Dodger / Terry Pratchet / 360 pages / Deceased Author Challenge

According to the author, Dodger is a fantasy based on reality.  Mr. Pratchet incorporated prominent research from the time detailing the deplorable conditions of the poor in London as rapid population growth stressed the city's resources.  Dodger is a seventeen year old street urchin in Victorian England.  He scours the sewers of London in search of coin or saleable objects to sustain himself.  Solomon, a wise and kindly Jewish bloke, is Dodger's protector and best friend.  When Dodger encounters a young lady being set upon in the streets, he rushes to her aid.  Her story is most interesting and puts her life and Dodger's in jeopardy.  As Dodger attempts to spruce himself up, he is nearly killed by the notorious barber, Sweeny Todd.  Dodger does not hold this attempted murder against him, however, (There are several other bodies in the basement.) but insists that the war is to blame, not Todd.  Dodger frequently encounters Charles Dickens and Sir Robert Peale in his scrambles and his ingenuity provides for Simplicity's safe passage.  If you can read/listen to this delightful tale without laughing or at least smiling, I would be very surprised.