
Fagin the Thief
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Will Watt
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By:
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Allison Epstein
About this listen
A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London’s most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.
"Fagin the Thief takes one of literature's greatest rogues and gives him a soul, a backstory, and a spotlight. Layered and clever, Epstein's story is as ambitious as it is deeply satisfying."—Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of I Have Some Questions for You
Long before Oliver Twist stumbled onto the scene, Jacob Fagin was scratching out a life for himself in the dark alleys of nineteenth-century London. Born in the Jewish enclave of Stepney shortly after his father was executed as a thief, Jacob's whole world is his open-minded mother, Leah. But Jacob’s prospects are forever altered when a light-fingered pickpocket takes Jacob under his wing and teaches him a trade that pays far better than the neighborhood boys could possibly dream.
Striking out on his own, Jacob familiarizes himself with London's highest value neighborhoods while forging his own path in the shadows. But everything changes when he adopts an aspiring teenage thief named Bill Sikes, whose mercurial temper poses a danger to himself and anyone foolish enough to cross him. Along the way, Jacob’s found family expands to include his closest friend, Nancy, and his greatest protégé, the Artful Dodger. But as Bill’s ambition soars and a major robbery goes awry, Jacob is forced to decide what he really stands for—and what a life is worth.
Colorfully written and wickedly funny, Allison Epstein breathes fresh life into the teeming streets of Dickensian London—reclaiming one of Victorian literature’s most notorious villains in an unforgettable new adventure.
©2025 Allison Epstein (P)2025 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Fagin the Thief takes one of literature's greatest rogues and gives him a soul, a backstory, and a spotlight. Layered and clever, Epstein's story is as ambitious as it is deeply satisfying."—Rebecca Makkai, New York Times bestselling author of I Have Some Questions for You
"Magnificent . . . Epstein’s Fagin, rarely admirable but surprisingly sympathetic, is an unforgettable creation, and her vibrant secondary characters and depictions of Victorian London add to the novel’s power. Dickens’s fans and critics alike will love this."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Epstein captures the bravado and vulnerabilities of Jacob’s motley crew of orphans, and the gritty ambience of the alleys, cellars, and seedy pubs they inhabit. She brings to her portrait of Fagin—and even Sikes—a tenderness and empathy that renders them as palpable: men, haunted by loss, longing to be loved. . . a riveting narrative."—Kirkus, starred review
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Jane Crowe is an ordinary peasant girl who never dreamed she would work for the infamous Lord of the Greenwood. But when she’s forced out of her home, she has no choice but to turn to Robin Hood for help—and he makes her an irresistible offer. He needs a pair of eyes in the King’s Houses, and quiet, unassuming Jane—who has spent her whole life going unnoticed—will be the perfect spy. At first, Jane’s work for Robin seems straightforward. She whispers to him about the nobles at King’s Houses and all their secrets, including the new Sheriff of Nottingham.
By: Amy S. Kaufman
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The Younger Woman
- A Novel
- By: Cate Ray
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Gabby and Fred have just begun to adapt to their new life as empty nesters when Gabby makes a stunning realization: she can’t stand her husband. One night at a bar, Gabby meets an enigmatic younger woman named Ellis, and in a haze of drunkenness, she confesses that she wishes Fred dead. Surely she didn’t expect anything to come of it, but when she tries to track Ellis down again, she realizes that Ellis might not have been who she said she was.
By: Cate Ray
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The Usual Desire to Kill
- A Novel
- By: Camilla Barnes
- Narrated by: Harriet Walter
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Miranda’s parents live in a dilapidated house in rural France that they share with two llamas, eight ducks, five chickens, two cats, and a freezer full of food dating back to 1983. This wry, propulsive story about a singularly eccentric family and the sibling rivalry, generational divides, and long-buried secrets that shape them, is a glorious debut novel from a seasoned playwright with immense empathy and a flair for dialogue.
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Excellent, subtle humor and heartbreaking family dynamics.
- By Eileen Clark-Nagaoka on 04-23-25
By: Camilla Barnes
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Boy
- A Novel
- By: Nicole Galland
- Narrated by: Ell Potter
- Length: 11 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Alexander “Sander” Cooke is the most celebrated “boy player” in the Chamberlain’s Men, William Shakespeare’s theatre company. Indeed, Sander’s androgynous beauty and deft portrayal of female roles have made him the toast of London, and his companionship is sought by noblewomen and -men alike. And yet, now at the height of his fame, he teeters on the cusp of adulthood, his future uncertain. Often, he wishes he could stop time and remain a boy forever.
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Great story!
- By Justin Resnick on 04-12-25
By: Nicole Galland
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One Good Thing
- A Novel
- By: Georgia Hunter
- Narrated by: Eva Feiler, Georgia Hunter
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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1940, Italy. Lili and Esti have been best friends since they first met at university. When Esti’s son Theo is born, they become as close as sisters. While a war seethes across borders, life somehow goes on—until Germany invades Italy, and the friends suddenly find themselves in occupied territory. Esti, older and fiercely self-assured, convinces Lili to join the resistance efforts. But when disaster strikes, a critically wounded Esti asks Lili to take a much bigger step: To go on the run with Theo. Protect him while Esti can’t.
