What do you think?
Rate this book
Dodger of the Revolution
“We need a thief, Monsieur Dawkins. A capable one, not some delinquent oaf. Discretion, skill and intelligence are required”
The Artful Dodger in his own tale of two cities
Life as Victorian London’s top sawyer is losing its allure. Running a gang of thieves is not as easy as Fagin made it look and Jack Dawkins in danger of losing his touch. Opium-addicted and heavy-fingered, he needs a new challenge to relight his inner fire.
When some mysterious French siblings hire him for a lucrative job in Paris, our tarnished hero snatches at the chance. But what should be an easy burglary soon spirals into a chaotic and politically-charged crisis as Dodger finds himself manning the barricades in defense of liberty, fraternity and larceny.
Based on the much-loved character from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, this third volume in The Dodger Papers transports Jack to a city alive with rebellion. It’s his most exciting, surprising and action-packed adventure yet.
From James Benmore, the acclaimed author of Ask for Mercy
“Tremendous fun- with an underlying theme that is deadly serious” – Crime Review
The Artful Dodger in his own tale of two cities
Life as Victorian London’s top sawyer is losing its allure. Running a gang of thieves is not as easy as Fagin made it look and Jack Dawkins in danger of losing his touch. Opium-addicted and heavy-fingered, he needs a new challenge to relight his inner fire.
When some mysterious French siblings hire him for a lucrative job in Paris, our tarnished hero snatches at the chance. But what should be an easy burglary soon spirals into a chaotic and politically-charged crisis as Dodger finds himself manning the barricades in defense of liberty, fraternity and larceny.
Based on the much-loved character from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, this third volume in The Dodger Papers transports Jack to a city alive with rebellion. It’s his most exciting, surprising and action-packed adventure yet.
From James Benmore, the acclaimed author of Ask for Mercy
“Tremendous fun- with an underlying theme that is deadly serious” – Crime Review
328 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 22, 2024
17 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
James Benmore
13 books23 followers James Benmore is the author of the Dodger trilogy published by Quercus. The series follows the story of the Artful Dodger after the events of `Oliver Twist.'
He's currently writing `Ask for Mercy', a London detective story.
He studied literature at the Open University and has since completed an MSt in Creative Writing at Oxford University. He won the AM Heath prize in 2010 for best work of fiction by a writer graduating from Kellogg College. His short stories have been published in various anthologies. He lives in London.
He's currently writing `Ask for Mercy', a London detective story.
He studied literature at the Open University and has since completed an MSt in Creative Writing at Oxford University. He won the AM Heath prize in 2010 for best work of fiction by a writer graduating from Kellogg College. His short stories have been published in various anthologies. He lives in London.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
dnf
December 1, 2024I really wanted to like this. I'm bored already - page 10.
June 12, 2018
Dodger of the Revolution
is the third Dodger book by author James Benmore and follows the infamous Artful Dodger as he takes a job which has him leaving his beloved London for Paris on the outbreak on the 1848 revolution. Hence the title. I've been a fan of this series since I came across the first book - Dodger - while looking to see if there were any stories that followed on from the events of Oliver Twist. (If Pride and Prejudice can have numerous sequels...) This would appear to be the last of the series and what did I think?
Well, let's start by looking at the plot. The events of the second novel are still weighing in the Dodger's mind, and he has taken to hitting the opium dens pretty heavily, to the point that his reliance on the drug is affecting his own Artful nature. Determined to prove he is still the best thief to be found in London, he accepts a job from a pair of French siblings to help them regain their fortune. Unfortunately for all, they happened to arrive the day before the revolution breaks. The Dodger gets caught up in it all, and there's more than just a fortune at stake for the family he's been hired by.
Okay so... One of the most obvious things to say is that it is a bit weird to see the Dodger taken out of London, especially to be placed in Paris, France of all places. London is just as much a part of the Dodger's character as lifting is, and seeing him in this new environment can be, well, odd. He isn't a particularly political person - he thinks that a revolution which did not offer any monetary reward for participants would not be taken well by the lower classes of London - and to see him even briefly caught up in the fever of the revolution feels out of place for the character. It's not the say that Benmore doesn't make it feel perfectly natural within the course of the narrative, but standing back it does make me stare a little. Of all the things I would have put money on the Dodger doing, being atop the barricades was not one of them.
It's nice to see Benmore continuing to show traits of the Dodger that were introduced in earlier books, such as his anger when people disregard sex workers. He holds them with great respect, and doesn't appreciate the way others' don't. He also still shows signs of anger and upset over Nancy's death, and Benmore keeps reminding us that such a thing would leave it's mark on the Dodger - Nancy was his elder sister in all but blood, after all. Even the image of Oliver Twist as Dodger's conscience is both a good call back to the original novel and to the other books in the series, even if the Dodger's description of him is something that can be laughed at. Apparently the Dodger doesn't think much of what was considered fashionable for young gentlemen of the time.
Overall, I would recommend these books to other people, but honestly I think they're the type that you will have already made your mind up about reading. I will say do not let preconceptions make you put it back on the shelf. Pick up this series, and enjoy some good stories about a very artful thief.
