Nancy (Oliver Twist)

Nancy
Ellie Wilkinson in the role of Nancy in 1910
Created by	Charles Dickens
Portrayed by	Ellie Wilkinson Elita Proctor Otis Constance Collier Doris Lloyd Gladys Brockwell Georgia Brown Shani Wallis Kay Walsh Kate Bridal Jodie Prenger Kerry Ellis Hattie Rainford Sophie Okenedo Leanne Rowe Samantha Barks ellie wilkinson
Information
Nickname(s)	Nance
Gender	Female
Occupation	Prostitute Thief (formerly)

Nancy is a fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist and its numerous theatre, television and motion picture adaptations. She is a member of Fagin's gang and the lover, and eventual victim, of Bill Sikes.

Though it is never explicitly stated in the novel, it is strongly implied that Nancy is a prostitute as well as a thief. Dickens expressly asserted this in his preface to the novel's 1841 edition ("the boys are pickpockets, and the girl is a prostitute").

Despite her criminality, Nancy is portrayed as a sympathetic figure, whose concern for Oliver overcomes her loyalty to Sikes and Fagin. By the climax of the novel she is emaciated with sickness and worry, and filled with guilt about the life she is leading.

Nancy was corrupted at a young age by Fagin, the receiver of stolen goods who persuades downtrodden youths to do his bidding. Her exact age is not mentioned in the book, although she says she has been a thief for 12 years (and began working for Fagin when she was half Oliver's age). From this it can be deduced that she is probably around seventeen. She is typically depicted in her teens or mid 20s in film versions of the novel. She apparently looks older than her years, as she tells Rose Maylie "I am younger than you would think, to look at me, but I am well used to it."

Nancy is one of the members of Fagin's gang that few, if any, know about in central London, since she has recently moved from the suburbs — something referred to by Sikes when he and Fagin, concerned that Oliver might inform on them, are trying to convince her to attend his impending trial after he is mistakenly arrested for pickpocketing ("No one around here knows anything about you"). Her excuse for not attending is that she does not wish anyone to know about her; nevertheless, she winds up attending it, presumably after having been physically threatened by Sikes.