Oliver might be the main character, but he’s not all that complicated (he's an innocent little dude, after all)… but the way he is interpreted and shuffled around by all the other characters su...

Fagin is pretty clearly a bad guy. We're not quibbling with the fact that a dude who thinks, "Ooh! Million dollar idea! Let's turn little boys into crooks!" is basically wearing a sticker that sa...

Okay, we try to be detached observers and analysts of literature, but sometimes characters just get under our skin. Like Nancy. We heart Nancy. She's complex, sympathetic, and totally tragic. We're...

Charley Bates serves the same role as the Dodger—comic relief—but in a slightly different way. The Dodger is funny because he’s so knowing, and knows too much for his age, so that the contras...

Mr. Brownlow is Oliver’s first friend and mentor. He’s had a rough life—he was going to marry his best friend’s sister (Victorians were fond of doing that… it was the next best thing to m...

Mr. Losberne is a country doctor and old family friend of the Maylies. He’s unmarried, and if he were young enough, he’d probably have a thing for Rose (heck, he might have a thing for her any...

Mr. Bumble is the beadle in the town where Oliver is born. As beadle, he’s responsible for running all of the "charitable" institutions in the parish—including the baby farms and the workhouse....

Mrs. Corney is cautious, distrustful, cruel, and power-hungry. We first meet her when she’s fixing herself tea in her snug little room on a blustery winter’s day. The snugness of her little roo...