Historical Fiction Orphan Homes

You have heard, no doubt, the tale of Master Oliver Twist - that rags-to-riches boy; the parish orphan who became heir to the Brownlow fortune. But what few know is that there was a second Twist - a girl, brought into this world moments ahead of her brother. This is the story of Twill Twist - and her journey through the gambling dens and workhouses of London, as she attempts to make a life for herself, rescue her friends and uncover the mystery of her past - while meeting some familiar faces along the way....

When war breaks out in September 1939, Laura, Andy and Tim Clark are evacuated to the countryside. The Colonel's comfortable home in Dorset is a huge contrast to their cramped terraced house in London, where their loving parents struggle to put the next meal on the table. Though unused to having children around, the Colonel proves to be a kind and generous, if gruff, guardian until a terrible turn of events means the kids must move on.

It's 1944. World War II is raging. Jayna's big brother, Rob, is her only family. When Rob is called to duty on a destroyer, Jayna is left in their small town in upstate New York with their cranky landlady. But right before he leaves, Rob tells Jayna a secret: they may have a grandmother in Brooklyn. Rob found a little blue recipe book with her name and an address for a bakery. When Jayna learns that Rob is missing in action, she's devastated. Along with her turtle, Theresa; the recipe book; and an encouraging, ghostly voice as her guide, Jayna sets out for Brooklyn in hopes of finding the family she so desperately needs.

On her 10th birthday, Leah receives a surprise gift from glamorous Aunt Olivia, Mama's only sister, who lives in Los Angeles. It is a red rose box. Not many people in 1958 Louisiana have seen such a beautiful traveling case, covered with red roses, filled with jewelry, silk bedclothes, expensive soaps...and train tickets to California.

I don't want to remember the truck, or the night I was taken, or the family I left behind. I am not a sad Polish girl. I am a good and happy German girl. I am. I am. I am. It's the Second World War and Himmler's Lebensborn Program is in full flight when eight-year-old Zofia Ulinski is kidnapped by the Germans. She has blonde hair and blue eyes, just like the other Polish children taken from their families and robbed of their names, their language, their heritage.

A tale of two cities Gloucester and London. A tale of two boys Toby, saved from an African slave ship, and Aaron, the illegitimate son of the heir to a great estate. A tale of fathers and sons Otis, dealing in the vilest trade of all, and his son Meshak, not quite of this world; Sir William Ashbrook, landowner, and Alexander, the son he disinherits... An epic journey fraught with every danger and excitement, until love triumphs over hate and corruption, from bestselling author Jamila Gavin.

Robbie McLeod has the misfortune to be orphaned at a very young age and is brought up for a while by his heartless uncle. He is also born into a difficult age, being young and idealistic, in Scotland, at the time of the Jacobite Uprising in 1745. That's when Bonnie Prince Charlie came back to Scotland out of exile in France, to claim the throne which was rightfully his. The charismatic Prince swept through Scotland calling men to arms as he went, and Robbie joined them.

Devorah’s world is shattered by the tragedies of post-Great War Europe: gas poisoning, famine, typhoid, and influenza. Then comes the Night of the Burning, when Cossacks provoke Christian Poles to attack their Jewish neighbors.

The adventures of a Victorian laundry maid sent to live in a boarding-home for wayward orphans...a high-octane, high-drama romp! The story starts with a young laundry maid by the name of Minnie O’Sullivan, who is whisked away to a nightmarish home for wayward girls. Her friends plot to help her, but first they’ll have to outwit Mrs Haddington, a wicked philanthropist, and Obadiah Marpike, a dastardly conman hiding in plain sight.

When a ghostly figure is sighted in the murky tunnels beneath Edinburgh, Zinnie and her sisters suddenly find their underground home filled with curious visitors. Among them is the owner of a new museum - the House of Wonders - who seems to know more about the ‘ghost’ than he should.

It’s 1895 in New York City. Hard times have hit, and life isn’t going to get noticeably better any time soon. Almost-13-year-old Chipper Carey is running with the Midnight Rats kid gang just to survive. Ma died of consumption when he was six. He knows Ma wouldn’t have approved. But what ultimately has to matter is reality, and without the Midnight Rats, Chipper would have nothing. He’d starve. Fortunately for Chipper, fate takes over and introduces him to the wealthy Miss Sibley.