The Blackguard Children, sometimes also referred to as the Blackguard Youth, were known as gangs of mostly homeless orphans and runaways who, during the 17th and 18th centuries, dwelled in London's poorest neighbourhoods (such as Glass House Yard, Rosemary Lane, and Salt Petre Bank) and made a living by begging and pilfering. Daniel Defoe's Colonel Jack and Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist are the most prominent examples of novels dealing with such reality.