This is perhaps the most well-loved story by Charles Dickens. Dickens asked his readers to \047have a heart that never gets hard\047. As readers follow the life of Oliver Twist, a poor orphaned boy struggling against the dangers of life in 19th-century London, they can empathise with his childhood in a workhouse and his life with a gang of pickpockets. They can also share his relief that there were some good people, ready and willing to rescue a child in need.