"Oh! you really expect him to come back, do you?" inquired Mr. Grimwig. "Don't you?" asked Mr. Brownlow, smiling. The spirit of contradiction was strong in Mr. Grimwig's breast, at the moment; and it was rendered stronger by his friend's confident smile. "No," he said, smiting the table with his fist, "I do not. The boy has a new suit of clothes on his back, a set of valuable books under his arm, and a five-pound note in his pocket. He'll join his old friends the thieves, and laugh at you. If ever that boy returns to this house, sir, I'll eat my head." -from Chapter XIV In February 1837, the new British magazine Bentley's Miscellany published the first installment in a serial story written by its editor. Its star was a good-hearted orphan boy; its author was Charles Dickens; and by the time it concluded in March 1839, Oliver Twist would become one of the most beloved of Dickens' novels. First published in book form in 1838, it has never been out of print, and little wonder: it is the classic rags-to-riches story, and a foundation of modern popular fiction that is required and highly enjoyable reading for all lovers of literature. Also in this volume: Dickens' A Child's History of England, a charming survey of the story of the Sceptred Isle from the time of the Romans through the 1830s. Simply written but wide-ranging, it's a delightful read for Dickens devotees. British author CHARLES DICKENS (1812-1870) remains one of the most popular writers in the world. A spinner of stories of satire and social criticism-including Great Expectations, Nicholas Nickleby, A Tale of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, and the work considered his greatest, David Copperfield-his writings have entertainedgenerations of readers and influenced generations of writers. ~ ~ ~

From a parish workhouse to the heart of the industrial revolution, from debtors' jail to Cambridge University and a prestigious London church, Robert Blincoe's political, personal and turbulent story illuminates the Dickensian age like never before. In 1792 as revolution, riot and sedition spread across Europe, Robert Blincoe was born in the calm of rural St Pancras parish. At four he was abandoned to a workhouse, never to see his family again. At seven, he was sent 200 miles north to work in one of the cotton mills of the dawning industrial age. He suffered years of unrelenting abuse, a life dictated by the inhuman rhythm of machines. Like Dickens' most famous character, Blincoe rebelled after years of servitude. He fought back against the mill owners, earning beatings but gaining self-respect. He joined the campaign to protect children, gave evidence to a Royal Commission into factory conditions and worked with extraordinary tenacity to keep his own children from the factories. His life was immortalised in one of the most remarkable biographies ever written, A Memoir of Robert Blincoe. Renowned popular historian John Waller tells the true story of a parish boy's progress with passion and in enthralling detail.