Six Great Books about Orphans

 

Orphans abound in literature, so it seems almost unfair to single out six great books about orphans.  In fact, one French literary critic, Marthe Robert, the author of Roman des origines, origines du roman, has argued that every novel is about orphanhood, at least in the figurative or imaginary sense.  Novels often focus on a protagonist struggling with an identity conflict that derives from being or feeling alone in the world.  I think one reason many readers have a particular fondness for nineteenth-century English literature is that authors of the period explored the phenomenon of orphanhood in all its narrative nuances. 

My first novel, Blind Girl’s Bluff, is the story of homeschooled Lucy, who loses her anarchist father and her sight when he suicide bombs a post office.  She considers herself an orphan in spite of having her biological mother, who left a farewell note in her diaper just months after her birth, as a reluctant guardian.  As Lucy makes her way in the world—attending (boarding) school for the first time, discovering a passion for painting—she contends with the legacy of her unconventional upbringing and with the dilemma of being an artist who cannot judge her own work.  My novel pays homage to all the wonderful tales of orphanhood that have inspired and entertained me.

If you love books about orphans, you have got to love these six great books:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Isn’t this one everyone’s favorite?  It so poignantly captures the suffering of young Jane as her aunt and cousins abuse her and then subject her to the privations of an austere boarding school. As a governess, she overcomes a lifetime of invisibility by catching the eye of her moody employer Rochester, and manages to love him all the more when his terrible secret results in a fire that blinds him.  

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The literary conventions of orphan novels owe much to the novels of Dickens, whose repertoire is full of endearing orphans.  We love Pip for his vulnerability—to the pleas for help of the escaped convict who later rewards him as a secret benefactor, to the sadistic manipulation of bitter Ms. Havisham, and to the vanity that makes him incur debts in pursuit of gentlemanliness.

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

Oliver Twist may be literature’s most famous orphan since the Broadway adaptation of the story and movie immortalized his moment of asking for “more” at the workhouse.  In spite of Oliver’s “apprenticeship” as a pickpocket with the Artful Dodger and Fagin, we always understand him to be inherently good and noble.  Of course, the discovery that he was indeed of gentle birth is a common plot device in orphan tales.

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton

This is a sad one about an orphan who does not overcome.  Turning the typical orphan rags to riches narrative on its head, the story of Lily Bart is about going from riches (not her own, but those of various benefactors) to rags.  She is a complex character who resists the identities people in her world attempt to impose on her, but her refusal to compromise in choosing a husband is her ultimate downfall.

 Plum & Jaggers by Susan Richards Shreve

 I need to prove that the orphan theme is alive and well, so here’s a more recent offering from 2000.  This one appealed to me because it explores much of the same territory as my novel, Blind Girl’s Bluff.  It focuses on four siblings who form a comedy troupe several years after losing their parents in a terrorist bombing.  Dark humor becomes a means of processing their grief and ultimately moving beyond it.

 Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

 There are so many great children’s books about orphans that it was hard to choose a favorite.  Rather than focusing on a straightforward classic like Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden or one of the recent neo-Victorian parodies like Lois Lowry’s The Willoughbys, I decided to highlight a book that pays homage to the classics while also engaging playfully with the literary conventions of orphan novels.  Exploitative relatives summon Maia to Brazil, where she discovers the wonders of the Amazon rain forest.

 What's your favorite orphan story?

Comments

[Karen K.]

I never thought about House of Mirth as a book about an orphan -- I guess I just always associate them with children. But it's so true, Lily IS a poor orphan, just a grown-up one. If she had family who cared about her maybe she wouldn't have fallen into that terrible (but fascinating) downward spiral. It makes me wonder if any of my other favorite books are orphan novels in disguise. Great post!

[Kelly Hand]

That fantasy of being switched at birth or discovering you were adopted is exactly what Marthe Robert writes about in her book. And for a novel that deals with the identity issues that come along with actual adoption, everyone should read about David's wonderful novel in progress.

[Mary Ann]

Aren't we all orphans? The times that we WISH we had somebody else's parents, just not the terrible ones we got? Then there is the fear that we are adopted (which actually is a chosen parenthood and not something to fear at all, it's the anger over the dishonesty that no one told us.) It's a rite of passage: how could I have ended up in a family that is absolutely the NOT who I am becoming but they better not leave ME! Abandonment 101 -- that is what therapy is for...great post!

[Donna]

My favorite book about an orphan - Sara Crewe by Frances Hodgson Burnett!