Joseph Brownlow was a wealthy Englishman who lived in London during the 1830s.
Biography[]
Joseph Brownlow was born in London, England, and he came from a family of means. Brownlow was a bookish bachelor, but, in 1837, he chanced upon his long-lost great-nephew Oliver Twist after catching the orphan boy supposedly attempting to pick his pocket. However, a shopkeeper identified the Artful Dodger as the true thief, and Brownlow, taking pity on the poor and sickly Twist, decided to care for the boy at his home. Oliver was later kidnapped by his gangmates Bill Sikes and Nancy Wallis, and Brownlow, who believed that Oliver bore a striking resemblance to his niece, put out a newspaper notice offering five guineas for any knowledge about Oliver's past or whereabouts. Henry Bumble, the beadle at the Dunstable workhouse, revealed that Oliver was left at the orphanage by a destitute mother who gave Oliver a locket to remember her by, and Brownlow realized from the locket that Oliver was his grand-nephew. Wallis later visited Brownlow's home and arranged to meet him in order to return Oliver, whom she was afraid would be harmed by Sikes for bungling a robbery. Before Brownlow could arrive at London Bridge, Sikes followed Nancy, bludgeoned her to death, and took Oliver hostage. Brownlow and an angry mob attempted to recover Oliver, and the police shot Sikes and rescued Oliver, whom Brownlow took in for good.