Please, Sir, I Want Some More

Dickens and I haven't always been the best of friends.  After reading a horrible abridged version of Great Expectations in middle school, I had no desire to further our acquaintance.  I started to come around to Old Charlie when I studied A Tale of Two Cities for my undergraduate degree.  But overall, I maintained the firm opinion that he was a vastly overrated author. 

And then I had an epiphany: I should dedicate an entire section of my dissertation to Dickens!  I am not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to focus on an author for whom I had previously felt nothing but disdain.  But so it was.  Then I threw myself into Oliver Twist.

What a darling lad!  He immediately enchanted me.  What's more: so did Dickens.  Having watched the musical and multiple film adaptations growning up, I had a general idea of how the plot would develop.  The book, though, was still different from what I expected it to be.  In a good way.  I really, really, enjoyed it.  In fact, I find myself echoing Oliver's request for more.  More Dickens, please!

The iconic scene

images via Google