her niece Rose and grows to love them. He's sad that their attempts
to find Mr. Brownlow are unsuccessful, but otherwise things seem
perfect. Rose falls seriously ill but recovers. Rose has other
troubles, however; her romance with Henry Maylie is impeded by the
fact that, because she thinks she is illegitimate, she's unwilling to
damage his political career by marrying him.
Safe as he feels, Oliver dreams one night of his troubled past. When
he wakes, the evil Fagin and an unknown companion are lurking outside
the window.
One of Fagin's cohorts, a grim fellow named Monks, visits the Bumbles
to buy the evidence of Oliver's parentage--a locket left by his
mother. Monks throws the locket into a river, then presses Fagin to
recapture Oliver and make a thief of him.
Even though Oliver has been away, Nancy often thinks about him. When
she overhears conversations between Fagin and his strange accomplice,
Monks, she becomes worried that Oliver is in danger. She drugs Sikes
and seeks out Rose Maylie who happens to be passing through London.
Nancy reveals that Monks is Oliver's half brother, and that, in order
to keep an inheritance for himself, Monks may cause harm to Oliver.
Rose finally finds Mr. Brownlow and enlists his help. They meet
Nancy on London Bridge to learn more about Monks. When they offer
Nancy refuge, she refuses, insisting that she must go home to Sikes,
whom she loves even though he is brutal to her. What she doesn't
know is that suspicious Fagin has had her followed and that her
conversation has been overheard. Angered by Nancy's betrayal, Fagin
incites Sikes to such fury that he beats Nancy to death. Brownlow,
using Nancy's information, locates Monks. Evil Monks is, ironically,
the son of Brownlow's best friend, and Oliver Twist is his
illegitimate younger brother. Their father, who hated Monks' mother
and loved Oliver's, wrote a will leaving most of his money to the
younger son, Oliver--unless he turned out to be a criminal. That is
why Monks plotted with Fagin to make Oliver a thief. After wandering
around for two days, Sikes is finally tracked down and surrounded by
police in a hideout. He hangs himself accidentally while trying to
escape. The threat to Oliver is eliminated.
Brownlow forces Monks to reveal the rest of his information: not
only is Oliver entitled to a fortune, but his mother was Rose
Maylie's sister! All at once, Oliver has money and a family too.
The questions about Rose's parents are answered, and she can marry
Henry Maylie. Fagin is arrested, convicted, and hanged. His gang is
scattered. Monks goes off to America, where he later dies in prison.
Mr. Brownlow adopts Oliver and they all live happily in the county.
OLIVER TWIST: OLIVER TWIST
