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ABOUT THE BOOK
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 acclaimed British novelist, Frances Quinn.
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.
OPENING LINES
On the day I stole another woman’s life, I saw New York for the first time, against a charcoal-grey sky with rain teeming down in sheets.
REVIEW by Guest Reviewer, SOPHIA ROSE
A real life historical maritime disaster, a suspenseful class difference situation, and a woman’s quiet battle for freedom and survival were a heady combo and enticed me into trying The Lost Passenger by new-to-me author, Frances Quinn.
The Lost Passenger begins with a little framing teaser and then dips back into the past for the beginning of Elinor Coombes’ tale. Elinor’s hardworking manufacturing giant of a father, who started from next to nothing to rise and become one of the wealthiest men in England, could ill-prepare her when they are inexplicably invited into the genteel aristocratic high society world of Edwardian England. Elinor rapidly progresses from meeting, falling for, and marrying the handsome, charming son of an earl. Just as swiftly, she learns she was married for her dowry, and she is disdained by her in-laws and all their ilk.
The confining restrictions of the aristocracy and the loneliness and misery she feels are choking her when her dear father presents her, her husband, and their young son with first-class tickets to join him on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. When the ship goes down, Elinor is presented with an incredible possibility.
Author Frances Quinn did a bang-up job delivering a historical setting and situation for a class-difference story. Quinn didn’t skimp coloring in Elinor’s character, creating strong sympathy for her lot. Actually, the motivations of her upper-class husband, his family, and friends were made clear as well. The Coombes were not true villains but people of their time and class. Yet, they felt like villains to Elinor, who was woefully in over her head...and alone. I saw the heartbreak and disillusion coming from the first pages, even while Elinor was still happy and feeling like a character in the romances she loved to read.
There were three distinct parts to the story: Elinor’s life in England from manufacturing heiress to future Countess, her period aboard Titanic, and then her life after the disaster in bustling New York City, living among other poor immigrants in the teeming tenements. In New York, Elinor showed courage and authentic struggles, starting over after surviving Titanic’s sinking.
With bated breath, the crisis moment had me flipping pages madly to the satisfying ending. Stellar historical details, well-paced plot, character development made for on-the-edge-of-my-seat suspense. I heartily recommendThe Lost Passenger for historical fiction readers—you won’t be disappointed.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Frances Quinn grew up in London and studied English at King’s College, Cambridge. She became a journalist, writing for magazines including Prima, Good Housekeeping, She, Woman’s Weekly, and Ideal Home, and later branched out into copywriting. Upon winning a place on the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course, she started work on her first novel, The Smallest Man. Her second novel is That Bonesetter Woman and The Lost Passenger is her third. She lives in Brighton, England, with her husband and three Tonkinese cats.
SOPHIA ROSE, Guest Reviewer
Sophia is a quiet, curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants, and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and a loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, baseball, cats, Scooby Doo, and chocolate. As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. In 2012, she submitted her first book review and is currently an associate reviewer. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction, particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Sorry, no horror...or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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