‘I’ll eat my ‘what’ is a favourite expression of Mr Grimwig in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens?
Charles Dickens Augustus Dickens, after a character in Oliver Goldsmith's "The Vicar of Wakefield". When pronounced by anyone with a head cold, "Moses" became "Boses"—later shortened to "Boz". Dickens's own name was considered "queer" by a contemporary critic, who wrote in 1849: "Mr Dickens, as if in revenge for his own queer name, does bestow still queerer ones upon his fictitious creations." He contributed to and edited journals throughout his literary career. In January 1835, the "Morning Chronicle" launched an evening edition, under the editorship of the "Chronicle"s music critic, George Hogarth. Hogarth invited Dickens to contribute "Street Sketches" and Dickens became
Oliver Twist murderous cruelty of the man who has been held up to him as a model. In the tradition of Restoration Comedy and Henry Fielding, Dickens fits his characters with appropriate names. Oliver himself, though "badged and ticketed" as a lowly orphan and named according to an alphabetical system, is, in fact, "all of a twist." However, Oliver and his name may have been based on a young workhouse boy named Peter Tolliver whom Dickens knew while growing up. Mr. Grimwig is so called because his seemingly "grim", pessimistic outlook is actually a protective cover for his kind, sentimental soul. Other