The Orphans
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  • Published: 18 April 2023
  • ISBN: 9781761041570
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 432
  • RRP: $22.99

The Orphans

Formats & editions
Paperback
18 Apr 2023
EBook
5 Oct 2022
Audiobook
5 Oct 2022
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The highly anticipated new historical adventure by the bestselling author of The Spy's Wife.

Orphan Fleur Appleby is adopted by a loving undertaker and his wife and she quickly develops a special gift for helping bereaved families. Her ambition to be the first female mortician in the country is fuelled by her plan to bring more women into the male dominated funeral industry.

Raised in the outback of South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, Tom Catchlove is faced with a life-changing tragedy as a young boy. He works hard but dreams big, striving for a future as a wool classer.

A chance encounter between the two children will change the course of their lives.

By adulthood Fleur finds herself fighting for the survival of the family’s business, while her widowed father drinks away generations of prosperity and a new, conniving stepmother wants Fleur gone. When Tom emerges from the isolation of the desert to find new work at the port woolstores, his path crosses with Fleur’s again – only to be caught up in a murder investigation, in which they can only trust each other.

At once tragic and triumphant, The Orphans is an unforgettable story about a unique bond between two children that will echo down the years, and teach them both about the real meaning of life, of loss, and of love.
  • Published: 18 April 2023
  • ISBN: 9781761041570
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 432
  • RRP: $22.99
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About the author

Fiona McIntosh

Fiona McIntosh is an internationally and million-copy bestselling author of novels for adults and children across several genres. Alongside her highly successful historical fiction titles, for which she has been nominated at the Australian Book Industry Awards for commercial fiction book of the year, her popular Detective Jack Hawksworth series will soon be released across the UK. Several of her historical titles as well as the ‘world of Hawksworth’ crime novels have been optioned for the screen. Her debut children’s picture book, Harry and Gran Bake a Cake, was published in 2025. Fiona roams the world for her research and lives between Adelaide in South Australia and Wiltshire in England.

portrait photo of Fiona McIntosh

Also by Fiona McIntosh

Blood Pact
Harry and Gran Bake a Cake
The Fallen Woman
Myrren's Gift
The Scrivener's Tale
Bridge of Souls
Blood and Memory
See all

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The Orphans by Fiona McIntosh

The highly anticipated new historical adventure by the bestselling author of The Spy's Wife. At once tragic and triumphant, The Orphans is an unforgettable story about a unique bond between two children that will echo down the years, and teach them both about the real meaning of life, of loss, and of love. Buy now: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-orphans-9781761041563

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The Orphans book club notes

At once tragic and triumphant, The Orphans is an unforgettable story about a unique bond between two children that is perfect for book club discussions.

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