Map

This is a map of some of the places that I went on my Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist walking tour. It was cool to walk through what influenced the characters and scenes of Oliver Twist. I was able to relate to Dickens more in this way by seeing these sights firsthand. All of the places I went to involved crime in Oliver Twist. Crime is a huge part of this book and is seen throughout its entirety in different ways. The theme of crime is displayed in the following list and is related to the places that I visited: Fagin is one of the main criminals in the book, the police station and Old Sessions House are two places were arrests or court trials took place, pickpocketing incidents happened on Clerkenwell Green, and the Three Cripples pub is where Fagin and his gang would meet to discuss plans of crimes.

Hatton Place

Hatton Place is an area where the Hatton Garden Magistrates Court resided. This is a highly residential area. The court was presided over by A.S. Laing, a real magistrate. Dickens based Fagin off of this man. My thoughts are that Laing must have been a conniving man who took advantage of people, especially children. It is very interesting to me that Dickens based some of these characters after real people. It is neat to be able to go to these sites and picture what Dickens saw and what influenced his ideas. It is kind of ironic that Dickens bases Fagin off of a magistrate, one who is a civil officer and administers the law. Fagin is constantly involved in crime and taking advantage of others for himself.

Police Station

This is the police station where the characters in Oliver Twist were taken when they were arrested. Crime is very prevalent in Oliver Twist and seems to take over the lives of Fagin and Bill Sikes. Fagin commits crimes himself, but he preferably employs others to commit them. He is an example of how Dickens used anti-Semitic stereotypes. Bill Sikes's most famous crime in Oliver Twist is when he murders Nancy. Every day Fagin, Bill, and the other criminals constantly are on the move to add another pick-pocketer to their clan or they are on their way to commit a crime. A lot of the crimes committed in Oliver Twist happen because people are drawn into or forced into the crime and cannot seem to get out. Fagin's gang of rounding up pick-pocketers is an example of this.

Old Sessions House

I walked down Clerkenwell Road and was just looking around at all of the places, people and things going on around me. I saw a big building across the way that looked important so I decided to walk over there. As I walk up to the building, I realized it was the Old Sessions House. This is a purpose built 18th century law court and is where the Artful Dodger involves Oliver in a pick-pocketing incident. Oliver was brought here to court after being accused of pickpocketing Mr. Brownlow. This area looks like a little market could have been set up here in the past, because there are little stores around it and the ground is really flat and has lots of pretty trees.

The Old Sessions House. The building is huge and is very pretty and has wonderful architecture.

Pick-pocketin'

I took the Circle line to Farringdon and right when I got off of the tube I wanted to figure out where the pick-pocketing sites were. I followed my google map and eventually found Clerkenwell Green, which is an area where a lot of the pick-pocketing took place. This area is where the Artful Dodger tries to teach Oliver to pickpocket from Mr. Brownlow. It's cool to see the area now-a-days, because it's a very busy area with many businesses. Businessmen in their suits and ties are walking around everywhere. It is not what I first expected, but I can see why Dicken's would base the pick-pocketing incidents off of this area because of it's busyness. The busyness would take people's attention off of their bags and belongings and the pick-pocketers would have a better chance of stealing something.

Clerkenwell Road

Clerkenwell Green

picture of Clerkenwell Road and some of the businesses and cars showing the liveliness of the street.

The Three Cripples Pub

The One Tun pub is a pub that embodies the character of and may have been the original Three Cripples pub, headquarters of where Bill Sikes and his gang would go. Walking to this pub was really neat because it was seriously creepy back there. I walked down Farringdon Road and followed my map until I couldn't figure out where to go. From there, I asked a man where the One Tun pub was and he pointed down a small alley. It was a very sketchy road and I was scared to walk down it. I really felt like I was one of the characters walking down the street about to meet up with Bill Sykes to plan a pick pocketing attack. There are a few businesses back there, but mainly the street is pretty vacant besides the people that are at the One Tun. Charles Dickens was a patron of the One Tun pub between 1833 and 1838 when the pub had already been in existence for over half a century.

The One Tun pub, site where Dicken's based the Three Cripples pub.

The One Tun pub is on Saffron Hill. This street is right off of Farringdon Road, but it still is very empty and sketchy until you get to the pub. Because it's kind of off to the side and somewhat abandoned, I can see why Dickens would base the Three Cripples pub off of this spot.