Raised in an orphanage since birth, sixteen-year-old Tony Cole has seen more disappointment than success—but his life changes forever after he meets billionaire and philanthropist Jonathan Stuyvesant. Jonathon spends twelve years mentoring Tony, helping him to become a financial wizard. After he dies, he leaves Tony a vast fortune—with a catch. During the reading of his last will and testament, Jonathon issues a challenge to Tony—to become the next man to acquire a wealth of over three billion dollars. Suddenly overwhelmed by the curious reporters who surround him after the news is announced, Tony decides to leave on a vacation to sort things out and determine on his course of action. A brilliant and shrewd businessman, Tony is motivated by the challenge and soon begins building an empire like no other. But he is soon distracted from his goals by two woman—a married woman, out of his reach, whom he loves deeply but cannot have, and the beautiful movie star whose love distracts him from his obsession with the first. In this intriguing tale of high finance, joy, and tragedy, Tony attempts to grapple with his emotions, but soon realizes that love has more power over the course of his life than he ever realized.

The fascinating story of what happened to the orphaned and abandoned children of the London Foundling Hospital, and the consequences of Georgian philanthropy. From serving Britain's growing global empire in the Royal Navy, to the suffering of child workers in the Industrial Revolution, the Foundling Hospital was no simple act of charity.

Finalist for the 2021 BC and Yukon Book Prizes' Roderick Haig-Brown Regional Prize and the 2021 City of Victoria Butler Book Prize "Meticulously researched and vividly drawn, Orphans of Empire brings to life the half-forgotten world of early British Columbia. This is an immersive, shimmering novel." —Steven Price, author of #1 nationally bestselling By Gaslight and Giller-shortlisted Lampedusa In Grant Buday's new novel, three captivating stories intertwine at the site of the New Brighton Hotel on the shores of Burrard Inlet. In 1858 the serious and devoted Sir Richard Clement Moody receives the commission of a lifetime when he is sent to help establish "a second England"—what is now British Columbia. In 1865 Frisadie, an eighteen-year-old Kanaka housemaid, who is more entrepreneur than ingénue, arrives in New Brighton from Hawaii. She convinces Maxie Michaud to purchase the hotel with her, and it soon becomes the toast of the inlet. In 1885 Henry Fannin, a young, curious embalmer and magnetism devotee, having struck out in London and San Francisco, arrives in New Brighton and promptly falls in love with a tragic woman he hears crying on his first night at the hotel. Endearing, funny, and highly evocative of time and place, Orphans of Empire celebrates those living in the shadow of history's supposed heroes, their private struggles and personal agendas. Readers who loved Michael Crummey's Galore and Eowyn Ivey's To the Bright Edge of the World, will love this vivid novel of arrivals that prods at the ethics of settlement.

Originally published in 1989. The extraordinary story of Britain’s child migrants is one of 350 years of shaming exploitation. Around 130,000 children, some just 3 or 4 years old, were shipped off to distant parts of the Empire, the last as recently as 1967. For Britain it was a cheap way of emptying children’s homes and populating the colonies with ‘good British stock’; for the colonies it was a source of cheap labour. Even after the Second World War around 10,000 children were transported to Australia – where many were subjected to at best uncaring abandonment, and at worst a regime of appalling cruelty. Lost Children of the Empire tells the remarkable story of the Child Migrants Trust, set up in 1987, to trace families and to help those involved to come to terms with what has happened. But nothing can explain away the connivance and irresponsibility of the governments and organisations involved in this inhuman chapter of British history.

This book examines how the early modern Portuguese state used convicts and orphans to populate its global empire. In addition, it addresses the issue of gender in the state's use of two distinct groups of single women as colonizers, orphan girls and reformed prostitutes, each given state-awarded dowries if they agreed to relocate overseas.

This is a book about the white stolen children - a lost tribe - who were sent to Australia with dreams of a better life, but who, in reality, often suffered great cruelty and abuse. 'This book draws back the curtain on a part of Australian and British history that has been crying out for recognition. All Australians shoud read it' Sir Ronald Wilson 'This story is remarkable. Even more remarkable is the fact that, until now, it was largely untold. This is an important story, an important part of Australia's story and long overdue' David Hill 'Orphans of the Empire is unusually affecting, hard to put down..' Geraldine Doogue An account of the white 'stolen children', who were supposedly orphans arriving in Australia from many countries to a better future, but who in reality simply came from poor families and arrived to uncertain futures and often extremely abusive environments in various institutions. More than 80,000 people were directly involved in this experience as 'orphans', while thousands more have been affected by the experience as children and relatives of the orphans, and as Australian-born children who were also living in the institutions described in this book. Although there were occasional great acts of kindness towards these children there was also systematic abuse of all kinds. Orphans of the Empire is based on hundreds of hours of taped interviews with men and women who came to Australia as child migrants. It is the complete and shocking story that was first made known through 4 Corners and 60 Minutes stories and the BBC's very popular Leaving Of Liverpool series.

History books often weave tales of rising and falling empires, royal dynasties, and wars among powerful nations. Here, Maksudyan succeeds in making those who are farthest removed from power the lead actors in this history. Focusing on orphans and destitute youth of the late Ottoman Empire, the author gives voice to those children who have long been neglected. Their experiences and perspectives shed new light on many significant developments of the late Ottoman period, providing an alternative narrative that recognizes children as historical agents. Maksudyan takes the reader from the intimate world of infant foundlings to the larger international context of missionary orphanages, all while focusing on Ottoman modernization, urbanization, citizenship, and the maintenance of order and security. Drawing upon archival records, she explores the ways in which the treatment of orphans intersected with welfare, labor, and state building in the Empire. Throughout the book, Maksudyan does not lose sight of her lead actors, and the influence of the children is always present if we simply listen and notice carefully as Maksudyan so convincingly argues.