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I loved it
- By helene vanderhoff on 04-28-25
By: Georgia Hunter
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We Pretty Pieces of Flesh
- A Novel
- By: Colwill Brown
- Narrated by: Colwill Brown
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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“Ask anyone non-Northern, they’ll only know Donny as punchline of a joke or place they changed trains once ont way to London.” But Doncaster’s also the home of Rach, Shaz, and Kel, bezzies since childhood and Donny lasses through and through. Never mind that Rach is skeptical of Shaz’s bolder plots; or that Shaz, who comes from a rougher end of town, feels left behind when the others begin plotting a course to uni; or that Kel sometimes feels split in two trying to keep the peace―the girls are inseparable, their friendship as indestructible as they are.
By: Colwill Brown
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Say Nothing
- By: Erin Kinsley
- Narrated by: Sarah Durham
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Your son has gone missing. And then the police arrest the prime suspect. You. You know you're innocent. That someone else took your son. But the truth is never simple. Especially if you're forced to say nothing...
By: Erin Kinsley
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A Curse for the Homesick
- By: Laura Brooke Robson
- Narrated by: Ruth Urquhart
- Length: 10 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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On Stenland, there comes a time known as skeld season: one day, any woman on the island can wake with three black lines on her forehead, the mark of a skeld. Skeld season comes around without warning, and while each window of time lasts only three months, anyone a skeld turns to stone is very much dead. That's how Tess’s mother killed Soren’s parents. Maybe for this reason alone, Tess and Soren should not have fallen in love. Since the time her mother was a skeld, Tess has wanted to leave Stenland, to run from the windswept island, from her family and friends
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The Stolen Child
- By: Carmel Harrington
- Narrated by: Emer Heatley
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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1984. On board The Carousel cruise ship in the middle of the Mediterranean, two-year-old Robert vanishes from his cabin while his family sleep soundly beside him. Despite the frantic efforts of his mother Kimberly and stepfather Jason, he is never found. 2024. Lily balances a busy career as a psychotherapist with her responsibilities as a wife, mother and mediator between her divorced parents. Her older brother Robert's disappearance has cast a dark shadow over Lily's family her whole life.
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Excellent
- By Fiona on 04-18-25
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The Private Island
- By: Ali Lowe
- Narrated by: Jess Nesling
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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New Year's Eve, Loloma Island, Fiji. At one of the most exclusive island resorts in the Pacific ocean, the champagne is poured, the fireworks are ready, and the countdown to new year is just beginning. It's set to be a night that no one will forget. Especially when a body washes up on the shore... But it's impossible to find answers when everyone here has a motive.
By: Ali Lowe
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The Strange Case of Jane O.
- A Novel
- By: Karen Thompson Walker
- Narrated by: Jay Myers, Alex Sarrigeorgiou
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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A year after her child is born, Jane suffers a series of strange episodes: amnesia, premonitions, hallucinations, and an inexplicable sense of dread. Three days after her first visit to a psychiatrist, Jane suddenly goes missing. A day later she is found unconscious in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, in the midst of what seems to be an episode of dissociative fugue; when she comes to, she has no memory of what has happened to her.
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The performances were soul-reaching
- By Laurie E. Barshay on 03-29-25
What listeners say about Fagin the Thief
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- Amanda
- 03-01-25
Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls
Jacob Fagin, the six-year-old son of his good, smart, kind mother. Fagin, the fifty-one-year-old Jew, friend and father figure to unwanted children and adults alike. Fagin the friend, Fagin the son, Fagin the coward. Jacob Fagin the deeply flawed, haunted, staggeringly real human being. Fagin the thief.
It's a story you know, sort of, if you know Oliver Twist, but it's also a story of who Fagin was before Oliver arrived on the scene, and who he becomes after Oliver departs. It takes the villainous barbarism of Bill Sikes and gives him, against all odds, a beating human heart. Nobody in this story is pure sinner or pure saint, and Allison Epstein renders all of them into fully three-dimensional people, just trying to make their various ways in the world.
That life is perhaps Fagin's defining characteristic in his vow to stay alive at any cost. We expect our literary heroes to be selfless, self-sacrificing, but here is a man who is neither. Fagin is honest when it matters, ready to face death when he absolutely must, but not one moment before that. It's a trait any reader might recognize as their own feelings on the subject, and Fagin is no less heroic for it. He does what we all must, born into lives we didn't ask for: Fagin survives.
While Fagin the Thief would be engrossing in any format, Will Watt’s audio performance here is superb. He gives every character a distinct voice and brings the whole cast to life.
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2 people found this helpful
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- D. Ward
- 04-02-25
not Oliver!
I love the story and the voice. I would highly recommend listening to this book. I probably should read however twist now but I doubt that I will
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- RGB
- 03-10-25
The backstory to Fagin
Imaginative and atmospheric writing. Outstanding performance. Highly recommend. Truly enjoyed this book. Audible or book.
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- Janice
- 03-04-25
Superb story telling and performance
Seamless integration of Fagrin’s backstory into Dickens’ overall plot, enriching the depth of characters and the setting.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Dragonfly
- 03-13-25
Absolutely Loved it.
I loved this back story of Jacob Fagin. It brings to life one of the main Dickens characters in Oliver Twist. Never having read Oliver Twist (but seeing the movie) I’m not sure how closely it parallels that book. The death of Nancy being one area this book differed from at least the 1968 movie. It was nice filling in the back story of Bill Sykes, Nancy, Bullseye, the Artful Dodger and getting a glimpse into the complex main character of Fagin. Expertly narrated by Will Watt this book was a pleasure listening to. All in all it so worth it. Five great big stars on this one! 🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕 (For Bullseye)
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- Kathleen M. Garland
- 04-06-25
Brilliant story
If you enjoyed James, well, this is even better. The characters are very well developed while sticking to the outline and mood given by Dickens. Loved the storytelling.
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1 person found this helpful