50+ Orphans in Literature: Why orphans Make the Best Stories is a blog by Joe Bunting, founder of The Write Practice website.

According to Joe Bunting:

“Why? Because good stories have wide story arcs. The protagonist starts out low and rises high (comedy). Or the protagonist starts high and drops low (tragedy).

Also, one of the challenges of writing a child protagonist is giving them enough agency to take action in their life stories. When a child has a parent to overcome challenges for them, it makes the character weaker.”

He goes on:

“Books about orphans at their best show how scrappy and strong even children can be in the hardest circumstances. But they can also expose the ways society doesn't care well for vulnerable children (think Charles Dickens).”

Bunting includes a list of 19th-century Orphans in Literature plus those from the 20th & 21st century.