kidsman

“Fagin's character was based on the criminal Ikey Solomon; there was a recognized specialty in the 19th-century London underworld called a "kidsman" - an adult who recruited children and trained them as pickpockets, exchanging food and shelter for the stolen goods the children brought "home.”

OOM-PAH-PAH, OOM-PAH-PAH

“But when it became apparent there was a public appetite for a whole book about Oliver, Dickens had to decide the fate of some of his characters - including Nancy, the young prostitute who was part of the gang led by Fagin, the notorious 'kidsman' who gave children food and shelter in return for the goods they stole.”

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