Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Dodger is, of course, the Artful Dodger.  In this Victorian mystery, he is master of the sewers, and this propensity to pop up anywhere on London's streets puts him in the middle of a murderous attack on a young woman one dark and rainy night.  After driving off her assailants, Dodger then prepares to fight off two passers-by,  one of whom turns out to be Charles Dickens.  This is a great story of a young man struggling against all odds to save the girl from future harm while dodging powerful forces that seek to control the fate of nations.  Pratchett uses real characters, among them Benjamin Disraeli, a growing political player in London; Sir Robert Peel, head of London's police; wealthy, influential Angela Burdett-Coutts; and, of course, Dickens as newspaperman  His characters reveal much about life and language of the underclass, with accurate details on the diseases, filth, crime,  despair, and unexpected kindnesses that defined London's darker world.  At the same time, this is a tale of derring-do as Dodger proves himself to be nimble in both body and mind, and fully able to craft clever plots to foil his many enemies.  Lots of fun.