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A review by dnglvr
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The antisemitism deployed by Charles Dickens in creating the character Fagin completely ruins this novel.
Apologists will point to the time period of the writing or a literary apology made in subsequent books, however the ugliness of the original act thwarts any attempt to lessen the gravity of the original act.
The authors goal was to increase popularity allowing him to make more money. He made the decision to be a populist and appeal to the nativist and bigoted beliefs of some readers. This act, motivated by greed and self aggrandizement, is as repulsive in the 1880s as it is today,
Dickens agreed to his publisher’s, Chapman and Hall, suggestion to remove the antisemitism within Oliver Twist in the 1867 publication of his collected works. Modern publishers would be wise to follow in the footsteps of Chapman and Hall.
Apologists will point to the time period of the writing or a literary apology made in subsequent books, however the ugliness of the original act thwarts any attempt to lessen the gravity of the original act.
The authors goal was to increase popularity allowing him to make more money. He made the decision to be a populist and appeal to the nativist and bigoted beliefs of some readers. This act, motivated by greed and self aggrandizement, is as repulsive in the 1880s as it is today,
Dickens agreed to his publisher’s, Chapman and Hall, suggestion to remove the antisemitism within Oliver Twist in the 1867 publication of his collected works. Modern publishers would be wise to follow in the footsteps of Chapman and Hall.