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y separately published work icon The Scent of Oranges single work   novel   historical fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 2024... 2024 The Scent of Oranges
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'A retelling of one of literature's great novels, Oliver Twist, from the point of view of Nancy, one of the most sympathetic, most maligned and most tragic of Dickens's characters. For readers of The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks.

'Nancy has spent her whole life on the vibrant and gritty streets of Victorian London, first as one of Fagin's child pickpockets and now on the arm of violent and mercurial Bill Sikes. Nancy does what she must to get by. She's attuned to the harsh realities of life, but also knows how to find moments of beauty amid the grime, even if it is only the scent and taste of an orange - its miraculous colour and form.

'When she embarks on a relationship with enigmatic gentleman Mr Rufus, it awakens emotions she's never felt before, and makes a better life feel possible for the first time. But when she takes cherubic orphan Oliver Twist under her wing, something even more elusive and appealing seems to be within reach: redemption.

'This captivating tale of love, sacrifice, and the battle between good and evil showcases the power of compassion in a world tainted by darkness.' (Publication summary)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Form: audiobook
    • Oxford, Oxfordshire,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Isis Audio Books ,
      2024 .
      Extent: 10 hrs and 28 minsp.
      Note/s:
      • Published 4 December 2024
      ISBN: 9781399184540

Works about this Work

Why Must Nancy Die? : A Modern Take on Oliver Twist Penny Russell , 2025 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January-February no. 472 2025; (p. 32)

— Review of The Scent of Oranges Kathy George , 2024 single work novel
'In The Scent of Oranges, Kathy George writes a new story for Nancy, the warm-hearted street girl in Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist (1838). With a deftness that commands admiration, George sutures her story to parts of the novel written by Dickens almost two centuries ago, maintaining the integrity of all his scenes involving Nancy, preserving, while lightly adapting, much of his dialogue; borrowing some of his imagery, but interweaving those scenes with others of her own invention. It is so skilfully done that the stitches barely show, so it takes some time to realise just how much of this admirably Dickensian dialogue is in fact dialogue written by Dickens.' (Introduction) 
Why Must Nancy Die? : A Modern Take on Oliver Twist Penny Russell , 2025 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , January-February no. 472 2025; (p. 32)

— Review of The Scent of Oranges Kathy George , 2024 single work novel
'In The Scent of Oranges, Kathy George writes a new story for Nancy, the warm-hearted street girl in Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist (1838). With a deftness that commands admiration, George sutures her story to parts of the novel written by Dickens almost two centuries ago, maintaining the integrity of all his scenes involving Nancy, preserving, while lightly adapting, much of his dialogue; borrowing some of his imagery, but interweaving those scenes with others of her own invention. It is so skilfully done that the stitches barely show, so it takes some time to realise just how much of this admirably Dickensian dialogue is in fact dialogue written by Dickens.' (Introduction) 
Last amended 29 Jan 2025 11:39:14
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