When you think about the Discworld, especially those books set in the city and among the characters of Ankh-Morpork, it becomes clear that Pratchett can and has written historical fiction well; he'd basically written cusp-of-steam-power industrial age London with fantasy mods for years.
In the acknowledgements, Pratchett himself describes this book as historical fantasy, less because of any overt fantastical happenings, 1/?
There are a number of historical figures and one notable literary character, at least in part borrowed from Charles Dickens. From what I gather this Dodger is not an exact match for the Artful Dodger, and those characters around him are Pratchett's own design, when not borrowed from history. 2w
As such, I'd like to add a gentle caution for those who may have seen a later edition with what I'd call a Disney-fied cover. 2w
⚠️domestic abuse, assault, miscarriage 2w