Dickens's first historical novel is set in 1780s England at the time of the Gordon riots. In a case of mistaken identification, Barnaby Rudge, a pale half-wit with long red hair who dresses all in green and carries a large raven named Grip in a basket on his back, is arrested as a leader of a mob of anti-Catholic rioters. He is condemned to death, but an upright locksmith named Gabriel Varden comes to his aid.