Television Shows Call the Midwife 2021 The pupil midwives begin their studies, including the excitable Nancy Corrigan, who has come from an orphanage/convent in Ireland where she has been living since the age 7 when her mother died. Nancy is to live at Nonnatus House; on her first day of rounds her manner unsettles a patient so much that she opts fora hospital birth instead of a home delivery. Ultimately, however, Nancy proves her skills when she must take charge of the birth when the patient is unable to make it to hospital. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles 7 Novels about Orphans Elizabeth Brooks 2019 From Cinderella to James Bond, via Moll Flanders and Tom Sawyer, there is something about an orphan that appeals to storytellers regardless of era, culture or genre. Perhaps this is because an orphan engages our sympathies before the story even begins: we just have to root for a character (especially a child) who has suffered … External Website

Films/Videos Matilda The Musical 2022 Matilda the Musical (2022) is an adaption of the 2011 stage musical (which was an adaptation of the 1988 novel Matilda by Roald Dahl). During the film, Matilda (Alisha Weir) tells a story (to librarian Mrs Phelps) of a escapologist and acrobat who have a child. When the acrobat dies, the child is left with the acrobat's stepsister who treats her cruelly. Matilda later learns that the escapologist and acrobat were Miss Honey's (Lashana Lynch) parents, and the stepsister is the brutal Miss Trunchbull (Emma Thompson). After Trunchbull is banished from Crunchem Hall, Matilda moves in with Miss Honey and the school is renamed The Big Friendly School External Website

Films/Videos Suffragette 2015 Suffragette (2015) is a British historical drama starring Carey Mullighan as 24 year old Maud Watts. Maud Watts is a laundry worker who didn't know her father and whose mother died when she was 4. We don't know from the film where Maud subsequently lived but by the age of 7 she was working in the laundry and was a fulltime worker there at age 12. When Maud becomes involved with the suffragette movement, her husband Sonny (Ben Whishaw) punishes her by kicking her out of the house and later, adopting out their son. The film highlights the challenges women faced to have the right to vote and rights with regard to custody of their children. External Website

Academic theses Women and Music in the Venetian Ospedali Vanessa Tonelli 2013 Harriet Constable acknowledges the work of the Vanessa Tonelli in the writing of The Instrumentalist. Women and Music in the Venetian Ospedali is the title of a 2013 Masters thesis by Vanessa Tonelli undertaken at Michigan State University. From the abstract: “The Venetian ospedali [convent, orphanage, music school] provided unique places in which women could train and perform as professional musicians. Much of our understanding of the ospedali, however, has been formed through the study of individual, male composers who wrote for the ospedali, of specific musical genres, such as motets or oratorios, or of individual archival collections. Studies of the female students and their lives are scarce. Additionally, ideas about gender shaped and continue to shape our understanding of these all-female institutions. To address these issues, this thesis focuses on the lives and public perceptions of the ospedali musicians.” External Website

Academic Books & Book Chapters A Home from Home? Children and Social Care in Victorian and Edwardian Britain, 1870-1920 Claudia Soares 2023 A pioneering study of children's social care in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, A Home From Home? presents new information and develops conceptual thinking about the history of children's care by investigating the centrality of key ideas about home, family, and nurture that shaped welfare provision. At its core, the book uses unique first-hand accounts, individual case records, and personal correspondence of children in care in Britain to locate the voices and subjectivities of institutionalised children and their families within the voluntary welfare system between 1870 and 1920. In doing so, it uncovers the real lives, experiences, and attitudes of the children and their families, and offers a timely new approach to understanding the history of children's social care. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience The Last Anniversary (novel) Liane Moriarty 2005 The Last Anniversary (2005) is a novel by Australian writer Liane Moriarty. Set on the fictitious Scribbly Gum Island, close to Sydney, journalist Sophie inherits a property from the now-deceased Connie, one of 2 sisters who raised a child ostensibly not their own but abandoned by a couple decades ago. Connie & Rose – and their families – have been making a living out of telling the story of “Baby Munro”, abandoned by her parents who mysteriously disappeared; Scribbly Gum Island is now a tourist attraction. The truth revealed is that *spoiler alert* the baby, named Enigma, is the child of one of the sisters. The Last Anniversary has now been adapted as a television series. It is the 1st of Moriarty’s novel adaptations to be set and filmed in Australia. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir The Kiss Kathryn Harrison 1997 American writer Kathryn Harrison (b. 1961) was raised in the kinship care of her grandparents from the age of 6. Harrison was born in Los Angeles, California. Her young parents divorced when Kathryn was 6 months old. At the time, Kathryn and her mother were living with the maternal grandparents and they stayed there until, when Kathyn was 6 years old, her mother left home. In The Kiss (1997) Harrison talks about the absence of her father after her parents’ divorce. She saw him once when she was 10 and then again when she was about 20, after which she and her father embarked on an incestuous ‘affair’. External Website

