DDR: Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Wikipedia tells me that this novel was first entitled Oliver Twist, or, The Parish Boy's Progress. It also lists the publication dates of the monthly installments of the serial, which were

I – February 1837 (chapters 1–2)

II – March 1837 (chapters 3–4)

III – April 1837 (chapters 5–6)

IV – May 1837 (chapters 7–8)

V – July 1837 (chapters 9–11)

VI – August 1837 (chapters 12–13)

VII – September 1837 (chapters 14–15)

VIII – November 1837 (chapters 16–17)

IX – December 1837 (chapters 18–19)

X – January 1838 (chapters 20–22)

XI – February 1838 (chapters 23–25)

XII – March 1838 (chapters 26–27)

XIII – April 1838 (chapters 28–30)

XIV – May 1838 (chapters 31–32)

XV – June 1838 (chapters 33–34)

XVI – July 1838 (chapters 35–37)

XVII – August 1838 (chapters 38–part of 39)

XVIII – October 1838 (conclusion of chapter 39–41)

XIX – November 1838 (chapters 42–43)

XX – December 1838 (chapters 44–46)

XXI – January 1839 (chapters 47–49)

XXII – February 1839 (chapter 50)

XXIII – March 1839 (chapter 51)

XXIV – April 1839 (chapters 52–53)

And the cover of the first installment looked like this:

Public Domain

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Twist)

And speaking of that monthly serial version of the novel, check this out:

That's right, it can be yours. 

But I'll be sticking with the Heron Books version of Oliver Twist in THE CENTENNIAL DICKENS.

And speaking of that, I just saw that my beloved Thrift Books has a copy of this edition on sale for $28.89. A little steep, but look how nice it looks:

And I have nothing but love for Thrift Books, but I sure as hell wouldn't pay that price for this book. I'd be willing to bet that by the time you finished reading it, the cover would have deteriorated so much that the spine would be it tatters. 

I could be wrong. But I'm going to see how it goes with my copy. Here's today's look:

We'll see how it goes from there.

Ahem. Okay, here we go:

Oliver Twist is xxxi + 511 = 542 pages, so it will probably take me between 18 to 27 days to read it.

Some items of interest for this stretch of the Dickens Road: the  Oliver! musical from 1968. Also Oliver the comic book by Gary Whitta, which re-imagines Oliver Twist as a post-apocalyptic superhero. (Available from  hoopla , by the way.) And then, of course, there are a shit ton of move adaptations, amongst them

Oliver Twist (1909 film)

Oliver Twist (1912 American film)

Oliver Twist (1912 British film)

Oliver Twist (1916 film)

Oliver Twist (1919 film)

Oliver Twist (1922 film)

Oliver Twist (1933 film)

Oliver Twist (1948 film)

Oliver and the Artful Dodger (1972)

Oliver Twist (1974 film)

Oliver Twist (1982 Australian film)

Oliver Twist (1982 TV film)

Oliver & Company (1988)

Oliver Twist (1997 film)

Oliver Twist (2005 film)

Day 1 (DDRD 1,695) June 22, 2022

Read to page XXXI. Which isn't really 31 pages, but it's close enough for me. It's been a rough day. So I'll begin the novel proper tomorrow.

Meanwhile, here are some things from the Introduction (written by Humphrey House) I thought worthy of noting:

Oliver Twist was "finished and published in three volumes in November 1838, before the serial publication was complete." (VIII)

Which is kind of weird. Apparently Dickens also started it before he was finished serializing The Pickwick Papers, and hadn't finished it by the time he started serializing Nicholas Nickleby. I guess it's not surprising to find out that Charles Dickens died from overwork, is it.

Also, Oliver Twist was "a novel which permanently affected the range, status, and potentialities of fiction." (X) 

So that raises the stakes a bit, dun nit?

And lastly, here's the text for the 36th chapter of Oliver Twist:

XXXVI   IS A VERY SHORT ONE, AND MAY APPEAR OF NO GREAT IMPORTANCE IN ITS PLACE, BUT IT SHOULD BE READ NOTWITHSTANDING, AS A SEQUEL TO THE LAST, AND A KEY TO ONE THAT WILL FOLLOW WHEN ITS TIME ARRIVES

You've just got to love this guy, don't you?

