Hitler, who is both frightening to the boys under his control, and also slightly pathetic in his need to maintain his power over them.

Fagin: A Controversial Villain

Fagin, too, is a wonderful example of Dickens ability to draw a caricature and still place it in a convincingly realistic story. There is a streak of cruelty in Dickens' Fagin, but also a sly charisma that has made him one of literature's most compelling villains. Among many film and television productions of the novel, Alec Guinness's portrayal of Fagin remains, perhaps, the most admired. Unfortunately, Guiness's makeup incorporated stereotypical aspects of portrayals of Jewish villains. Along with Shakespeare's Shylock, Fagin remains one of the most controversial and arguably antisemitic creations in the English literary canon.

The Importance of 'Oliver Twist'

Oliver Twist is important as a crusading work of art, although it did not result in the dramatic changes in the English workhouse system that Dickens may have hoped. Nevertheless, Dickens researched that system extensively before writing the novel and his views undoubtedly had a cumulative effect. Two English reform acts addressing the system actually preceded the publication of Oliver Twist , but several more followed, including the influential reforms of 1870.  Oliver Twist  remains a powerful indictment of English society in the early 19th Century. 

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Book Reviews on...

Oliver twist, by charles dickens, recommendations from our site.

“Oliver is a boy who has escaped the workhouse and is adopted by a family of pickpockets. He’s the exception – because he’s being manipulated by the grownups…” Read more...

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The mystery of edwin drood by charles dickens, the pickwick papers by charles dickens, what christmas is as we grow older by charles dickens, a christmas carol: and other stories by charles dickens, a christmas carol by charles dickens, nicholas nickleby by charles dickens, our most recommended books, war and peace by leo tolstoy, on liberty by john stuart mill, middlemarch by george eliot, nineteen eighty-four by george orwell, the confessions by augustine (translated by maria boulding), the odyssey by homer and translated by emily wilson.

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Oliver Twist

Introduction oliver twist, summary of oliver twist.

Unfortunately, the owners wake upon, and the ensuing noise and resulting tumult lead Oliver to receive a gunshot and fell in a ditch unconscious.  On regaining consciousness, he realizes that he was taken care of by a kind lady, Mrs. Maylie, and her niece, Rose, whom he was supposed to rob with the gang. Later finds out that Rose was his late mother’s sister making her his aunt.

On the other hand, he also hangs himself, though, accidentally while trying to steal money from Fagin to escape from London and settle in France. Meanwhile, Mr. Brownlow and Maylie trace Monks, who finally admits everything and expresses the reason for his hatred toward Oliver. Oliver finds that Monks is his half-brother and their father has left the bulk of his fortune to Agnes Fleming, Oliver’s mother. Finally, the troubles, miseries, and misfortune leave Oliver after he receives his share of the property. Fagin gets punished for his crimes and is hanged. While Monks dies in the prison even after Oliver happily shares half of his fortune with him, apparently he misspends his money, turns to crime, and ends up in prison and Rose marries her sweetheart Harry Maylie. Mr. Brownlow legally adopts Oliver.

Major Themes in Oliver Twist

Major characters in oliver twist, writing style of oliver twist, analysis of literary devices in oliver twist, related posts:, post navigation.

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Oliver Twist

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Oliver Twist , novel by Charles Dickens , published serially under the pseudonym “Boz” from 1837 to 1839 in Bentley’s Miscellany and in a three-volume book in 1838. The novel was the first of the author’s works to realistically depict the impoverished London underworld and to illustrate his belief that poverty leads to crime.

The novel follows the journey of the titular character, Oliver Twist . Oliver, an orphan since birth, spends much of his childhood at a “child farm” (orphanage) with too many children and too little food. The farm is located roughly 70 miles outside London. One night, after being served his portion of gruel, Oliver asks for a second helping. This is unacceptable, and Oliver is sent to work as an apprentice to an undertaker. Eventually, after suffering repeated mistreatment, Oliver runs away and heads for London. He soon finds himself in the presence of the Artful Dodger, who tells him to stay at the house of an “old gentleman” (named Fagin ) with a number of other boys. Oliver learns that these boys are trained pickpockets. On an outing, Oliver witnesses the boys take a handkerchief from Mr. Brownlow, an elderly man, which prompts Oliver to run away in fear and confusion. The elderly man mistakes Oliver’s behaviour for guilt and has him arrested. However, after learning more about Oliver, Mr. Brownlow realizes his mistake and offers to take care of him at his home.

