Orphans: A History

by Jeremy Seabrook

Orphans, like widows, have always officially been objects of piety and compassion. But this has rarely been reflected in their treatment by society, which has often punished, abused or ill-treated them.

Orphans illuminates the attitudes behind this maltreatment--often, that those without parents are disruptive or malevolent, and must be trained into wholesome disciplines of labor and obedience. Charting the changing and often loose definitions of 'orphans' throughout history, Seabrook explores their many 'makers', from natural or man-made catastrophes and social dislocation to the State, charity and other forces that have separated children, and especially the poor, from their close kin.

Drawing on historic documents, interviews, memoirs and living testimonies, Jeremy Seabrook probes how it has felt to belong to this distinctive, and often stigmatized, group over the centuries. But this history is not only one of suffering--Orphans also reveals the uncounted millions taken in and loved by relatives, neighbors or strangers. Driven by their insecurity and freedom from constraints, their achievements have often been remarkable.

320 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2018

About the author

Jeremy R. Seabrook was an English author and journalist who specialised in social, environmental and development issues. His book The Refuge and the Fortress: Britain and the Flight from Tyranny was longlisted for the Orwell Prize.

Reviews

[Lori Oschefski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I run an organization for the British Home Children in Canada - the children are commonly known as "Barnardo" children (although there was over 30 organizations involved in transporting them to Canada). I have come across your book while researching Philanthropic Abduction. This book is so relevant to the conditions and suffering of some 115,000 children (of whom only an estimated 12% were true orphans in today's sense of the word) many who were forcibly removed from their homes, families, culture, and country - removed to Canada as a source of labour. The terms used such as "Forced Orphaning" and the discussion on the inability of the children, later in life, "to show even the deepest feelings which lie chocked within" strikes a deep chord. This book is now on our "must-read" book list for descendants to read and understand more about our ancestors and what they suffered.