““Jerk the tinkler!” These words, in plain English, conveyed an injunction to ring the bell. It was answered by another Jew: younger than Fagin, but nearly as vile and repulsive . . .”

I had heard the rumors that the character of Fagin was an antisemitic caricature but I had no idea there would be so little ambiguity about the matter. After reading Twist I must say that that the bigotry seems almost inarguable. Fagin, one of Dickens’ most despicable creations, is more often referred to as “the Jew” (326 times by my count) than by his name (306 times). And it appears that the more nefarious his actions are in a particular scene the more likely Dickens is to refer to him simply as the Jew. No other characters are narrated with such obvious malice—with the possible exception of Monks who is once referenced as “the villain” and twice as “the coward.”

The question is, how does this blatant bigotry weigh on an otherwise magnificent novel? Should we give Charles a pass because of the era in which he wrote (1838) or should we hold him to higher standards? 4 stars (for now) while I think this through.