The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

 

My thoughts

I will be reading more by this author. This book is so good. One I highly recommend. It has so much in it. Ups and downs. Laughter and tears. History and more. And it has the TITANIC... Of course that is the part that makes this story come together. 

When Elinor Hayward falls in love with a man who is said to be above her, she is in for a lot of heartache. It seems to me that if he is marrying her for her father's fortune then how is she marrying up? I would say that he is. But alas that is not how it was in 1910 when Elinor married Frederick Coombes. Elinor is the daughter to a cotton king. A self-made man. He and her deceased mother had worked hard and made a great life. Worth millions. But he could not leave his empire to his daughter. I mean get reas. She's female. He had no male heir. So when she married Frederick he would have a son. In a way he would. 

When Elinor gave birth to a boy Frederick's family were ecstatic. A boy to carry on their legacy. Of course they had a big fine home that was many generations in their family. It was what they had to offer her. Well her son. Things were not at all as she had pictured. Frederick didn't love her though he had led her to believe he did before marriage. His family were cold towards her. She was so miserable. So when she was offered a trip on the Titanic with her father of course she jumped at it. We know what happened with that. But it's what came afterwards that will leave you staggering. Leave you holding your breath. 

When a young woman steps off the boat in the United States of America with a young boy in her arms there is family there waiting for her. Molly Mortimer was finally going to be with her family. But who was this young woman really. What was she running away from. Would they accept her with a baby. Would she be able to stay and make a life. Through lots of the hardest work she's ever done she can do this. 

This is such a well written book. It's fiction at its best. You truly do not want to miss this one if you love a good historical fiction story. Of love, loss, and new beginnings. It's truly beautiful and perfect and sad and happy. It's the book you will want to read.

Thank you #NetGalley and #RandomHousePublishing/Ballantine, for this ARC.  

About

An immersive historical drama about a young mother who starts a new life with her son in New York after faking their deaths on the Titanic—the U.S. debut of an acclaimed British novelist.

Sometimes it takes a disaster to change your life.

Marrying above your social class can come with unexpected consequences, as Elinor Coombes discovers when she is swept into a fairy-tale marriage with the son of an aristocratic English family. She soon realizes that it was the appeal of her father’s hard-earned wealth rather than her pretty face that attracted her new husband and his family. Curtailed by rigid social rules that include being allowed to see her nanny-raised infant son for only moments each day, Elinor resigns herself to a lonely future. So a present from her father—tickets for the maiden voyage of a luxurious new ship called the Titanic—offers a welcome escape from the cold, controlling atmosphere of her husband’s ancestral home, and some precious time with her little son, Teddy.

When the ship goes down, Elinor grasps the opportunity to take Teddy and start a new life—but only if they can disappear completely, listed among the dead. Penniless and using another woman’s name, she must learn to survive in New York City, a brash new world that couldn’t be more different from her own, and to keep their secret safe. But alas, it's not safe—she's been spotted by another survivor who's eager to profit from his discovery.

An absorbing historical drama set between the old world of the oppressive English aristocracy and the new world of opportunity and freedom, The Lost Passenger is a grippingly dramatic story about starting over in a brand-new world, triumphing over adversity, and finding hope in the face of great loss.