In other news...I was just lookin' 'round, and look what I found:

Don't do it, kids. Unless you want to do it with me, because I will mos def sell you my Complete Dickens set for $967.34. 🤙

Day 2 (DDRD 1,696) June 23, 2022

Read to page 26 (end of Chapter III). And wow...what a hideously tragic start for little Oliver. I would have continued reading, but Dad Duties are about to occur, and I'll have some inescapable wait time in the near future, so I'll get back to it then.

Meanwhile, I'm remembering Dr. Elliot Engels' "The Dickens Nobody Knows" again...and thinking that Dr. EE blew some smoke on Oliver Twist as well. I tried to find it online to verify that my memory of the lecture was correct, but was unsuccessful...and I have no idea where my copy of it is now. So from memory then: I recall that The Good Doctor talked about how once Dickens was finished with The Pickwick Papers he said something along the lines of, "Now that I've made everyone laugh, I will write a novel which will make everyone cry." Well, that doesn't seem to be true...or at least not completely true. Dickens started writing Oliver Twist before he had finished The Pickwick Papers. Perhaps it is true that the reception of Pickwick had already been resoundingly affirmed, but that's not the way EE presented it. Oh, wait a minute...just found a video. And my memory was correct. Even more specifically, EE claims that

"Everybody runs out in October to buy the first three chapters of Oliver...."

Well. Referring to the list of serial publication above, the first installment of Oliver Twist was released in February, not October. And it contained the first two chapters of the novel, not three.

And btw, according to Wikipedia, the final installment of The Pickwick Papers "XIX-XX...(chapters 53–57)" was published "October 1837." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pickwick_Papers)  So you can see where Dr. EE got his misinformation.

Which isn't a big deal, of course, but you have to wonder: if the guy gets the small details wrong, can you trust him on the rest of it?

Day 3 (DDRD 1,697) June 24, 2022

Read to page 71 (end of Chapter VIII).

"...he wished, as he crept into his narrow bed, that that were his coffin, and that he could be lain in a calm and lasting sleep in the churchyard ground, with the tall grass waving gently above his head, and the sound of the old deep bell to soothe him in his sleep."

"The shop-boys in the neighbourhood had long been in the habit of branding Noah in the public streets, with the ignominious epithets of “leathers,” “charity,” and the like; and Noah had bourne them without reply. But, now that fortune had cast in his way a nameless orphan, at whom even the meanest could point the finger of scorn, he retorted on him with interest. This affords charming food for contemplation. It shows us what a beautiful thing human nature may be made to be; and how impartially the same amiable qualities are developed in the finest lord and the dirtiest charity-boy."

I'm not crying. You're crying.

Day 4 (DDRD 1,698) June 25, 2022

Read to page 100.

This is a pretty tragic book, but Dickens injects moments of his bizarre sense of humor. This, for instance:

"If he were really not in the habit of drinking rather more than was exactly good for him, he might have brought an action against his countenance for liable, and have recovered heavy damages." (88)

The idea of a man suing his face because it makes him look like a drunkard is pretty freakin' strange. I like that in a man.

Day 5 (DDRD 1,699) June 26, 2022

Read to page 130.

So far as my experience goes, there are always incredible coincidences to put up with in Dickens. Looks like the first of them has cropped up in Oliver Twist on page 102: when Oliver is taken in by a kindly gentleman and put to bed to recover from his illness, he awakens beneath a picture which bears a startling resemblance to himself. Nothing is revealed beyond that for now, but it seems pretty obvious that this is a picture of his mother, and that the kindly gentleman who took him in is his father. I could be wrong...but I sincerely doubt it. And if that is what's going on, then that is quite an impossible coincidence. Oliver just happens to be arrested (for something he didn't do), the gentleman who was robbed just happens to follow him to the jail and rescue him when he falls ill, and this gentleman just happens to be his father. Sigh. But that's what happens in Dickens. And maybe in all of Victorian literature. And even to this day, as in many movies, tv shows, and books the plot absolutely relies on impossible to believe coincidences. Add to that stew the fact that what I would consider impossible coincidences happen to me on a very regular basis, though, and what do you have then?

