Nancy is a fictional character in the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens and its several adaptations for theatre, television and films. She is a member of Fagin 's gang and the lover, and eventual victim, of Bill Sikes. As well as Nancy being a thief, a common suggestion is that she is a prostitute , in the modern sense of the word. At no point is this stated directly in the novel; rather it stems from Dickens describing her as such in his preface to the edition "the boys are pickpockets, and the girl is a prostitute".
However, it has been speculated that he is invoking the term's then-synonymous usage referring to a woman living out of wedlock or otherwise on the margins of "respectable" society. In spite of 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 tainted at a young age by Fagin , the receiver of stolen goods who persuades poor 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 aged 20, or in her 20s.
She is typically depicted in her 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 β 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. A couple of young ladies called to see the young gentlemen; one of whom was named Bet, and the other Nancy.