Writers Edgar Allan Poe (writer) 1809-1849 Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. His early life was shaped by foster care and instability. Orphaned at two, he was taken in by John Allan, a wealthy merchant in Richmond, Virginia, who never formally adopted him but gave him the name "Edgar Allan Poe." Allan alternated between spoiling and harshly disciplining Poe, creating a turbulent environment. In 1815, the family moved to the United Kingdom, where Poe attended various schools in Scotland and London before returning to Richmond. These early experiences of loss, privilege, and transatlantic education deeply influenced his later life and works. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. External Website

Fiction featuring Care Experience The Dictator's Wife Freya Berry 2022 The Dictator’s Wife (2022) by Freya Berry asks the question: “How complicit are the wives of dictators in the crimes of dictators?” Marija Popa is the dictator’s wife. Her husband, Constantin - the ruler for 30 years of a fictional eastern European country, Yannussia - has been murdered and she is now standing trial for multiple crimes. We find out early in the novel that Marija was adopted as a small child into a wealthy Yannussian family. The narrator is Laura Lazarescu, a lawyer from London who is the junior associate in a team of 3 lawyers hired by Marija Popa. Laura’s family fled Yannussia when Laura was 7. Before that, Laura’s mother worked in the factory founded by Marija’s adoptive family and run by Marija when she was First Lady. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Deliver Me From Evil Alloma Gilbert 2008 Alloma Gilbert was a victim of sadistic abuse in foster care. She finally escaped at age 17. External Website

Blogs/Web Pages/Articles Taking control of the narrative with my debut novel Careless Kirsty Capes 2021 In this blog, Kirsty Capes writes about growing up in the care system in the UK, and being aware of an expectation of failure. External Website

Activists Foster Reformer, author, artist Louise Allen 1967- Born in 1967 in a mother-and-baby home, Louise Allen was adopted into a family with a known history of cruelty—despite official warnings—and endured years of neglect and abuse before running away at 15. Now a bestselling author and foster carer, she uses books like Thrown Away Children and Slave Girls to expose systemic failings and fight for those the care system leaves behind. Through Spark Sisterhood and the Care to Career programme, she empowers young women from care with skills, opportunities, and the belief that their futures matter. External Website

Autobiography/Memoir Someone to Love Us Terence O’Neill 2010 The harrowing true story of the young boy who captured the heart of the nation when he testified in court, to find justice against those responsible for his brother’s death. Terry O’Neill was just ten years old when he stood up in court to testify against his brutal foster parents, accused of the manslaughter of his twelve-year-old brother, Dennis. Terry and his brother had been taken into care and moved through many foster homes until they came to live on the Shropshire farm owned by Reginald and Esther Gough in 1945. There they were to suffer brutal beatings and little care or love – they survived as best they could, looking out for each other, until the terrible morning when Terry couldn’t wake Dennis. In a time when the country was united by war and struggle, the case shocked the nation and made headlines around the world. Terry, a small figure in the courtroom, captured the hearts of mothers and families everywhere, and the public outcry against the foster services led to the instigation of the first provisions to protect other vulnerable children from neglect and cruelty. (see also The Mousetrap and Three Blind Mice by Agatha Christie) External Website

Authors O Visibly Invisible - The tale of a Black Female Social Worker ➝ Back to Top

