The human interest aspect of Coram’s history and heritage since its inception as the Foundling Hospital established in 1739 has formed the basis for many works of literature. It has also been referenced in several non-fiction works, particularly memoirs and in the field of social history.
Some of these books include:
Literature
| The History of Tom Jones | by Henry Fielding | published 1749, Andrew Millar |
| Oliver Twist | by Charles Dickens | published 1837, Richard Bentley |
| Little Dorrit | by Charles Dickens | published 1855, Bradbury and Evans |
| No Thoroughfare | by Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins | published 1867, Adam and Francis |
| Coram Boy | by Jamila Gavin | published 2004, Egmont |
| Hetty Feather | by Jacqueline Wilson | published 2009, Yearling |
| Thomas Coram: Champion for Children | by Robin Ollington and Albany Wiseman | published 2018, Coram |
| The Foundling | by Stacey Halls | published 2020, Manilla Press |
Illustration from Little Dorrit, via Wikimedia Commons
Social history and memoirs
| Memoranda, or, Chronicles of the Foundling Hospital | by John Brownlow | published 1847 |
| Thomas Coram, churchman, empire builder and philanthropist | by HFB Compston | published 1918 |
| Coram’s Children: London Foundling Hospital in the 18th Century | by Ruth McClure | published 1981, Yale University Press |
| Thomas Coram, Gent. | by Gillian Wagner | published 2004, Boydell Press |
| Nobody’s Child | by Kate Adie | published 2005, Hodder & Stoughton |
| A Home for Foundlings | by Marthe Jocelyn | published 2005, Tundra Books |
| London’s Forgotten Children | Gillian Pugh | published 2007, The History Press |
| Victorian Women, Unwed Mothers and the London Foundling Hospital | by Jessica A. Sheetz-Nguyen | published 2012, Continuum |
| Childcare, Health and Mortality in the London Foundling Hospital 1741-1800 | by Alysa Levene | published 2012, Manchester University Pres |
| The Last Foundling | Tom H. Mackenzie | published 2014, Pan Macmillan |
| Bastards and Foundlings: Illegitimacy in 18th Century England | by Lisa Zunshine | published 2017, Ohio State University Press |
| Orphans of Empire | by Helen Berry | published 2020, OUP Oxford |
| The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames: A Foundling’s Story | by Justine Cowan | published 2021, Virago |
