A new concept was adopted to deal with the vexing issue of poverty. The Poor Law of 1834 provided that all able-bodied paupers must reside in workhouses. Inmates of the workhouses became objects of public stigma, and to further heighten the unpopularity of the institutions, living arrangements in them were deliberately made harsh. In one way, the plan was successful. Within three years, the cost of poor relief was reduced by over one-third. However, the system was sharply censured, and the increased prevalence of crime has been attributed to it. Dickens made the Poor Law of 1834 a conspicuous target of denunciation in Oliver Twist.
On June 20, 1837, Queen Victoria came to the throne of England as the long period of middle-class ascendancy was gaining momentum. At that time, Dickens's hugely popular character, Mr. Pickwick (The Pickwick Papers) had already captured a devoted following. At the same time, the trials and ordeals of Oliver Twist were engaging the sympathies of a large, eager audience. The inauguration of the Victorian Age found twenty-five-year-old Charles Dickens firmly established on the road to literary fame that would take him to ever greater eminence throughout his life.
