Fagin is a fictional character: an antagonist of the Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. In the preface to the novel he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods", but within the text he is more frequently identified as the "merry old gentleman" or simply "the Jew." He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dodger and Charley Bates among them) whom he teaches to make their livings by pickpocketing and other criminal activities, in exchange for shelter. A distinguishing trait is his constant—and insincere—use of the phrase "my dear" when addressing others. At the time of the novel, he is said by another character, Monks, to have already made criminals out of "scores" of children. Bill Sikes, one of the novel's major villains, is hinted to be one of Fagin's old pupils, and Nancy, Sikes's lover, is confirmed as such.