Fagin

Fagin is one of the villains in Dickens’s novel Oliver Twist (serialized 1837–39) and one of the most notorious anti-Semitic portraits in English literature. He is an old man in London who teaches young homeless boys how to be pickpockets and then fences their stolen goods. Although a miser and exploiter, he shows a certain loyalty and solicitude toward the boys.

I met Fagin and worked with him during my career. His real name was Black Jack who operated out of Knightsbridge a trader of gigantic proportion. Whether it was his love of gambling or the fact he sold black out curtains in Manchester during WW2 I don’t know why that was his name.

The archetype Jewish businessman he could spot someone in a weak position from a mile and his dealing skills a legend. Initially as a young man he let me down badly in a trade and when I pleaded with him ‘ but you guaranteed it ‘ he told me that in business there was no such thing as a guarantee and if I wanted one then ‘ you should pop across to Harrods and buy a washing machine ‘.

He would often walk away from a meeting if it wasn’t going his way and tell everyone he was available not if but when they changed their minds. He negotiated everything up until the last minute and on completion he would look at you with a piercing look and say ‘ what next ‘. For some bizarre reason he was very likable but I’m not sure if that was a two way street. Like Fagin he taught me much and though he died several years ago his voice still echoes in my mind and I sometimes ask myself ‘ what would Jack do ? ‘

Black Jack was a trader and money lender of last resort. If you made it to Black Jack’s office you knew it was the end , your last chance of redemption. There are few if any like him left in the London business world and along with Fagin managed to pick a pocket or two but more likely a thousand in his time I would say. Unlike the Fiddler of the Roof , Black Jack was a very rich man. Fagin and Black Jack were synonymous with money and they plied their skills at it, dedicated their lives to it but probably never really believed that shrouds don’t have pockets. RIP..