Cherrywood (2024) by Australian writer Jock Serong includes an orphan at the heart of the story.

In Edinburgh, 1916 a wealthy Scottish industrialist, Thomas Wrenfether, decides to build a paddlesteamer out of European cherrywood – not in Europe, though, but in Melbourne.

Thomas Wrenfether has inherited his wealth – his parents died when he was ten.

From the publisher:

“From multi-award-winning author Jock Serong comes Cherrywood, an imaginative, darkly playful and deeply meaningful delight, a novel about legacy, community, wonder, love and reinvention.”