More? What the Dickens are you talking about?

[Dave Monroe]

More? What the Dickens are you talking about?
Thu Dec 18, 2008 2:03pm EST


LONDON (Reuters) - Oliver Twist wouldn't have needed any more gruel in
real life, scientists said Thursday.

The picture painted by Charles Dickens of starvation rations in an
1830s workhouse north of London is wide of mark, according to an
analysis of menus and other historical evidence.

Dickens' eponymous hero famously asked for more of the "thin gruel"
doled out three times daily in the grim institution for the poor where
he grew up.

In fact, contemporary recipes suggest such workhouse gruel was
substantial, with each pint containing 1.25 ounces of best oatmeal,
and servings supplemented by wholesome coarse bread.

Historical data also shows large quantities of beef and mutton were
delivered to workhouses, pediatric dietician Sue Thornton of
Northampton General Hospital in central England and colleagues wrote
in the British Medical Journal.

Such a diet, comprising three pints of gruel a day, would sustain
growth in a nine-year-old child like Oliver, unless he was
exceptionally active.

"Given the limited number of food staples used, the workhouse diet was
certainly dreary, but it was adequate," they concluded.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE4BH60N20081218