In other news, one of the little scoundrels in this book is named Charley Bates, and he is referred to 50 times in the novel as Master Bates. (Not a guess, not hyperbole: I used a text search.) There's no doubt that Dickens was aware of the word, so you have to wonder what his motive was there. Just having fun, I suppose.

In other news, a character is introduced who makes many references to eating his own head. As here:

“Look here! do you see this! Isn’t it a most wonderful and extraordinary thing that I can’t call at a man’s house but I find a piece of this poor surgeon’s friend on the staircase? I’ve been lamed with orange-peel once, and I know orange-peel will be my death, or I’ll be content to eat my own head, sir!”

This was the handsome offer with which Mr. Grimwig backed and confirmed nearly every assertion he made; and it was the more singular in his case, because, even admitting for the sake of argument, the possibility of scientific improvements being brought to that pass which will enable a gentleman to eat his own head in the event of his being so disposed, Mr. Grimwig’s head was such a particularly large one, that the most sanguine man alive could hardly entertain a hope of being able to get through it at a sitting—to put entirely out of the question, a very thick coating of powder.

There are many other references to this eating of his own head in this chapter...at least a dozen. (An automated search was impossible due to the fact that the wording changed a bit.) Another example of just how weird Dickens could be. 

And, again, I like it.

P.S. I was doing a bit of straightening out on my comics yesterday, and I happened upon five issues of a thing called The Bozz Chronicles--which was a six issue Epic Comics series by David Michelinie and Bret Blevins. I picked up those issues from Half-Price Books at 50¢ a shot, and since I was missing issue #2, I set it aside to wait and see if that little sheep would turn up. If it did, I'd forgotten all about it. But I decided to have a little look, and read the first issue. It was okay-ish. Victorian England. Hooker with big boobs which were showcased as much as possible. Big yellow alien who apparently had a massive penis, though that was not shown--even though he preferred to walk around naked. So I read the third issue. And lo and behold...

Yep. Kid named Ollie. Part of a kid gang in Victorian England. Sorry about the bad lighting--I was too lazy to look for better.

Day 6 (DDRD 1,700) June 27, 2022

Read to page 161.

Had this bit, which completely stumped me:

“What do you mean by this?” said Sikes; backing the inquiry with a very common imprecation concerning the most beautiful of human features: which, if it were heard above, only once out of every fifty thousand times that it is uttered below, would render blindness as common a disorder as measles: “what do you mean by it? Burn my body! Do you know who you are, and what you are?” (143)

So I went Googling. The answer I found which makes sense is that Sikes said, "God blind me!" Apparently it was a common vulgarity, and could also take the form of gorblimey (or gor blimey, or cor blimey) which was the Cockney way of avoiding trouble with the third commandment.

One of the things I love about Dickens is that he intrudes so extravagantly into the story. For instance, at the start of one chapter (XVII) he says,

"It is the custom on the stage, and all good murderous melodramas, to present the tragic and the comic scenes, in as regular alternation, as the layers of red and white in a side of streaky bacon." (146) He then spends three paragraphs discussing this "alternation" and its efficacy. It seems very modern, very Meta.

Have to say that as this point I am thoroughly caught up in Oliver's story, and only stopped reading this morning because Dad Duties had to be done.

Day 7 (DDRD 1,701) June 28, 2022

Read to page 190. Which is not even halfway through the book, and yet...

And, again, I'm not being rough with these books at all. This is just what happens as you read them. The seams on the front and back split, then the spine pulls away and falls off.

Fucking Heron Books.

Day 8 (DDRD 1,702) June 29, 2022

Read to page 224.

The story is getting even more exciting as Oliver is pulled into a life of CRIME, and Mortal Harm comes to him!

As for the book binding...things are getting worse.

I don't think that outer spine piece is going to be able to hang on for another 287 pages. And I hasten to add (again) that I am in no way mistreating or even being rough with this book. I'm just reading it. These things are just so shoddily made that they disintegrate. And true, they are old...52 years old...but I've got books that are over 100 years old that are in better shape. I think Heron Books just went shoddy on this. What a shame to treat Charles Dickens that way.

