A gripping retelling of Dickens’s Oliver Twist, unpredictable and full of twists and turns; it kept me hooked, and it also kept me guessing! It’s also a sensitively drawn portrait of one of literature’s most maligned characters." —Flora Carr, author of The Tower
“Heart-wrenching and delicious and impossible to put down, Fagin the Thief does for Fagin what Wicked did for The Wicked Witch of the West. Allison Epstein is absolutely at the top of her game.” —Julia Fine, author of Maddalena and the Dark
“More than a simple reimagining of Dickens’s most troubling villain, Fagin the Thief is a haunted look at the loneliness of Victorian London’s underworld. Epstein’s rogues and thieves are at once tenderly imagined and savagely cruel, carving out precarious lives in the shadow of the gallows and the jail. Clever, cowardly, soft-hearted and selfish all at once, Jacob Fagin sheds the constraints of his original story and demands the right to speak for himself.” —Celia Bell, author of The Disenchantment
"It takes a very brave or supremely talented author to reimagine one of Dickens’ greatest characters; luckily Allison Epstein is both. Her Fagin is a captivating, complex, deeply human character adrift in a London that’s as richly described and grittily alive as Dickens’ own city." —Mat Osman, author of The Ghost Theatre
“In a gritty feast of a book which transports readers into Victorian London’s seedy underground, Epstein weaves together a brutal and defiant tale of survival against all odds. Fagin the Thief is a story of what freedom means when being a Jew is worse even than being a thief, and the courage it takes to live life in stubborn opposition to a society determined to do its worst." —Laura R. Samotin, author of The Sins On Their Bones
A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London's most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.
Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob's whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob's prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream.
Striking out on his own, Jacob familiarizes himself with London's highest value neighborhoods while forging his own path in the shadows. But everything changes when he adopts an aspiring teenage thief named Bill Sikes, whose mercurial temper poses a danger to himself and anyone foolish enough to cross him. Along the way, Jacob's found family expands to include his closest friend, Nancy, and his greatest protégé, the Artful Dodger. But as Bill's ambition soars and a major robbery goes awry, Jacob is forced to decide what he really stands for-and what a life is worth.
Colorfully written and wickedly funny, Allison Epstein breathes fresh life into the teeming streets of Dickensian London--reclaiming one of Victorian literature's most notorious villains in an unforgettable new adventure.
"1146045651"
Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob's whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob's prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream.
Striking out on his own, Jacob familiarizes himself with London's highest value neighborhoods while forging his own path in the shadows. But everything changes when he adopts an aspiring teenage thief named Bill Sikes, whose mercurial temper poses a danger to himself and anyone foolish enough to cross him. Along the way, Jacob's found family expands to include his closest friend, Nancy, and his greatest protégé, the Artful Dodger. But as Bill's ambition soars and a major robbery goes awry, Jacob is forced to decide what he really stands for-and what a life is worth.
Colorfully written and wickedly funny, Allison Epstein breathes fresh life into the teeming streets of Dickensian London--reclaiming one of Victorian literature's most notorious villains in an unforgettable new adventure.
Fagin the Thief: A Novel
A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London's most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.
Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob's whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob's prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream.
Striking out on his own, Jacob familiarizes himself with London's highest value neighborhoods while forging his own path in the shadows. But everything changes when he adopts an aspiring teenage thief named Bill Sikes, whose mercurial temper poses a danger to himself and anyone foolish enough to cross him. Along the way, Jacob's found family expands to include his closest friend, Nancy, and his greatest protégé, the Artful Dodger. But as Bill's ambition soars and a major robbery goes awry, Jacob is forced to decide what he really stands for-and what a life is worth.
Colorfully written and wickedly funny, Allison Epstein breathes fresh life into the teeming streets of Dickensian London--reclaiming one of Victorian literature's most notorious villains in an unforgettable new adventure.
Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob's whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob's prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream.
Striking out on his own, Jacob familiarizes himself with London's highest value neighborhoods while forging his own path in the shadows. But everything changes when he adopts an aspiring teenage thief named Bill Sikes, whose mercurial temper poses a danger to himself and anyone foolish enough to cross him. Along the way, Jacob's found family expands to include his closest friend, Nancy, and his greatest protégé, the Artful Dodger. But as Bill's ambition soars and a major robbery goes awry, Jacob is forced to decide what he really stands for-and what a life is worth.
Colorfully written and wickedly funny, Allison Epstein breathes fresh life into the teeming streets of Dickensian London--reclaiming one of Victorian literature's most notorious villains in an unforgettable new adventure.
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Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940191894508 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Random House |
| Publication date: | 02/25/2025 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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