Sport Douglas Jardine Douglas Jardine Infamous English cricketer, Douglas Jardine (1900-1958), was in kinship care as a child. Douglas Robert Jardine was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. His parents were both Scottish and his father, Malcolm, well regarded as a cricketer. At the age of 9, Douglas was sent from India to live in St Andrews, Scotland, with his Aunt Kitty. While living with his aunt, he became friends with scholar Andrew Lang, who encouraged the boy in his love of cricket. Douglas went first to Horris Hill and he then boarded at Winchester College but spent holidays with his aunt. At both schools Douglas developed as a cricketer and cricket captain. In 1919, Jardine began studying at New College, Oxford where he played cricket and “and obtained a fourth class in modern history.” He qualified to practice law in 1926, but earned his living as a bank clerk. Douglas Jardine played for England against Australia for the first time in 1926 and he captained the MCC against Australia in 1932. Jardine used 'leg theory' or 'bodyline' against the Australian side but controversy grew because of injuries. Bodyline was formally banned in 1935. External Website

Performing Arts Comedian, writer, director Stewart Graham Lee Stewart Graham Lee (b. 5 April 1968) is a British stand-up comedian, writer and director. Lee was born in Wellington, Shropshire. He was adopted as a child and grew up in Solihull in the West Midlands– his adoptive parents separated when he was four, and he was raised by his mother. He attended Solihull School, a local independent school, on a part scholarship, and received what he calls a "waifs and strays bursary" due to his status as an adoptee. He read English at Oxford. In December 2011, he won British Comedy Awards for best male television comic and best comedy entertainment programme for his series Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle. External Website

Academic Articles Contemplating Fictional and Nonfictional Orphan Stories (2004) Dennis Leoutsakas 2004 Throughout our lives we move from one story to the next. Whether we are listeners, readers, writers, or tellers, “we live our lives immersed in stories” (Simpkinson & Simpkinson, 1993, p. 1). From the many stories we encounter, both fiction and nonfiction, the orphan-as-hero stands out as one of the most prominent figures in literature. This paper considers three powerful issues related to orphan stories. First, it analyzes the legendary orphan-heroes used in fictional literature. Second, it demonstrates the differences between imagined orphans and orphans. Finally, after comparing the previous findings, this paper concludes by discussing the value of a new form of fictional literature and suggesting examples of story blending that link traditional fiction with actual narratives. External Website

Actors Benjamin Zephaniah (Actor) Benjamin Zephaniah (1958-2023) was a British poet, writer and actor. Benjamin Zephaniah was born in Handsworth, Birmingham. He left school at age 14. He was spent time in a youth detention centre, and later in prison. Zephaniah moved to London in 1979 and his first collection of poems, Pen Rhythm, was published. He performed at demonstrations, protesting against racism and the British ‘justice’ system. He published The Dread Affair in 1985 and Rasta Time in Palestine in 1990, the latter combining poetry and travelogue after a trip to Palestine. Zephaniah continued publishing his poetry through the 1990s, becoming known as a ‘dub poet’, and he also wrote several novels including Refugee Boy (2001). His autobiography, The Life and Thymes of Benjamin Zephaniah, was published in 2018. Benjamin Zephaniah also had many acting appearances over the years, from minor roles in shows such as EastEnders (1993) to playing preacher Jeremiah “Jimmy” Jesus in Peaky Blinders between 2013 and 2022. Benjamin Zephaniah died on 7 December 2023 after being diagnosed with a brain tumour 8 weeks previously. Photo: Benjamin Zephaniah, Waterstones Piccadilly, London, 6 December 2018. Photograph by Edwardx, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons. External Website

Biography of Care Experienced People Crackers and Milk Arlene Nelson 2006 Sarah Richards, the oldest of five children growing up in the early 20th Century rural Midwest, struggles to hold her family together as she and her three siblings attempt to survive illness, abandonment, abuse, negelct, hunger, institutionalization, and loss. In Crackers and Milk, Arlene Nelson retells her mother's amazing story of an unusually tarnished childhood, as her mother told it to her many years ago. External Website