Monks (Oliver Twist)
Edward "Monks" Leeford is a character in the 1838 novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. He is actually the criminally-inclined half-brother of Oliver Twist, but he hides his identity. Monks' parents separated when he was a child, and his father had a relationship with a young woman, Agnes Fleming. This resulted in Agnes' pregnancy. She died in childbirth after giving birth to the baby that would be named Oliver Twist.
Character history
Background
The orphaned Oliver has no idea of Monks's existence, but Monks knows of the existence of Oliver, and sets out to ruin him. Monks was born from a loveless marriage and was goaded to hatred of the boy by his own mother. Monks accidentally sees him on the streets of London one day and tracks him to the den of Fagin, an old master criminal. Oliver has gone to live at Fagin's, completely unaware that the old man is a criminal. Monks knows of the existence of a will left by his father, who despised him. The will favours Oliver, and not Monks; however, if Oliver ever should commit a criminal act, he will be automatically disinherited, whereupon the money would go to Monks. Oliver Twist was a poor and an orphan boy. He was born in a workhouse. After escaping, Oliver travels to London, where he meets "The Artful Dodger", a member of a gang of juvenile pickpockets led by the elderly criminal, Fagin. His mother's name is Agnes Fleming.Oliver Twist
Monks pays Fagin to make Oliver into a criminal, and this is the real reason that Fagin wishes to keep him in his clutches. No one knows of the bargain that Fagin has made with Monks, until Nancy, one of the members of the gang, who harbors a motherly affection for Oliver, overhears a conversation between the two criminals. By this time, Oliver has unwillingly accompanied Fagin's vicious henchman, Bill Sikes, on a house break-in, and has been shot by Mr. Giles, one of the servants. Monks and Fagin plot to get him back, and Nancy informs on Monks to Rose Maylie, a young woman who lives in the house that Sikes attempted to rob, and who found the wounded Oliver, became convinced of his innocence, and nursed him back to health. In addition, Monks meets with Mr. Bumble, the local beadle of the parish workhouse in which Oliver was born, and the Widow Corney, now Bumble's unhappily married wife. From them he buys a locket and a ring that belonged to Oliver's mother, the only proof of his half-brother's true identity, throwing the evidence into the river. Oliver Twist is born and raised into a life of poverty and misfortune in a workhouse in the fictional town of Mudfog, located 70 miles north of London.Fagin, suspicious of Nancy, sends out a spy after her. She goes to London Bridge to keep an arranged appointment with Rose and Mr. Brownlow, Oliver's benefactor. Nancy reveals all she knows about Monks to them, and Brownlow, a close friend of Oliver's late father, realizes Monks's true identity, but does not reveal it to Nancy or Rose. After returning home, Nancy is viciously murdered by Sikes when he returns from a burglary and is tricked by Fagin into believing that she also informed on him. Her murder not only brings down Fagin's gang, but enables Brownlow and the police to get their hands on Monks. Brownlow agrees not to send him to prison, on the condition that he make financial restitution and reveal all to Oliver and Rose Fleming. At a family meeting arranged by Brownlow, Monks does so. He emigrates to America, but soon squanders his money, becomes involved in crime again and is imprisoned. He dies in prison.
Characteristics
Monks is one of Dickens's more melodramatic characters - totally evil without even the shred of affection that Bill Sikes has for his bull terrier, Bullseye. He is physically unattractive, has a dark red mark on the left side of his jaw, is subject to severe epileptic fits, and completely cowardly, not willing to outwardly be associated with any form of crime. Dickens keeps his motives and his true identity a total secret until nearly the end of the novel, thus surprising the reader with an unexpected revelation that adds complications to the plot.In other media
Monks does not appear at all in Oliver!, the musical adaptation of the novel, nor in several film versions of the novel which seek to simplify the story, including Roman Polanski's 2005 adaptation of Oliver Twist. He does, however, appear in several mini-series versions of the novel, as well as in David Lean's 1948 film version.Carl Stockdale played Monks twice in the 1916 film version and the 1922 film version. In the ending of the latter, Monks is forgiven by Oliver who persuades Mr. Brownlow not to turn him over to the police.
Ralph Truman portrays Monks in the 1948 film version. At the end of the film, Monks' involvement with Fagin is discovered and he is arrested.
Oliver Cotton played Monks in the U.S. 1982 Hallmark TV version of the film, where he actually has an encounter with Oliver and his red mark was on the top of his right eyebrow instead. At the end of the film, Monks is arrested.
Pip Donaghy played Monks in the 1985 BBC TV serial, where he also had an encounter with Oliver, constantly suffered severe epileptic fits every time his half-brother's name was mentioned, and his red mark was on his neck instead.
The character of Monks was particularly elaborated upon in a 1999 mini-series starring Robert Lindsay as Fagin. Monks is shown as a pathetic, snivelling character, dominated by his ambitious mother Mrs. Leeford. At one stage he complains "If I could live my life again, I wouldn't." Eventually his mother dies of a heart attack and, with some money granted by Oliver's guardians, he moves to the Caribbean where he finds happiness with a local woman with whom he starts a family. In one musical adaption using female actors, the Monks character, young "Emma Leeford," wants to give "Olivia Twist" a bad name so she may inherit her father's money. At the end of the movie, Monks tells Brownlow and Oliver about the horrible childhood he has had and promises to change his ways, Brownlow frees him and allows him to go down South. Years later, Monks is married and expecting a baby.
Monks appears as a much different character in the 2007 British TV serialplayed by Julian Rhind-Tutt. He is portrayed as a suave, manipulative mastermind, darkly witty and attractive to women. He is Mr. Brownlow's grandson, heir, and master of the household. Arrogant and greedy, he is somewhat more daring than in the book and most of its adaptations and is shown to be a gifted liar and smooth-talker. Somehow, he secretly poisons Oliver's mother, and she dies right after giving birth to Oliver. Nine years later, Monks hires Fagin to kill Oliver, but when Fagin doesn't, he gives him two more days or Monks himself will kill Oliver. Nancy informs Mr. Brownlow and Rose that Monks wants Oliver dead. Rose believes her, but Mr. Brownlow doesn't until Fagin also tells him about Monks. Mr. Brownlow angrily disowns, disinherits, and sends Monks to the West Indies.