In Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist, the leader of the child thieves is Fagin. He runs a criminal household in London where boys such as the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates are taught to pick pockets and surrender their stolen goods.
Fagin presents himself as a provider who offers vulnerable children food and shelter, but he exploits them and keeps most of the proceeds. He recruits Oliver into the gang, disguising the criminal purpose of the operation behind lessons in handling wallets and handkerchiefs. Fagin is also connected to older criminals, including the housebreaker Bill Sikes, who supplies him with stolen property.
The novel was first published in 1838 and combines a melodramatic plot with criticism of workhouses, poverty and the treatment of children in industrial-era England. Nancy is a member of Fagin's circle and tries to help Oliver; Bill Sikes is a violent adult criminal, not the gang's leader. Fagin's portrayal also reflects the antisemitic stereotypes of Dickens's period, an aspect modern readers commonly discuss when assessing the character.