Cloud Cuckoo Land (2021) by American writer Anthony Doerr features an orphan character.

The historical & speculative fiction novel centres around an Ancient Greek codex that links characters across the ages – 15th century Constantinople, present day Idaho, & a starship in the 22nd century.

One of the five characters spanning these many centuries – all of whom find comfort in reading the Ancient Greek codex by Antonius Diogenese called Cloud Cuckoo Land – is Anna.

Anna & her older sister Maria, both orphaned, live in Constantinople and does needlework for the church.

Anna learns to read and with the help of a local boy, at night takes old books from an abandoned tower to sell to enthusiastic Italian collectors.

When she flees Constantinople, she takes the codex with her and teaches it to her husband and their sons.