You won't regret it.
Well, let's start by looking at the plot. The events of the second novel are still weighing in the Dodger's mind, and he has taken to hitting the opium dens pretty heavily, to the point that his reliance on the drug is affecting his own Artful nature. Determined to prove he is still the best thief to be found in London, he accepts a job from a pair of French siblings to help them regain their fortune. Unfortunately for all, they happened to arrive the day before the revolution breaks. The Dodger gets caught up in it all, and there's more than just a fortune at stake for the family he's been hired by.
Okay so... One of the most obvious things to say is that it is a bit weird to see the Dodger taken out of London, especially to be placed in Paris, France of all places. London is just as much a part of the Dodger's character as lifting is, and seeing him in this new environment can be, well, odd. He isn't a particularly political person - he thinks that a revolution which did not offer any monetary reward for participants would not be taken well by the lower classes of London - and to see him even briefly caught up in the fever of the revolution feels out of place for the character. It's not the say that Benmore doesn't make it feel perfectly natural within the course of the narrative, but standing back it does make me stare a little. Of all the things I would have put money on the Dodger doing, being atop the barricades was not one of them.
It's nice to see Benmore continuing to show traits of the Dodger that were introduced in earlier books, such as his anger when people disregard sex workers. He holds them with great respect, and doesn't appreciate the way others' don't. He also still shows signs of anger and upset over Nancy's death, and Benmore keeps reminding us that such a thing would leave it's mark on the Dodger - Nancy was his elder sister in all but blood, after all. Even the image of Oliver Twist as Dodger's conscience is both a good call back to the original novel and to the other books in the series, even if the Dodger's description of him is something that can be laughed at. Apparently the Dodger doesn't think much of what was considered fashionable for young gentlemen of the time.
Overall, I would recommend these books to other people, but honestly I think they're the type that you will have already made your mind up about reading. I will say do not let preconceptions make you put it back on the shelf. Pick up this series, and enjoy some good stories about a very artful thief.
You won't regret it.
June 17, 2021
In this third book of the trilogy, James Benmore takes his central character, the Artful Dodger, to Paris in 1848 at the time of the Revolution.
In thrall to the power of opium, the Artful Dodger, has lost his position as the best thief in London. In an attempt to change his life, he takes on a task set by two French people to steal a document from the grandson of the notorious DeFarge characters from Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities. The Dodger and his accomplice arrive in Paris as the 1848 Revolution begins and they see the terrible effects on the city and its population. After various adventures the Dodger is able to return to London, a new man and restored to his former self.
Benmore has used the character of the Artful Dodger from Dickens to create the central character in his trilogy, but in this novel he draws on the past events from A Tale of Two Cities to create a new context for his tale. I think the Dodger is a brilliant character and for anyone with a knowledge of Dickens there is a sense that this is the Dickens Dodger, now older and wiser.
In thrall to the power of opium, the Artful Dodger, has lost his position as the best thief in London. In an attempt to change his life, he takes on a task set by two French people to steal a document from the grandson of the notorious DeFarge characters from Dickens’ novel A Tale of Two Cities. The Dodger and his accomplice arrive in Paris as the 1848 Revolution begins and they see the terrible effects on the city and its population. After various adventures the Dodger is able to return to London, a new man and restored to his former self.
Benmore has used the character of the Artful Dodger from Dickens to create the central character in his trilogy, but in this novel he draws on the past events from A Tale of Two Cities to create a new context for his tale. I think the Dodger is a brilliant character and for anyone with a knowledge of Dickens there is a sense that this is the Dickens Dodger, now older and wiser.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2017
I've been saving this third book up as a treat to myself as I loved the first books so much and I easily slipped back into Dodger's world. I very much enjoyed the way the author brought in details from another Dickens book, Tale of Two Cities and I found the story enthralling from the very first chapter. Dodger's character is built on but complements what we already knew about him from Oliver Twist , he is indeed a lovable rogue.
May 14, 2025
Excellent Series
Like Dickens rewritten by George MacDonald Fraser with (and I don't say this lightly) a teeny dash of Pratchett. It's fun, it's thrilling, and Benmore catches the zeitgeist of the times perfectly. And it gets better with each succeeding episode. You won't regret reading these books.
Like Dickens rewritten by George MacDonald Fraser with (and I don't say this lightly) a teeny dash of Pratchett. It's fun, it's thrilling, and Benmore catches the zeitgeist of the times perfectly. And it gets better with each succeeding episode. You won't regret reading these books.
July 6, 2017
my favourite of the 3 written so far and love how French revolution intertwines with story.
September 4, 2017
A really good read. Shame it's the last book in the trilogy. I've loved reading them all. The books are about the adventures of The Artful Dodgers' life, after Charles Dickens book, Oliver Twist.
November 3, 2019
I don't think I can ever get enough of Dodger's adventure, the narrating of the novel and the development of events makes it a perfect read....that is a how a historical fiction should be
September 21, 2024
This is the third and final book in the trilogy about the Artful Dodgers life after Oliver Twist. I loved the first book from the main character, the Victorian world that James Benmore created and the fast paced action in the book. The second book lost a lot of the action and the characters felt a lot ‘flatter’ (I think this was mostly due to the storyline) and overall I didn’t really enjoy it.