Oliver assumes that he is now rid of Fagin and the pickpockets, but his knowledge of their crimes causes them to seek Oliver out. Nancy, a prostitute and mistress of one of Fagin’s men, Bill Sikes , is sent to take Oliver from Mr. Brownlow back to Fagin. She does so successfully, and Oliver is sent on a burglary mission with another member of the group to the countryside around London. On this errand, Oliver is shot in the arm and then is taken in by the family (the Maylies) that he attempted to rob. While he is there, Fagin and a man named Monks plot to get him back. Rose Maylie, while on a trip to London with her family, meets with Mr. Brownlow to talk with Nancy, who has slipped away from Sikes to explain the plans made by Monks and Fagin to get Oliver back. She describes Monks and tells them when he might most easily be apprehended . Unfortunately for Nancy, news of her betrayal reaches Sikes, and he beats her to death. Sikes accidentally hangs himself soon after. The Maylies reunite Oliver with Mr. Brownlow, who forces Monks to explain himself. The reader and Oliver are then informed that Monks is Oliver’s half-brother and that Oliver is entitled to a large fortune. He receives his share of the money, Fagin is hung, and the Maylies, Oliver, and Mr. Brownlow move to the countryside where they spend the rest of their days together.

Charles Dickens was well versed in the poverty of London, as he himself was a child worker after his father was sent to debtors’ prison. His appreciation of the hardships endured by impoverished citizens stayed with him for the rest of his life and was evident in his journalistic writings and novels. Dickens began writing Oliver Twist after the adoption of the Poor Law of 1834 , which halted government payments to the able-bodied poor unless they entered workhouses . Thus, Oliver Twist became a vehicle for social criticism aimed directly at the problem of poverty in 19th-century London.

Oliver Twist was very popular when it was first published, partially because of its scandalous subject matter. It depicted crime and murder without holding back—causing it, in Victorian London, to be classed as a “ Newgate novel ” (named after Newgate Prison in London). While critics often condemned such novels as immoral, the public usually enjoyed them. Because the novel was also published serially, the anticipation of waiting for the next installment (and its many cliffhangers) also likely contributed to its popularity. To this day, Oliver Twist is enjoyed by many for its historical social commentary and exciting plotline. It has been adapted for film several times, including in 1948 (directed by David Lean ) and 2005 (directed by Roman Polanski ).

Oliver Twist

Charles dickens, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Oliver Twist begins in a workhouse in 1830s England, in an unnamed village, where a young woman, revealed to be Oliver's mother , gives birth to her son and promptly dies. The boy, lucky to survive, is raised until the age of nine in a "farm" for young orphaned children, and then is sent to the local workhouse again, where he labors for a time, until his innocent request for more food so angers the house's board and beadle, Mr. Bumble , that the workhouse attempts to foist Oliver off as an apprentice to some worker in the villager. Oliver is eventually given over to a coffin -maker named Sowerberry . Oliver works as a "mute" mourner for Sowerberry, and must sleep at night among the coffins. After a fight with Noah , another of Sowerberry's apprentices, over Oliver's unwed mother (whom Noah insults), Oliver runs away to London, to make his fortune.

Near London, Oliver meets a well-dressed young boy who introduces himself as the Artful Dodger , a thief under the employ of a local crime boss named Fagin . The Dodger takes Oliver to Fagin, who promises to help Oliver but really holds him hostage, and forces him to go on a thieving mission with the Dodger and Bates, another young criminal. Bates and Dodger try to steal the handkerchief of an old man, who notices Oliver (an innocent onlooker), and believes him to be the thief. Oliver is caught and hauled to jail, only to be released into the old man Brownlow's company after Brownlow sees that Oliver had nothing to do with the crime. Brownlow nurses Oliver for a time and vows to educate him properly. But after sending Oliver out to return some books and money to a bookseller, Brownlow is shocked to find that Oliver does not return—Oliver has been picked up by Nancy , an associate of Fagin's, and taken back to the criminal gang.

The remainder of the novel comprises Brownlow's attempts to find Oliver, and Oliver's attempts to escape Fagin, his criminal associate Sikes , and the other boys. Fagin orders Oliver to accompany Sikes and another thief named Toby Crackit on a house-breaking, in a country village, that goes awry; Oliver is shot in the arm in the attempt, by a servant named Giles of the Maylie house (the house being broken into); Oliver nearly dies, but walks back to the house the next morning and is nursed back to health by Rose , Mrs. Maylie , and a local doctor named Lorsborne . Lorsborne later takes Oliver into London to find Brownlow, but they discover Brownlow has gone to visit the West Indies. Oliver is crestfallen, but is happy nonetheless with the Maylies, and is educated by an old man in the Maylies' village. Later, on a trip into London, Rose is visited by Nancy, who wishes to come clean about her involvement in Oliver's oppression, and Oliver finds that Brownlow is back in the city, having returned from the West Indies.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Corney , mistress of the workhouse, receives a package from a dying woman named Old Sally , which Sally in turn received from Oliver's mother upon her death. The package contains material indicating Oliver's family history, which is of interest to a friend and shadowy associate of Fagin's named Monks . Nancy meets with Rose and Brownlow in secret in London, to discuss what she has overheard, from Fagin and Monks, regarding Oliver's parentage; Noah, sent to spy on Nancy, overhears this conversation, and reports it to Fagin. Fagin tells Sikes, misleadingly, that Nancy has "peached" on the whole gang (even though Nancy refused to incriminate Fagin or Sikes to Brownlow), and Sikes, in a fit of rage, kills Nancy, then goes on the lam with his dog.