P.S. Averaging almost 30 pages per day in OT, so probably be finished in a week and a half. (And then it's Nicholas Nickleby...the third Dickens that I've not previously read.)

Day 9 (DDRD 1,703) June 30, 2022

Read to page 258 (end of Chapter XXVIII).

Day 10 (DDRD 1,704) July 1, 2022

Read to page 300. 

Here's another thing I love about Charles Dickens:

"Talking all the way, he followed Mr Giles up stairs; and while he is going upstairs, the reader may be informed, that...." (262)

The way Dickens acts like he is just dipping in and out of the characters' lives...as if they just go on without him when he's not focused on their part of the story...it's just hilarious. 

Also, this:

I'm guessing there are not a whole lot of Classics which contain the word stupid-head. Maybe something by Beckett.

In other news, the book was looking rough early on today...

And then it gave way:

Just in case I haven't said it before...FUCK HERON BOOKS!

And in Other Other News, I was at The Great Escape today and looked for issue #2 of The Bozz Chronicles. Nope. I guess I'll never finish reading that series...'cause I'm sure not going to spend $20 to get the trade paperback. 

Day 11 (DDRD 1,705) July 2, 2022

Read to page 341 (the end of Chapter XXXVII).

Mr. Bumble is not a completely unsympathetic character. Certainly he was not the most sensitive fellow, but he seemed to have some kind of moral center, and was not relentlessly cruel to Oliver earlier on. Now we see him in quite a different position. After wooing and winning a wife, he has been considerably reduced. To wit: "...he had fallen from all the height and pomp of beadleship, to the lowest depth of the most snubbed henpeckery." (336)

Which no doubt tells you something about Dickens' attitude towards women, especially in terms of marriage. It's kind of funny...because let's face it, boys, we all sense that there's a bit of truth in this, don't we? 

In other news:

It strikes me that there are two topics that have popped up repeatedly in both of the Dickens novels I've read: fat men and nightcaps. And the nightcaps have consistently been objects of embarrassment, as in someone is seen wearing a nightcap and is embarrassed about it and seeks to remove it as soon as possible. Oh, three topics: prisons. It'll be interesting to see if that continues through his other novels...the way the Vienna, bears, and wrestling seem to run through Jonhn Irving's novels. 

And in other other news: 

Well, ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find time. Yesterday I was bemoaning the fact that I would probably never finish reading The Bozz Chronicles because I didn't think I'd ever find  Issue #2 at a price I would be willing to pay...and I didn't want to throw down $20 for the collection--especially not since I already had the four of the five issues. And today? I went into Half-Price Books, and...

I am starting to think I should wish harder for a million dollars. ANYway...got it home, read it, and...well, at least I have the satisfaction of having finished reading the series. I wouldn't recommend that you do the same, though. (But if you really feel that you must, I'd be willing to sell The Complete Series for a mere $20. 🤙.)

170 pages to go now...and I've been reading this one at an average of almost 34 pages per day, so if I maintain that pace, that's just another five days until it's Nicholas Nickleby time. Very exciting! (And obviously my Dickens Love has not yet ebbed.)

Day 12 (DDRD 1,706) July 3, 2022

Read to page 378 (end of Chapter XLI). 

Day 13 (DDRD 1,707) 🎆🦅July 4, 2022🦅🎆

Read to page 410. Which means...🥁🥁🥁...I'm just a hair under 100 pages to go now. 

Day 14 (DDRD 1,708) July 5, 2022

Read to page 450. So theoretically I could finish this book tomorrow. And as a matter of fact, I do hear Nicholas Nickleby calling me. Hmmm. 

I've been reading (re-reading...but it has ben almost half a century since my first read, so it makes me feel brand new) Harlan Ellison's Memos From Purgatory on the side, and last night I came across this:

Whoomp! (There It Is).

Day 15 (DDRD 1,709) July 6, 2022

Read to page 494 (end of Chapter LI). And yes indeed, I could have finished. But it was a bad day. And I didn't. So tomorrow, the.

