Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress (in 3 vols.)

London: Richard Bentley, 1838. First edition. Near Fine. First issue, with the "Boz" title-pages in each volume and the "Fireside" plate facing p. 313 in volume three (the "Church" plate also bound in facing p. 315). Complete, with the half-titles in volumes one and two, and the correct ads at the end of volume one and the beginning of volume three. A lovely, Near Fine set, unusually clean and fresh throughout, with just a bit of foxing and toning to some of the plates. Elegantly bound in full green morocco. Spines with raised bands and gilt stamping. Spines sunned, with patches of sunning to lower board of voume three. Top edge gilt and gilt turn-ins. Marbled endpapers with nineteenth-century bookplate to upper pastedowns and twentieth-century bookplate to upper free endpapers. Small ink gift inscription, dated 1913, to volume one, and a small sticker, from a bookseller or previous owner, to preliminary blank of volume two. An excellent copy of one of Dickens' most famous works.

Oliver Twist, Dickens' second novel, is a dark and biting work, but one that is balanced with Oliver's indefatigable innocence and charm. Often cited as the first Victorian novel to feature a child protagonist, it was developed as a social commentary and a call for improving the conditions of London's destitute and orphan children. In recent scholarship, critics have noted that Dickens also sought to find balance, as many of his contemporaries did, between Darwin's theories about human nature and those from the Christian tradition; as the characters make their way through a seemingly uncaring world, they are ultimately drawn back to reward or retribution based on their individual level of goodness. The story was immensely successful, both as a novel filled with memorable characters and also as a work prompting much-needed social reform. Today it remains high within the pantheon of Victorian literature and is a work that has been successfully adapted to both the stage and screen.

For this novel, Dickens's first in the standard three-volume form, Bentley divided the printing task between two firms: volume one was printed by Samuel Bentley; volume two format by Whiting; and volume three in part by both Whiting and Bentley. The triple-decker publication date was November 9, 1839; within a week, at Dickens's insistence, the title-pages were changed to include his name, and the "Fireside" plate was replaced with the "Church" version. The present set is from the first issue, with the original "Boz" titles and the "Fireside" plate.

Smith I, 4. Near Fine.