Brownlow realizes that he recognized Oliver as resembling the picture of a woman in his parlor, and also recognized a man he comes to realize is Monks. Brownlow pieces together the mystery of Oliver's parentage: Oliver's father is also Monks' father, and Monks' mother defrauded Oliver's mother, an unwed woman named Agnes , of the inheritance Oliver's father, Edwin, intended to leave to Oliver and Agnes. Monks wishes to destroy these facts of Oliver's parentage in order to keep all the inheritance for himself. But Brownlow confronts Monks with these facts, and Monks agrees, finally, to sign an affidavit admitting his part in the conspiracy to defraud Oliver.

Meanwhile, the members of Fagin's gang are all caught: Noah; Charlotte , his partner; the Dodger; and Fagin himself. Sikes dies, by accident, attempting to escape a mob that has come to kill him following Nancy's death. Brownlow manages to secure half of Oliver's inheritance for Oliver, and gives the other half to Monks, who spends it in the New World on criminal activity. Rose Maylie, long in love with her cousin Harry , eventually marries him, after Harry purposefully lowers his social station to correspond with Rose's; Rose was said to be of a blighted family, and in the novel's final surprise, this "blight" is revealed: Rose's sister was Agnes, meaning that Rose is Oliver's aunt.

At the novel's end, Oliver is restored to his rightful lineage and is adopted by Brownlow. The pair live in the country with Harry, who has become a parson, and Rose, along with Losborne and Mrs. Maylie. Oliver can, at last, be educated in the tranquility and manner he deserves, as the son of a gentleman.

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Oliver Twist

The Social Eye of Morality

Author: Charles Dickens

Famous for the “please sir, I want some more” line Oliver Twist is the classic story of a young, orphaned boy growing up in the workhouses of rural England where gentle society, religious figures, and the powers that be oppress him merely for being born poor and illegitimate. A biting satire, not afraid to get into the realism of desperation, Oliver Twist journeys from the tribulations of the work house to the London slums where Oliver is held captive by a gang of thieves, told to either learn the trade or die. Jostled between the need to survive and his innate, innocent desire to do good, Oliver’s achingly poignant story is embroiled in the life of paupers, prostitutes, murderers, and the society that forces them to desperate measures. Dicken’s twisted humor cuts to the bone, his commentary is deeply effecting, and all the while he keeps the thrum and measure of an addicting story. Tense and dangerous, Oliver Twist isn’t the stuffy old classic you thought it would be, but instead a dark, often sordid story unafraid to look into the nooks and crannies of neglected cities and broken lives.

Beginning, as many of Dicken’s novels do, with the birth of the protagonist (Oliver) the story follows him from infancy to adulthood, only swerving at the conclusion to concentrate on the gang of thieves, run by the old criminal, Fagin, and the way in which their circumstances and forced corruption shape their destruction. Continually starved at the workhouse, Oliver is eventually thrust out (after requesting more gruel) into apprenticeship with a coffin maker (Mr. Sowerberry.) From here, the abuse escalates both physically and mentally and Oliver, stuck between the gallows and workhouse, flees to London, bathing in the anonymity of the city and the rumors of work for a willing lad. His own naivety soon leads him to be picked up by The Artful Dodger, a charismatic child thief Oliver’s own age, who ostensibly takes pity on a starving orphan and brings him home to Fagin, a deceitful man determined to rob all of those with whom he comes in contact. The inhuman Fagin with his continual application of “my dear” embodies all that is detestable yet irresistible about villainy and soon has Oliver thoroughly deceived. However, when Oliver is falsely accused of picking pockets, his newfound understanding leads to a desire to flee the gang of thieves and escape into a better life. Events spiral dangerously, launching volatile secrets to the surface about Oliver’s background, true parentage, and intended future. Meanwhile, Bill Sykes, a housebreaker accomplice of Fagin’s, has taken a keen interest in the boy and with the assistance of his presumed girlfriend (also thief/probably prostitute) Nancy, and hatches a scheme to drag Oliver back to the streets and into a life of infamy and terror. Should Oliver refuse, Sykes is always ready to make good on his escalating threats of physical violence.

