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Workhouse Tale Echoes Oliver Twist
9 Oct
Summary
- Alice Shepherd faced punishment in 1836 for asking to go for a walk.
- Her treatment in the Hendon workhouse was similar to Oliver Twist's.
- A historian discovered newspaper archives detailing Shepherd's harsh sentence.
A historical discovery suggests Alice Shepherd, a pauper from 1836, may have inspired Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist. Theresa Musgrove found newspaper archives detailing Shepherd's harsh treatment in a Hendon workhouse. She was punished with solitary confinement and starvation for a simple request to take a walk.
These events bear a strong resemblance to Oliver Twist's fictional punishment for asking for more gruel. Musgrove notes that Dickens was familiar with the Hendon area. The parallels include solitary confinement and the nature of the perceived 'impertinence' met with severe reaction.
Dickens's own difficult childhood and his role as a journalist likely fueled his interest in such accounts. Experts believe newspaper reports were a significant influence on his writing. Oliver Twist ultimately highlighted the severe social injustices of Victorian Britain and its workhouse system.
