In 1940, as the Germans were breathing down English necks, the British government decided to evacuate children off the island completely. The SS City of Benares set sail to Canada in September, carrying 123 children known as sea-vacs. Their parents were assured that a convoy of warships would escort the steamer, as German U-boats heavily patrolled the Atlantic. Instead, the warships abandoned the steamer halfway through, and the Germans attacked. Ninety-eight children were killed. In the confusion, the lifeboats were miscounted. No one realized that boat #12 hadn’t been recovered. With six boys, one woman, and 39 men, the boat sailed for eight days before being spotted.

This gripping saga inspired historical fiction author Hazel Gaynor’s latest novel, The Last Lifeboat. In her telling, the S.S. Carlisle is the doomed ship… and two women are forever changed. Alice King, looking for a way to contribute to the war effort, volunteers to escort children to Canada on the ship. And widowed Lily Nichols, hiding a sad secret, agrees to send her beloved son and daughter to strangers overseas.

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This was a very powerful book about the human nature and perseverance. I love historical fiction and this is one that I will be adding to my recommended lists!

Alice King is a teacher and librarian who lives a sheltered life with her mother in Kent, while her younger sister Kitty lives a much more glamorous life in London. Alice longs to do something to help the war effort but isn't sure what she can contribute, until she hears about the need for escorts to accompany English children being evacuated to other British Commonwealth countries as a part of Operation Pied Piper. She is accepted as an escort and looks forward to finally having an adventure. In London, war widow Lily Nichols agonizes over whether to evacuate her children, eventually opting to trust the government and send her children on one of the evacuation ships. But disaster strikes a few days into the voyage, and the two women along with Alice's sister fight to save the evacuated children.
Based on a true story about the SS City of Benares, part of a fleet traveling from Britain to Canada and back. The convoy was torpedoed by a German U-boat in September 1940 after their military escort turned back toward Britain. The ship sank and 35 people including a number of children spent a week in a lifeboat before they were rescued. If you know the story of the Pied Piper, it would be hard to come up with a more ill-omened name. Well-researched, riveting reading. Highly recommended for readers of historical fiction.

4.5 stars rounded up.
Such a captivating yet heartbreaking and intense tear jerker that touches you so much more once you find out it's based on a true story. Beautifully written details. Highly recommend if you are a fan of historical WWII fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this eARC.

I couldn't put The Last Lifeboat down. It is beautiful, heartbreaking, and absolutely wonderful. I have waited to attempt a review because I couldn't come up with the words to do it justice, and I still can't.

The Last Lifeboat is told in two POVs, a mother of two children that were evacuated from England and a young woman that is a chaperone on the children's evacuation ship. It shows the sacrifices that people made during the war, and the strength they had when it would be so easy to just give up.

The Last Lifeboat reminded me a lot of The Nightingale. I highly recommend The Last Lifeboat to historical fiction fans, specifically those that enjoy WWII novels.

Thank you to Berkeley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

okay, i super enjoyed this book!! it was such a fun time and i really hope that you pick it up when it comes out! and as always, thank you so much to netgalley for letting me read this book early! what a delight!!!!

The Last Lifeboat is a harrowing tale of survival, resilience, and family. I'm a big fan of Hazel Gaynor's historical fiction - she writes in a way that truly brings the story to life and transports the reader. Reading the story of Alice and Lily, I felt like I was feeling what they were feeling and experiencing what they were experiencing.

What's remarkable is that this is based on a true story about a woman who signs up to help transport children to safety during World War II. I had no idea this was something that happened during the War and found it absolutely fascinating to learn about.

I highly recommend you check out The Last Lifeboat (or really anything by Hazel Gaynor!)

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC!

Hazel Gaynor’s Berkley debut is a winner! Inspired by real events, The Last Lifeboat is a compelling, heart-wrenching story of disaster and survival on the sea as British children are being evacuated to Canada during World War II. Told from two points of view, we follow Alice King on her adventure turned survival journey as she does her best to care for the children, and Lily Nichols waiting at home for news of the son and daughter she sent away for safety.

This is by far one of the best, but also most distressing works of World War II homefront fiction I have read. The growth of these characters through the torment of these events, the sense of community that grows around them, the terror and the relief of any small ray of hope are so visceral and so skillfully done.

Highly recommended.

This review refers to a temporary digital galley that I voluntarily read through NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.

