The Artful Dodger and young Abraham “Bram” Van Helsing struggle against
vampires seeking to rule England. The Baker Street Irregulars also appear, and
it is stated that their leader is always called Wiggins. Apparently the concept
of the Irregulars predates Sherlock Holmes’ involvement with them. In the
preface, A Christmas Carol is
described as a biographical study. David, explaining how the Dodger avoided
being shipped off to Australia, writes “By now, you are doubtless becoming
impatient in wondering just how it was that the Artful was walking the streets
of London rather than striding the deck of a ship bound for the land of Oz (an
excursion not to be confused with his later unexpected journey to the Land of
Oz, an astoundingly unlikely sequence of events that will remain unexplored for
the duration of this history.”) The portrayal of Fagin as a vampire, and the
revelation in the novel’s final sentence that he will later become Jack the
Ripper, place this novel outside CU continuity.
Interesting.
ReplyDeleteDoes the story portray Fagin as a vampire during the events of Dicken's novel? If not I'm not sure that it might exclude it from the CU (the Jack the Ripper mention could be construed as a mistake.) Farmer portrayed Phileas Fogg as an immortal agent of an secret society of aliens, but then again Farmer went to great lengths to work within the plot of the novel.
Is there any mention of Dracula either the character or the novel?
Yes, it does. According to the novel, Fagin was turned into a vampire by Dracula while a young man. Farmer implied that Lovecraft's Robert Blake was descended from Fagin. Though, I suppose Fagin could've fathered a child before Dracula turned him, or he could've had a dhampire child by some woman whose descendants were either human or could pass for same.
ReplyDeleteIt's been awhile since I've read Oliver Twist, but I don't really see Fagin as possibly being a vampire in that book. From what you say, I tend to think you are right to place this book outside of CU continuity.
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