Novels reflect and reinforce changing social thought. The author shows how fictional orphans provide a subtle understanding of social anxieties of the 18th century. From Defoe's Moll Flanders to Austen's motherless Emma , orphans played important roles in early novels. The author groups literary orphans into three main types - the foundling, the heiress, and the dispossessed child. Of course these orphans work well as a plot device, but theyr also demonstrate great changes in society, as without parental controls, they may cross gender roles and behave in ways that defy social rules. Orphans may discover they are heir to a great estate. They may become criminals. They engage with readers on issues of their time like growing social mobility. Palgrave Macmillan. 2014. Paper. NEW. $35.00