Jack Sheppard (novel) for many months in the "Bentley's Miscellany": Dickens' "Oliver Twist". The plots are similar, in that both deal with an individual attempting to corrupt a boy. Ainsworth's boy is corrupted, whereas Dickens' is not. Both authors also cast Jews as their villains; they are similar in appearance, though Ainsworth's is less powerful. According to Frank Chandler, the novel "was intended as a study in the Spanish style". Such influences appear in Jack's physical description and in the words of the characters. Dramatist John Gay stated that Jack's story is related to the stories of Guzman d'Alfarache, Lazarillo de Tormes, Estevanillo
Wild Boy (novel) at the Deaf-Mute institute in Paris and Dr. Itard's enthusiasm that here was an opportunity to prove his theory that whatever a person's background, they could be brought into civilised society. Unfortunately, the task proves far more difficult than he anticipated... Inspiration for the novel came from Uta Frith's 1989 book "" in which the Wild Boy of Aveynon is claimed to be the first documented autistic child. Further insights came from Dawson's personal experience with her own son who was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Wild Boy (novel) Wild Boy is a 2003 novel by English author Jill Dawson, published