A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London´s most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.
Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob´s whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob´s prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream.
Striking out on his own, Jacob familiarizes himself with London´s highest value neighborhoods while forging his own path in the shadows. But everything changes when he adopts an aspiring teenage thief named Bill Sikes, whose mercurial temper poses a danger to himself and anyone foolish enough to cross him. Along the way, Jacob´s found family expands to include his closest friend, Nancy, and his greatest protégé, the Artful Dodger. But as Bill´s ambition soars and a major robbery goes awry, Jacob is forced to decide what he really stands for-and what a life is worth.
Colorfully written and wickedly funny, Allison Epstein breathes fresh life into the teeming streets of Dickensian London--reclaiming one of Victorian literature´s most notorious villains in an unforgettable new adventure.