People/CharactersAbel Magwitch

Abel Magwitch: One of the primary movers in Dickens's novel Great Expectations. Convicted and sentenced to transportation, he meets Pip, the hero, after briefly escaping from custody, and decides he likes the boy. Taken to Australia, Magwitch prospers, and uses the money to provide for Pip -- giving him the "Great Expectations" of the title. But eventually Magwitch, who was transported for life, returns to England, resulting in the collapse of the whole scheme and Magwitch's death.