FAGIN THE THIEF by Allison Epstein - Spotlight

 

FAGIN THE THIEF (Doubleday) is a thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London’s most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.

Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob's whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob’s prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream.

Striking out on his own, Jacob familiarizes himself with London's highest value neighborhoods while forging his own path in the shadows. But everything changes when he adopts an aspiring teenage thief named Bill Sikes, whose mercurial temper poses a danger to himself and anyone foolish enough to cross him. Along the way, Jacob’s found family expands to include his closest friend, Nancy, and his greatest protégé, the Artful Dodger. But as Bill’s ambition soars and a major robbery goes awry, Jacob is forced to decide what he really stands for—and what a life is worth.

Colorfully written and wickedly funny, Allison Epstein breathes fresh life into the teeming streets of Dickensian London--reclaiming one of Victorian literature’s most notorious villains in an unforgettable new adventure.

Allison Epstein earned her M.F.A. in fiction from Northwestern University and a B.A. in creative writing and Renaissance literature from the University of Michigan.

A Michigan native, she now lives in Chicago, where she works as an editor. When not writing, she enjoys good theater, bad puns, and fancy jackets.

She is the author of the historical novel A Tip for the Hangman and the forthcoming Let the Dead Bury the Dead.