The Last Lifeboat is Hazel Gaynor's way of bringing the reader into an amazing story unlike any other I have ever read before. The joys and pains I went through will be carried with me for a life time. Being drawn into this time and place with characters like Alice, Lily and Arthur and joining them on their fights for survival was an epic read. I am highly recommending this to Library Reads and all patrons.

Oh WOW! Whenever I read historical fiction novels concerning children during WW2, I get anxious! The Last Lifeboat; full of excitement, fear, hope and tragedy was inspired by a true story. The British evacuation of children, Operation Pied Piper, was a well meaning program to protect children from harm by moving them to locations safer than their family homes. This is the third book I’ve read this year about relocating children from war zones each telling a new prospective.

Schoolteacher Alice King wanted to do her part in the war effort so she applied to be a chaperone to escort children to Canada. She proudly accepted the responsibility when she was notified of her acceptance. Two of the children in her care belonged to Lily Nichols who was recently widowed and had deep reservations in letting her children leave. With some guidance, she convinced herself that they would be safer if they left England.

Families were promised that their children would be protected on the SS Carlisle but when a Nazi torpedo hit the ship en route to Canada, many lives were lost. When news of the attack reached the families, there was outrage and devastation. Lily wouldn’t accept that her child was one lost to sea when there appeared to be a missing lifeboat.

Lily put her math skills to work by checking the maps and tide schedules to determine if the search crews missed something. Meanwhile, on the missing lifeboat, Alice cared for the children she was able to save from the sinking ship. The bonds she formed with the lifeboat passengers were touching and hopeful. She did her best to help everyone on board as their spirits of being rescued diminished.

World War II is underway and children were being sent away to other countries for their safety. Lily Nicholas had thought to keep her young children with her despite the perilous events surrounding them. However, bombing in England has become far too regular and she makes the decision to send her children to somewhere safe.

Alice King has taken on the duties to escort children to different countries. When the ship that Alice and the others are on is torpedoed, those who survived are evacuated to lifeboats. Alice and a small group of children get on what is the last lifeboat.

In this emotionally riveting story, readers see things from both Lily and Alice’s points of view. Lily is understandably anxious about the fate of her children and Alice is focused on keeping the children on her lifeboat safe with hopes of rescue. They have eight days of unspeakable horrors and danger while desperately awaiting rescue.

What an incredible novel. Although this is a fictional story, by reading the author’s note at the end of the book, readers can see the amount of research that went into writing this compelling novel, as well as the history of the true events with the organization that got over 20,000 children out of London during the war.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

More Like 4 and a half stars! ✨

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Pub for my advanced copy of The Last Lifeboat by Hazel Gaynor.

This is my first Hazel Gaynor novel and it will not be my last!
I absolutely adored this book and fell in love with the characters.
My life has changed a lot over the last couple of years. I have struggled with reading books in a physical sense. This book was so easy to fall into and not want to come out of. It was very easy to read / follow.
I especially loved the two POVs the author chose to follow and that she chose an event within WWII that I was not familiar with.

Overall- Highly Recommend. I look forward to reading more by this author.

This well-written and well researched novel is one of the most emotional World War II era novel that I've read in a long time. It's based on real events and highlights the heroism of the people in involved.

It's 1940 and England is sure that Germany will be bombing them and many people even believed that Germany would try to invade them. The government wanted to keep the children safe. Some children were sent from the large cities to the rural areas of England as part of Operation Pied Piper. Another push by the government was to send children to Canada or Australia for the duration of the war.

Lily is the widowed mother of two children. They live in London and she wants her children to be safe but she also wants to keep them close to her. She finally decides that to keep them safe, she needs to sign them up to be sent to Canada. The government reassures her that the boat with the children will have a Navy escort and should be safe from German U-boats during the journey

Alice is a quiet unassuming kind of person. She's content working in a library and teaching school. Her mother keeps telling her that she needs to do something to help the war effort and she decides to sign up to be an escort to a group of children going to Canada. She's nervous and excited about the upcoming trip.

The trip goes well and after most of the people get over their sea sickness, it looks like smooth sailing into Canada until a German u boat torpedoes their ship and sinks it. Alice manages to get into a life boat with several children and other adults. They spend days on the sea, hoping for rescue while the parents at home are dealing with the loss of their children. Alice and Lily's lives and the lives of Lily's children are meshed together as everyone fights for survival.