Day 16 (DDRD 1,710) July 7, 2022

Read to page 509...actually 511, as they snuck in a page with 3 notes. There'd been no indication in the text that there were any notes, so I thought this was a pretty shabby way of doing things, but hey, nobody asked me.

This was a most excellent novel. Of course it did rely on some preposterous coincidences...none of which were necessary in that there were other ways of getting to the plot points that would have been far more realistic and believable (assuming that those two imposters are not always the same), but hey, that's Dickens for you. And most literature, actually. But the story of Oliver was most interesting and engaging, the secondary (etcetera) characters were well-drawn (some of the best in the Dickens bestiary, actually, what with Fagin and The Artful Dodger amongst them), and there was a real, palpable hit in the thematic concerns. I'd also say that in this novel, Dickens takes it a step farther in terms of stark realism than I would have believed possible at this time in the history of literature. I've certainly not encountered much like this before, what with the murder of a young woman by bludgeoning. The only thing I can think of that comes off in like manner is the murder of the pawnbroker in Crime and Punishment. (Yes, the Dickens murder is very much of like kind in terms of graphic description.) For all of his sardonic jibes and comic buffoonery, CD can get down to the nitty gritty as well as the best of them. 

Due to various circumstances (two of which were a staggeringly effective glass of Mark & Digger's Hazelnut Rum & a kidney stone in no hurry to traverse my ureter), I ended up going to bed at a pitifully early hour (8 pm) on the 6th, and (of course) awoke shortly after midnight hungry (no dinner) and thirsty. I tried to ignore those conditions, but finally had to give way. And after eating a bit and drinking some water, I decided to finish off Oliver Twist and did. So now I'm thinking that I might well go ahead and start on Nicholas Nickleby today, making July 7, 2022, both Day 16 of Oliver Twist and Day 1 of Nicholas Nickleby...but DDRD 1,710 for both.

So it shall be written. 

So it shall be done.

Postscript: I watched Oliver! today. I was surprised to discover that (1) I enjoyed it quite a bit and (2) I recognized several of the songs: "Food, Glorious Food," "Where Is Love?" & best of all, "Consider Yourself." Oh, also, "I'd Do Anything." 

DDR Day 1 to 1,000: 13,449 pages read

DDR Day 1001 to Day 2000:
(1) Leviathan 63 days, 729 pages
(2) Stalingrad 27 days, 982 pages
(3) Life and Fate 26 days, 880 pages
(4) The Second World War 34 + 32 + 40 + 43 + 31 + 32 days = 212 days, 4,379 pages 
(5) Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming 10 days, 572 pages
(6) The Great Bridge 25 days, 636 pages

(7) The Path Between the Seas 29 days, 698 pages
(8) Blake: Prophet Against Empire, 23 days, 523 pages
(9) Jerusalem 61 days, 1,266 pages
(10) Voice of the Fire 9 days, 320 pages
(11) The Fountainhead 15 days, 720 pages
(12) The Pacific Trilogy: Pacific Crucible 23 days, 640 pages

(13) The Pacific Trilogy: The Conquering Tide 28 days, 656 pages

(14) The Pacific Trilogy: Twilight of the Gods 31 days, 944 pages 

(15) Jazz: Its Evolution and Essence 13 days, 304 pages

(16) Toward Jazz 18 days, 224 pages

(17) The Worlds of Jazz 13 days, 279 pages

(18) To Be or Not...to Bop 14 days, 571 pages

(19) Kind of Blue 4 days, 224 pages

(20) Kind of Blue: Miles Davis and his Masterpiece: 5 days, 256 pages

(21) Miles: The Autobiography 16 days, 445 pages

(21) A Love Supreme: The Story of John Coltrane's Signature Album: 8 days, 287 pages

(22) Ascension: John Coltrane and His Quest 8 days, 304 pages

(23) Living With Music: Ralph Ellison's Jazz Writings 11 days 325 pages

2nd 1K Total: 17,164 pages; Grand Total: 30,613 

(24) The Pickwick Papers 28 days, 983 pages

(25) Oliver Twist 16 days, 542 pages