The true origins of Oliver Twist

Charles Dickens is one of London’s most celebrated authors, and Oliver Twist, with its memorable Fagin character, is considered by many as his finest work. What many people don’t know is that the book is based on a true story.

In 1836, a man called William Miles, interviewed young criminals who were on the prison hulk Euryalus. One of his interviews was with a 13 year old boy called Samuel Holmes. A habitual thief, his latest sentence was due to him stealing a bullocks tongue, three doves and a pigeon. For something we would consider minor today, Samuel received a sentence of seven years, seven years that was to be served in a Tasmanian juvenile jail, the first of its kind. He had learnt his trade of ducking and diving in a similar place to Charles Dickens portrayal of the ‘thieves den’ in Oliver Twist. 

When interviewed, Samuel said, “Two boys took me to a house in Stepney, kept by a Jew and he agreed to board me for about 2/6 a week, provided I brought and sold to him all I might steal.”  He even had a street nickname, that of “Smouchee.” 

Charles Dickins would probably have read this interview, words from Samuel giving him an idea for a story and, in 1838, the marvellous book, “Oliver Twist” was published. So, did Dickens base his character the “Artful Dodger” on Samuel? And Fagin on “the Jew”? Chances are he did. As, like a lot of best selling authors, he wrote about a subject he knew well. So many of Dickens stories were based on places and people he had met during his life in London. One of his favourite things to do was to walk around London streets, often late at night, notebook and pen in hand. 

Bill Sykes, was the owner of a chandlers shop, situated on the same street when Dickens had lived in a house on Cleveland Street (still there) which is a turning off Tottenham Court Road. The workhouse written about in Oliver Twist? Well guess what, there’s a workhouse on Cleveland Street, another survivor of our past, situated exactly opposite to where “Sykes” shop would have been.

And what of the real Samuel who was immortalised as the Artful Dodger?
He was released from prison at the age of 27, what happened next has been lost, like many stories of the past, this is where, for us, his story ends.