Jack Maggs (BOOK)

London, 1837

Jack arrives in the city, he goes to the house where Henry Phipps lives. But the house is empty, he is noticed by a maid from a neighboring house. Jack tells her that he is a visiting footman and is hired by Percy Baclu’s house. On the same day, Tobias Ots arrives at a dinner party to Baclu. During dinner, Jack has a tic attack and loses consciousness, with the help of hypnosis Ots relieves pain. Having come to himself, Jack decides to find out what happened to him during the session.

Jack comes to Ots's house and makes a deal with him. In exchange for attending their hypnosis sessions, Ots will introduce him to the "thief catcher," a man who can find anyone in England. During the sessions, it turns out that Jack is a convict convict from Australia. Ots predalagaet pass Jack to the police, but Buckle shows mercy and decides not to extradite him.

Maggs writes a letter to Henry Phipps, in which he talks about his life. He tries to hand it over to Henry, but he refuses the letter.

Jack finds out that Buckle and Ots know about his past. Jack locks everyone, including the servants, in Buckle's house. Because of this, the butler of Bakla dies.

In the meantime, Ots has serious money problems. Lizzy, his wife's sister, says she is pregnant by him. Jack offers an impressive amount, for what Ots will take him to the "catcher of thieves." They hit the road, on the way Jack threatens Ots, he does not like what Ots writes about him. During a meeting with the "catcher of thieves" it turns out that he is a charlatan . Jack kills him with a knife. Together with Ots, they flee the city, back to London.

Buckle is consumed with Mercy's jealousy towards Jack and meets up with Henry Phipps in a gentlemen’s club. And inclines him to kill Jack. Ots with Maggs returns to London and burns all Tobias records about Maggs. Oz tells about Lizzy's pregnancy and Jack offers him a variant with “pills”. They buy pills and Tobias gives them to Lizzy, unfortunately Missy, also notices her sister's pregnancy and mixes the pills into her tea. The dose is too big and Lizzy dies.

In the house of Henry Phipps, Jack talks to Mercy and offers her a job at his home in Australia. Henry with a gun and Buckle enter the house. Phipps points the gun at Jack, but Mercy is hindering him and Henry shoots her finger off. Jack goes to Australia, takes Mercy with him. He marries her and they give birth to many children. Ots writes his book "Jack Maggs" in which Jack dies in his house.

Jack Maggs

A tall man with a mighty chest and broad shoulders, dressed in a red vest and a wide expensive coat. Thick eyebrows hanging low over eyes, shiny cheeks, high-nose hawk-like nose and dark eyes. On the left hand is missing two fingers. It has a very hard and painful nervous tic of the left cheek. Jack Maggs illegally came to England (he was moved to live in Australia for a lifetime, at the time it was a colony of Great Britain) to find the boy he kept from Australia. With all the severity, it shows that he is capable of deep feelings. He is a man with a difficult fate, from childhood he was trained to become a thief. He was used and never loved, except for one person - Sofina. When Sofina dies, only fantasies remain for Jack and he begins to love, like his son, the boy he contains in England, his name is Henry Phipps.

Henry Phipps

Henry is an orphan. Jack Maggs met him when he was still a boy. Henry gave Jack a meal when he was transferred to Australia and Jack was filled with his fatherly feelings and promised that he would adopt him when he returned to England. Later, Jack began to provide Henry with money, transporting them from Australia, hired a teacher for him, bought a house. Henry becomes a gentleman and when Jack comes to see him, Henry hides from him at the club. By that time, Henry became a life starter, who just gets the money. He does not want to see Jack, as he is a gentleman, and Maggs is a felon. Henry has no feelings for Jack except fear.

Tobias Ots

Tobias Ots is 24 years old, he is a young writer who has already achieved success and is known in the society of London. He has a young wife and son. Ots is fond of hypnosis and begins to experiment with Jack, trying to understand the "criminal mind", for the sake of his future book. Ots has an extramarital affair with his wife's sister, Lizzy. Tobias is from a poor family, so because of all the forces he is trying not to fall into poverty, but because of his inability to distribute finances, he finds himself in a difficult situation. This pushes him to make a deal with Jack and he gets entangled in the whirlpool of events that leads to Lizzy's death.

Mary Ots

Ots' wife. A plump young woman is not distinguished by an ordinary mind and does not notice the connection between her husband and her sister.

Lizzy

18 years old, comes into contact with Tobias Ots and later learns that she is pregnant. He wants to go abroad for the sake of “adoption”, in order to later appear with his child and not be disgraced. But she is still a child and soon it becomes clear to her sister that she is in a position. A series of accidents leads to miscarriage and death Lizzy.

Percy Buckle

A former fish merchant, Percy Buckle received an inheritance and became Esquire . The appearance is eccentric, short legs, small in stature, not at all like a gentleman. He takes Jack to work as an outgoing footman. He has feelings for his servant Mercy and is jealous of her for Jack. A weak character, but by the end of the book, jealousy gives him strength and he develops a plan to kill Jack.

Mercy Larkin

Young maid at Percy Buckle's house. In her youth, the mother pushes her to the role of a corrupt woman and goes mad with it. Percy Buckle becomes her patron and takes to his service. Mercy is very grateful to Buckle and respects him. Later he seduces her himself. Mercy wants to be Mrs. Buckle and is committed to this. But after the appearance of Jack, she realizes how pathetic Buckle is, compared to Maggs. At the end of the book she rescues Jack, and he takes her to Australia and marries her.

• Miles Franklin Literary Prize 1998
• Commonwealth of Writers Prize 1998
• Age Book of the year 1997

• "Jack Maggs" on readinggroupguides.com (English)
• "Jack Maggs" on enotes.com (English)
• "Jack Maggs" on bookrags.com (eng.)