A visceral novel, Oliver Twist while beautifully and eloquently written, is all about the story and the intense emotions elicited by the resulting depravity of an underclass desperate to survive. Examining the cause and effect relationships of callous superiority and the integrity of alleged social convention/position, Dicken’s critique here is made with bitter, bloody blows. Not ashamed to unveil the uglier aspects of life, and indeed death, Oliver’s story is an intensely personal one that, thereby, becomes universal. Dicken’s captures the despair and goodness of Oliver, projecting his own inner fears, uncertainties, and oppression in a cadence that breaks down barriers and transforms pages into thoughts and soul longings, touching readers in a manner that is more than just story. Dicken’s has always had this unique art at his beck and call, and Oliver Twist is one of his most shining examples of creating and peopling a world that will leave readers simultaneously laughing, crying, and deeply moved.

The cast of villains in Oliver Twist is exceptional including the chilling and volatile Sykes, who serves to deliver the most horror to a story already verging on the catastrophic. The final scene between Sykes and Nancy, and Fagin’s clever manipulation of the two, is a testament to Dicken’s great understanding of situational realities (such as the desperation of Stockholm syndrome and the platitudes of those who appear overly loyal – i.e. Fagin.) Indeed, the cast of villains, large as it is, becomes a sort of sordid family for us and in the later part of the novel Oliver, with all of his haunted history, steps aside to let us see the workings of good and evil in these desperate albeit all too realistic phantoms. Dickens has a lot to say here about the very nature of good and evil, and the inability to separate the two using the social eye. Even more so, he has a lot for us to feel here and satisfies the yearning for drama in story while simultaneously plucking the audience’s still beating hearts out. Everything is saturated with selfishness and selflessness, enclosure and escape, guilt and justification, and above it all, the secret of Oliver’s birth which ties everything into one and spells what can only be a bittersweet ending. Dicken’s even thwarts his society further with forgiveness and a disdain of the entire illegitimate stigma and the sins of the fathers visited on the sons theory of the day. It’s powerful and realistic, vicious with vicarious terrors and an entire “there but for the grace of God go I” sentiment. One of Dicken’s most moving works, Oliver Twist is not to be missed for both the beauty of its engaging presentation and the messages it purveys.

*A Note on Edition: I listened to the Books on Tape audio version as read by John Lee. Lee captures the voice, intonations, and London accents of the characters perfectly and peoples this already vibrant world in a way that supersedes mere reading and becomes a production. A very talented voice actor, Lee’s rendition of this classic should not be missed.

–        Frances Carden

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Book Review of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

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Oliver Twist Book download in PDF, ePub & Mobi

By charles dickens.

Social novel Bildungsroman Poverty Crime Social class The struggle for survival The fight between good and evil

Oliver Twist; or The Parish Boy's Progress' ​ is the second novel by Charles Dickens and was originally published as a monthly serial between February 1837 and April 1839.

Oliver is a boy who lives in an orphanage since his parents have passed away. Conditions at the orphanage are not the best and Oliver and the other children are starving. The children invent a game: together they choose who among them will ask for an additional plate of food and Oliver is the one chosen to make the request.

That night, Oliver fulfills his task and asks the director of the orphanage for another ration of food. This does not sit well with the orphanage headmaster and beadle, Mr. Bumble, who labels Oliver a troublemaker and offers him as an apprentice to anyone who wants to hire him.

Oliver is hired as an apprentice to Sowerberry, an undertaker, but soon falls out with an employee of said undertaker and escapes to London. There he meets Jack Dawins, who offers him a place to stay. Oliver, very noble and innocent, is drawn into a gang of thieving and pickpocketing boys, dragging poor Oliver into that lifestyle. It portrays life in the London underworld, between alleys and courtyards, where poverty and crime abound.

Ranking #9 of most downloaded books in Fiction Historical

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Copyright info Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens is believed to be out of copyright restrictions only in the United States. It may still be copyrighted in other countries. If you are not located in the United States, you must check your local laws to make sure that the contents of this eBook are free from copyright restrictions in the country where you are located in before downloading Oliver Twist in PDF or ePub.

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Fans of classic literature Readers interested in social issues Those exploring the development of the novel Young adult and adult audiences

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About Charles Dickens

Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by...

We have 15 books by Charles Dickens in Alice and Books library

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The best Oliver Twist quotes

There was the little church, in the morning, with the green leaves fluttering at the windows: the birds singing without: filling the homely building with its fragrance.

We need be careful how we deal with those about us, when every death carries to some small circle of survivors, thoughts of so much omitted, and so little done.

I confess I have yet to learn that a lesson of the purest good may not be drawn from the vilest evil.

Dignity, and even holiness too, sometimes, are more questions of coat and waistcoat than some people imagine.

Although Oliver had been brought up by philosophers, he was not theoretically acquainted with the beautiful axiom that self-preservation is the first law of nature.

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