Wherein It is Shown How Oliver Twist Came to be Born in Such Sad Circumstances

Agnes Fleming is pregnant by Edwin Leeford and is keen to marry him but unbeknownst to her he is already married and his wife lives abroad with their sick son Monks. Leeford is ecstatic to find out he has been left an inheritance by an uncle in Rome and travels to Italy to claim it, however while on his travels he dies suddenly. Agnes is forced to flee when Mrs Leeford and Monks come after her believing that her death will allow them to inherit Mr Leeford's new found fortune. At a small seaside town, Agnes dies following childbirth and the child is christened Oliver.