Nancy is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. She is a member of Fagin's gang of thieves and a prostitute. Despite her criminal lifestyle, Nancy is portrayed sympathetically. She feels a motherly connection to Oliver Twist due to losing her own childhood. Nancy works to protect Oliver from the criminal underworld, ultimately sacrificing her life to save him from Bill Sikes, her abusive lover. Dickens uses Nancy's character to criticize the societal conditions that led her to criminality and prostitution at a young age.