When I got an email from Netgalley about reviewing The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn, I was immediately interested. Historical fiction that takes place on the Titanic?! Yes, please. Unfortunately, this book doesn’t involve the Titanic as much as I hoped but it was still a really good read. This review will be spoiler free.
Synopsis:
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 fatherās 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 fatherātickets for the maiden voyage of a luxurious new ship called theĀ Titanicāoffers a welcome escape from the cold, controlling atmosphere of her husbandās 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 lifeābut only if they can disappear completely, listed among the dead. Penniless and using another womanās name, she must learn to survive in New York City, a brash new world that couldnāt be more different from her own, and to keep their secret safe. But alas, it’sĀ notĀ safeāshe’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,Ā The Lost PassengerĀ 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.
My Thoughts:
- Rating-Ā
Elinor dreams of romance and believes she’s found it in the wealthy Fredrick Coombes. Unfortunately, her husband only wanted her for her family’s hard earned money. Elinor hates her life with the snobby Coombes family and only resents them more when they insist her son be raised by a nanny. When the family takes a trip on the Titanic and it sinks, Elinor snatches the opportunity to start a new life with her son. She hopes it will be easy to disappear into the crowded city of New York but she knows there’s always a chance of being found…
I truly enjoyed this book. Elinor is headstrong and speaks her mind, something that her husband’s aristocratic family hates. What really made me like Elinor, though, was her love for her son, Teddy. My own son is around the same age and I was reading, I couldn’t help but ask myself would I make the same choices; the answer is yes, yes I would.
I loved seeing Elinor adjust to life in a crowded apartment and having to learn normal domestic skills for the first time. It again proved what she’s willing to go through to give her son a good, normal life where he won’t be forced into an aristocratic role.
The only reason this book wasn’t a five star read was because the Titanic section was so short. The first part of the story was Elinor getting married, trying to adjust to her new role and having Teddy. The Titanic voyage takes up maybe 15% of the book after that and then the rest is focused on Elinor’s life in New York. I LOVE anything to do with the Titanic so I was hoping for more. Elinor and Teddy were the first off the ship so she really doesn’t witness any of the chaos on board. She’s able to see it from a distance but that isn’t quite as immersive.
Final Thoughts:
Though I did hope for more about the Titanic, The Lost Passenger is still an excellent story about a mother’s love and determination. Does this sound like one you’d enjoy? Let me know! Thanks for reading!
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