The novel is told in alternating chapters by Alice, fighting for her life in a lifeboat and Lily, dealing with her fear that her children are lost. Both women are trying to be brave under terrible circumstances. The scenes on the life boat are gritty and real and the reader will be rapidly turning pages to find out if they all survived.

The author has done a tremendous job at her research. I read a lot of WWII books and this is the first one that I can remember that is about children being sent from England to other countries for safety. Be sure to read the author's comments at the end of the book to find out the brave women that this story was based on.

Wow. What a heartbreaking story. The resilience and will to survive was so strong. War was so scary and even when you thought you were safe, you in fact weren’t. I love Hazel’s writing and you can tell she puts a lot of research and heart into her books.

This book was incredible and the fact that it was inspired by a true story makes it even better. The two main characters, women during WWII, were strong, brave and amazing. Their hopes and dreams were real, their concerns and challenges believable. I could feel the emotions clearly through the book and felt for the characters from the start. Just an incredibly well researched and well written book. A must read for all historical fiction lovers.

1940 - Alice King wants to do her part during the war. So she helps evacuate Britain's children to countries overseas. Lily finds herself struggling to keep her kids safe from bombings in London, after she loses her husband. She decides the best option to protect them is to send them overseas in a risky evacuation scheme. When a Nazi Uboat hits the S.S. Carlisle, carrying children to Canada, a single lifebot is in the Atlantic. Alice and Lily find themselves connected from a far.

Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

A mother in the UK desperate to save her children from the atrocities of war. A teacher wanting to help with the war effort. Their lives become forever entwined when the ship the children are taking to safety in Canada is attacked by a German U-boat. I think I would have liked this book more if I knew nothing about the sinking of the SS City of Benares. But I read Torpedoed by Deborah Heiligman a few years ago so I had (maybe too) good background information already. World War II historical fiction readers will not want to miss this one.

Hazel Gaynor's The Last Lifeboat is based the true story of the sinking of the SS City of Benares which carried 90 COB (Children's Overseas Reception Board) to temporary homes in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and even the US. On September 17, 1940, a German U-boat torpedoed the ship which was part of Operation Pied Piper that began in 1939. The story is based on Mary Cornish who was one of 36, including 5 children, who survived 7 days in a lifeboat that was almost forgotten.


During all the life and death stresses of parents during WWII London and the surrounding areas, the decision of whether to send their children across the ocean to safety, or keep them in bunkers where the likelihood of death was high. Both choices had great risks. Sending the children away on ships put the children at risk of being on a ship that is torpedoed by the Germans. And, that is exactly what happened when a ship carrying kids and their adult chaperone's were attacked and sunk if they were not protected by Navy escorts ships.

Between each chapter are Mass-Observation diary entries by volunteers and others recording their thoughts, feelings, and experiences during this time. These entries are a must read to add depth to an already tense story. Especially when the story alternates between Alice King and Lily Nicholls who makes the hard choice to send her children, Georgie and Arthur, to Canada.

Lily Nichols, who lives in London, once dreamed of using her mathematical talents for more than tabulating the cost of groceries, but life, and love, charted her a different course. With two lively children (Georgie & Arthur), Lily’s humble home is her world, until war tears everything asunder. With her husband gone and bombs raining down, Lily is faced with an impossible choice: keep her son and daughter close, knowing she may not be able to protect them, or enroll them in a risky evacuation scheme, where safety awaits so very far away.


Alice King, who lives in Kent, is not brave or daring. She’s happiest finding adventure through the safe pages of books. But times of war demand courage, and as the threat of German invasion looms, a plane crash near her home awakens a strength in Alice she’d long forgotten. Determined to do her part, she finds a role perfectly suited to her experience as a schoolteacher—to help evacuate Britain’s children overseas as part of the governments Children’s Overseas Reception Board.

Unfortunately, on the day of September 17, 1940, the SS Carlisle is torpedoed by a German U-Boat which leaves Alice, 6 children, and 29 adults in a lifeboat. Crossing the Atlantic is dangerous, the German U-boats are patrolling the ocean and everyone is assured it’s safe because they are part of a large convoy. But for some reason the Carlisle was alone without any rescue ships around. The survivors must wade through storms, lacking of supplies, and the unknown of whether or not they will be picked up by the Germans, or rescued by the British, or, be lost to the seas for eternity.

