"Dickens's interest in orphans is almost obsessive," writes Professor John Mullan in this 2014 overview of orphans in 19th-century fiction.

For example, the orphan can have adventures not available to the child being protected by parents and they're often cast in the role of a governess and therefore with "no certain class identity".

For example, the orphan can have adventures not available to the child being protected by parents and they're often cast in the role of a governess and therefore with "no certain class identity".