A Time Before Oliver

by Eleanor Thomson

A prequel to Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens’ most famous novel, A Time Before Oliver tells the story of the infamous Bill Sikes and Nancy and their passionate yet destructive relationship against the backdrop of the streets of 19th century London.

572 pages, Paperback

Published February 23, 1996

Reviews

[Louise Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit patchy, I really, really enjoyed the first and last thirds of the book but skim-read the middle (set in a different location) The story of Bill Sikes in particular persuades me to look at the original character in Oliver Twist in a more sympathetic manner and although the book is obviously not by Dickens it reminds me that in real life people are often as they are because of stuff that’s happened in their lives.
I enjoyed the TV series Dickensian a couple of years ago, which looked at the earlier lives of all sorts of Dickens characters (some as told by Dickens, some invented) so this book was in the same category.

[Darc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cant even begin to explain how good this book is!
It’s so well written and the way how it’s spilt up into four different sections is unbelievably smart💗
Lovely to see that the writer captures how I would have thought Nancys and Bills relationship would have been like

[Tuku]

Where can I get to read the book for free?