A Female Fagin

Many people are familiar with the character of Fagin in Charles Dickens' OLIVER TWIST. Today's case from the Old Bailey proves such people really existed, and weren't always men.

Sarah Hewlet, apparently "a person of ill Fame, and a common Receiver of stolen Goods," is accused of receiving some food stolen by two boys, George Dawson and Thomas Curtis.

George tells the court she didn't just pay them for stolen goods. She "did entice and encourage Boys to go a thieving, lodg'd them in her House, and us'd to give them what she pleas'd for the Things they stole, and then made them spend the Money at her House."

On what were they spending their ill-gotten gains? "They spent the Money in Gin. and Hot-Pots."

How old were these boys? They give their ages as twelve, but look much younger (8 or 9).

Sarah is found guilty, given two years' imprisonment and fined. It doesn't say in this case what happened to the boys; however, a search revealed a "little boy" named George Dawson accused of theft in 1733. At the time, and despite the court description of him as a "little boy," he says he's 14. The George in the first case is supposedly twelve in 1731, so this could very well be the same George, who may, however, be older - church records show the 2nd George could be over seventeen. So, is this the same George and was he just really small for his age? In either case, the second George is found guilty and sentenced to death.

There's a (very brief) record of a Thomas Curtis being accused of house breaking and stealing two pieces of cloth in 1738. He's found guilty and sentenced to transportation, which at this time meant to America.

So here we have the female equivalent of Fagin and his band of pickpockets.

If I were to write a romance about this, Sarah Hewlet couldn't be the heroine. But a villain? Oh, yes. Especially if she gets away with this for years, and instead of living in a rundown building in a bad part of town, lives in a more upscale neighborhood. Let her appear a charitable, well-to-do widow.

The hero and heroine could both be kids she exploited in their youth. Or the heroine could be, and the hero a Bow Street Runner or some other sort of authority figure who's figured out the widow may not be what she appears. What if the heroine is related to Sarah (maybe even her daughter) and lives with her, but doesn't know where Sarah's money comes from?

As the truth about Sarah's income begins to come out through the efforts of the hero, will she upset with the hero for ruining her world? Or will she be horrified by what she learns about Sarah? No reason she couldn't have both reactions.

What about Sarah? Why does she have the gang? What other financial alternatives would a woman have to earn a living at that time? Maybe she felt she had no choice - and maybe she had the same upbringing. Maybe there hadn't been a way out for her. What if she both fears exposure, yet truly loves the heroine and wants her to live the life she couldn't have? That would make for an interesting, three-dimensional villain, because it isn't only heroes and heroines who can have internal conflict.

And what of the hero? If he's a very strong law-and-order type, what does he do when he realizes he's developing feelings for the daughter of a woman he thinks is a criminal ring-leader? How are those feelings affected when he realizes the heroine has no idea how Sarah gets/got her money? He'd be torn between duty and desire - always good for an internal conflict - plus the realization he's going to totally ruin an innocent woman's life.

This case was a fairly brief and simple one, yet even then, there can be some pretty interesting seedlings for a story.