Oliver Twist The alternative title, "The Parish Boy's Progress", alludes to Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress", as well as the 18th-century caricature series by William Hogarth, "A Rake's Progress" and "A Harlot's Progress". In this early example of the social novel, Dickens satirises the hypocrisies of his time, including child labour, the recruitment of children as criminals, and the presence of street children. The novel may have been inspired by the story of Robert Blincoe, an orphan whose account of working as a child labourer in a cotton mill was widely read in the 1830s. It is likely that Dickens's own youthful experiences
Frank Dickens Dickens greatest financial success, through syndication in the United States, was "Albert Herbert Hawkins: The Naughtiest Boy in the World" - which reportedly captures the "essential naughtiness" of its author. Dickens has also published several children's books, as well as thrillers connected with bicycle racing: "A Curl Up and Die Day" (Peter Owen Publishers, 1980) and "Three Cheers for the Good Guys" (Macmillan, 1984). On 2 February 2012, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a tribute to Frank Dickens called "Holy Mackerel – It’s My Life!" to mark his 80th birthday, narrated by Bernard Cribbins and with contributors who included fellow cartoonists