Review: Quigsnip: The Untold Tale of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist by Sean Phillips

It takes an impressive amount of confidence to write a sequel to a Charles Dickens novel, given his titanic status in the history of English literature. In Quigsnip, author Sean Phillips expands a seemingly insignificant detail from Charles Dickens’ classic Oliver Twist and delivers an entire novel in his legendary style.

Following Oliver Twist’s near-death experience and the subsequent discovery that he was a son of the aristocracy, his life has changed in innumerable ways. He is no longer begging for extra gruel, nor is he struggling to make ends meet in the criminal underbelly of London. Even so, there are pieces of his past that refuse to die, including some of the thieves and crime lords Oliver left behind on his rise to legitimacy.

Author Sean Phillips specifically focuses on Quigsnip, a manipulative monster who balances a fine line between high society and the criminal gutter. Unbeknownst to many, he controls the underworld of London, despite keeping up appearances, and when he discovers that Oliver Twist has escaped the clutches of poverty and crime, he makes it his vengeful mission to destroy the upstart orphan. As Oliver tries to settle into a life of luxury and peace, it is disrupted time and time again by the violent nature of his old existence. Although he tries to escape the past, it becomes clear that it won’t let him go, at least not without a fight. Oliver must use the same wits that helped him survive the London streets to outmaneuver the sinister intentions of Quigsnip and his lackeys.

Richly developed characters like Rose, Claypole, Bludger, Noah and Quigsnip himself make this sequel an engaging and remarkably immersive read. Not only does the plot move smoothly, but the connections to Dickens’ original novel are well-designed and seamless. Oliver is forced to not only overcome the challenges of the present and protect his new life, but he also discovers hard truths from his criminal past with Fagin and the other forgotten boys of the streets. This entangling of old and new is written beautifully, and Phillips demonstrates a similar emotional depth and creative flair as the ultimate Victorian storyteller.

While the plot and characters seem torn from the pages of the Dickens classic, the language and execution of the writing leaves a bit more to be desired. Attempting to take up the Dickens mantle is a bold choice for any author, and Phillips misses the mark in various ways. The layered, complex prose that Dickens’ fans adore is lacking in many parts of this novel, and some of the scenes feel rushed, as though Phillips wanted to reach the next plot point, but wasn’t as interested in the journey between Point A and B. Additionally, the language is quite simple throughout, and there is a dearth of rich descriptions. On the technical side, some of the sentence structure is also repetitive or awkward, and the colloquial language is not always maintained across different characters’ speech.

These stumbling blocks for a reader won’t dissuade you from finishing the book, as it is enjoyable throughout, but it does serve as a reminder that authors like Charles Dickens are one of a kind for a reason. Though not the only sequel to the novel, Quigsnip is a bold and entertaining update, which doesn’t always hit the mark, but takes the characters in fascinating new directions.