The Adventures of Oliver Twist; Or, The Parish Boy’s Progress.

DICKENS, Charles.

Item Number: 130501

London: Bradbury & Evans, 1846.

First single-volume edition of Dickens’ best-known novel. Octavo, bound in full morocco by Bayntun-Riviere, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, gilt medallion portrait of Dickens on the front panel, gilt signature on the back panel, inner dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. In fine condition. Illustrated with 40 plates. An exceptional presentation.

"Dickens turned in Oliver Twist to the novel of crime and terror Some characters are drawn with humorous realism, but for the most part humor is dimmed by gloomy memories of the author’s own neglected childhood and sensational scenes are shrouded in an atmosphere genuinely eerie and sinister That Dickens shared with his contemporaries the conviction that the novel should be an instrument of social reform is evident in Oliver Twist" (Baugh).