This third book however, defiantly rivals the first book more. It was action packed, dramatically taking place in Paris during one of their many Revolutions. Dodgers sense of humour/sarcasm returns full force in this book which was missing in the second book. The story was fast paced and filled with characters I actually wanted to know more about and cared what happened to them.
If you like historical fiction from the Victorian era or stories about the seedier parts of society, I would definitely recommend this book and the whole series.
This third book however, defiantly rivals the first book more. It was action packed, dramatically taking place in Paris during one of their many Revolutions. Dodgers sense of humour/sarcasm returns full force in this book which was missing in the second book. The story was fast paced and filled with characters I actually wanted to know more about and cared what happened to them.
If you like historical fiction from the Victorian era or stories about the seedier parts of society, I would definitely recommend this book and the whole series.
June 4, 2017
Not the best in the series but still entertaining.
May 27, 2021
I'm going to take a note from the author of this text, and claim that my review - like Dodger of the Revolution itself - is inspired by Tale of Two Cities. And, much like the author and the book, that statement is going to be very, very tenuous.
There is nothing really wrong with this book, at least not in a singular sense that I can point out as the reason it didn't grow on me as I thought it would. It's well-paced, cleverly plotted, and even manages to pull off an accented narrative voice in a way that feels authentic without being intrusive. The story itself, in which grown-up Dodger heads to Paris to retrieve a writ of marriage on behalf of some dispossessed aristocrats, is entertaining and full of exciting moments (including, but not limited to, a fight on a barricade and an opium-fuelled prison break) that, along with the short chapter structure and rather hilarious chapter sub-headings, kept me reading along at such a rate that I finished the book in the course of an afternoon.
However, for whatever reason, Dodger of the Revolution just did not do it for me. I think, in part, this is because Dodger himself never particularly grew on me - he's engaging enough to hold attention, and occasionally quite funny, but I didn't get much of a sense of depth to his character, to to any of the other characters who move around him. Thus, the emotional stakes of the story failed to stick. Moreover, there didn't seem to be any real use or purpose to the story - despite some excellent plot twists in the third act, after the aforementioned prison break, all the exciting momentum that the story had been carrying tips itself over and lodges its best bits up its own nose. All in all, the ending falls flat; nothing is really accomplished, nothing of value is gained or lost, and Dodger's own arc of recovering his old self and overcoming his addiction wraps itself up so early in the story and with such ease that I wonder if it was even really necessary to the story.
Finally, I would like to make this known: if a character expresses her desire not to have a child due to fears over her finanical status and the trustworthiness of her partner, the best resolution to that story is not to reintroduce her in the novel's final pages as a big fat pregnant prize in order to reward said partner for doing something completely unrelated to either of the issues she cites as reason for not wanting children. Especially if she has already been described as aware of, and using, birth control.
All in all, much like the revolution of the title, Dodger of the Revolution is a shorter, shallower, much less productive version of its cousins in the genre of both revolution stories and tales of golden-hearted thieves.
... Vive la contraceptión, dammit.
There is nothing really wrong with this book, at least not in a singular sense that I can point out as the reason it didn't grow on me as I thought it would. It's well-paced, cleverly plotted, and even manages to pull off an accented narrative voice in a way that feels authentic without being intrusive. The story itself, in which grown-up Dodger heads to Paris to retrieve a writ of marriage on behalf of some dispossessed aristocrats, is entertaining and full of exciting moments (including, but not limited to, a fight on a barricade and an opium-fuelled prison break) that, along with the short chapter structure and rather hilarious chapter sub-headings, kept me reading along at such a rate that I finished the book in the course of an afternoon.
However, for whatever reason, Dodger of the Revolution just did not do it for me. I think, in part, this is because Dodger himself never particularly grew on me - he's engaging enough to hold attention, and occasionally quite funny, but I didn't get much of a sense of depth to his character, to to any of the other characters who move around him. Thus, the emotional stakes of the story failed to stick. Moreover, there didn't seem to be any real use or purpose to the story - despite some excellent plot twists in the third act, after the aforementioned prison break, all the exciting momentum that the story had been carrying tips itself over and lodges its best bits up its own nose. All in all, the ending falls flat; nothing is really accomplished, nothing of value is gained or lost, and Dodger's own arc of recovering his old self and overcoming his addiction wraps itself up so early in the story and with such ease that I wonder if it was even really necessary to the story.
Finally, I would like to make this known: if a character expresses her desire not to have a child due to fears over her finanical status and the trustworthiness of her partner, the best resolution to that story is not to reintroduce her in the novel's final pages as a big fat pregnant prize in order to reward said partner for doing something completely unrelated to either of the issues she cites as reason for not wanting children. Especially if she has already been described as aware of, and using, birth control.
All in all, much like the revolution of the title, Dodger of the Revolution is a shorter, shallower, much less productive version of its cousins in the genre of both revolution stories and tales of golden-hearted thieves.
... Vive la contraceptión, dammit.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews