The Ogress and the Orphans

In the acknowledgments of The Ogress and the Orphans, Barnhill notes that the book was partly a response to the death of George Floyd in 2020, as well as the political atmosphere during and following the Trump administration. As such, the novel contains many similarities to the early 2020s and addresses issues such as discrimination, misinformation, and division. The townspeople discriminate against the Ogress because tales of ogres present the creatures in a poor light. This calls to the discrimination inherent in racism, where people hate groups who are different based on prejudices or biases that have no basis in reality.

The novel also explores misinformation and its spread. The Mayor is a stand-in for poor political leadership, specifically the Trump administration, and any leaders who put their desires before those of the people they serve. Rather than offer the people of Stone-in-the-Glen truth, the Mayor twists his words into lies built around a small piece of truth. Misinformation is believable because it takes something that can be verified and creates an alternative narrative around it. It relies on unquestioning faith and, as was seen with lies told by the Trump administration, falls apart when verifiable truth comes to light.