Meanwhile back in London, Lily learns that her children have been separated by the attacked. One is alive, but the other, Arthur, has not been found and is feared dead. Katherine "Kitty" King is Alice's sister who is devastated to learn of the ships sinking and the fading hope that she will ever be found. Kitty refuses to allow her sister and the survivors, including Arthur to be forgotten, and sets off with Lily to make the public aware of the dishonesty coming from the British government.

The reality of this story is that it is realistic. In 1940, the British government didn’t know if the German army could be stopped. They were poised to take the Channel Islands and England might be next. Night after night, London was bombed by the Germans thinking that the British government would have no choice but to surrender. Thankfully, there were those in charge who were firm in keeping Britain from falling. In this country, I don't believe that half of America would stand up and fight if a country like China invaded us.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book! It starts in the 1930’s and follows a neighborhood in England with families working together to escape a Nazi invasion. Many of the events that happen are non-fiction with the fictional aspect being the characters themselves. I found it very well written and intriguing, but also extremely sad and painful to read knowing it was a part of our history. If your into historical fiction or books relating to the Holocaust, you’ll definitely find this interesting!

THE LAST LIFEBOAT by Hazel Gaynor is an enthralling and poignant work of historical fiction based on true events. Most people know that during WWII English children were evacuated to the countryside for greater safety, but not so many know about the 1000's of sea-evacuees who were transported to places like Canada and Australia. In this story, a widowed mother, Lily Nicholls, makes the difficult choice to send her young daughter (Georgie) and son (Arthur) through a program run by Children's Overseas Reception Board (CORB). They travel with roughly ninety other children and several chaperones – in the story, Alice King has decided to take a risk and offered her services.

I read the entire novel in less than 24 hours and am still curious to learn more about the actual tragedy that occurred when (like the fictional SS Carlisle in the story) a passenger ship (SS City of Benares) was torpedoed in the Atlantic and a stray lifeboat drifted for several days with dimming hopes of rescue. The Merseyside Maritime Museum and the Imperial War Museum have made some relevant photos and documents available online. Gaynor weaves much of this into her writing and does an excellent job of conveying the time at sea. In addition, she probes the feelings of mothers who stayed behind and the "different experience for men responding to the call to do their bit."” A historical note with more details, suggested discussion questions, and Gaynor’s book suggestions accompany this fascinating text. THE LAST LIFEBOAT is highly recommended, especially for readers who have enjoyed other WWII survival adventures like Ruth Sepetys' Salt to the Sea or works by Elizabeth Wein (Code Name Verity; Rose Under Fire).

Museum links to explore:
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/search/benares
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-story-of-child-evacuee-beryl-myatt-and-the-sinking-of-the-ss-city-of-benares

Inspired by the sinking of the SS Benares, The Last Lifeboat is a harrowing and compelling story of survival, endurance, and hope.

Determined to do her part in the war effort, Alice, a school teacher, decides to volunteer as a chaperone in the evacuation of children from England. Lily is one of the mothers who decides to evacuate her children aboard the SS Carlisle (the SS Benares renamed). The chaperones and 100 children are aboard the ship when it is torpedoed by a Nazi U-boat. The Last Lifeboat is the imagined story of survival and hope under the most dire conditions.

“Buoyed by the bright morning, she gathers up the tattered fragments of hope the storm had torn from her in the night, and stitches them together into a patchwork of detmination and belief; a blanket of courage big enough to cover them all.”

Most of this story takes place in the lifeboat as these survivors fight for their lives and cling to hope. It’s emotional, compelling, harrowing, and inspirational. They encounter storms and rough seas, experience mental health challenges, endure the elements, and are gradually weakened by hunger and thirst. Brilliantly written with vivid details, it can be an emotionally difficult and heavy read.

In addition to the hardships, we also see sacrifice, leadership, compassion, nurturing, bonding, hope, and friendship. There’s a lot to love and admire about our main character, Alice.

One delightful element of the story is the surprising relationship that develops between two of the survivors. I can’t spoil it though!

Although a difficult and gritty read, The Last Lifeboat is a page-turner and has earned 5 Stars (one of my few this year) and secured a coveted spot on my best-of-year list for 2023. If you can endure a survival story, this is one of the best!

Content Consideration: grief, death, child death, suicidal ideation, suicide, medical content, survival situations

Thanks #NetGalley @BerkleyPub for a complimentary e ARC of #TheLastLifeboat upon my request. All opinions are my own.