The Lost Passenger is the story of a young woman, Elinor, who marries Frederick, a titled young man. After she is wed she finds that he has married her for her father’s money and not for love. Elinor’s father has gifted all of them a voyage on the Titanic. Elinor is the only one of them to survive. As she doesn’t want to return to England because her in-laws will have guardianship of her son she continues on to the United States once she is rescued and takes the identity of her maid on the ship who did not survive. The story continues with Elinor’s determination to build a life in the United States under a different name. She shows resilience and resourcefulness and the fight to find a new life with her new found family. A well written story and easily read.

Elinor is duped into a loveless marriage and a miserable life. When the Titanic goes down, Elinor takes the chance to escape and never return home.

A story of grit and resilience, the Lost Passenger is a solid novel for any historical fiction reader. The pacing varies at times, and I found myself pulled into parts more than others, but I was rooting for Elinor the entire time.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Frances Quinn’s The Lost Passenger follows Elinor, whose father started a cotton business from nothing, so she knows all about working hard for what she has. Frederick, the son of an aristocratic family who needs money for their expensive estate, arranges a marriage with Elinor to make sure the estate stays afloat. Elinor and Frederick have a son who will be the heir to the estate and title, and Elinor quickly realizes that the way people with titles raise their heir is not how she envisioned her life as a mother going. She doesn’t know how to get herself and her son out of the situation they’re in. An opportunity comes as her father, Frederick, Teddy, and her were sailing to New York on the Titanic. Once it sinks, Elinor and Teddy are able to reclaim their lives anew in New York. As long as no one from her past can find them.

The Lost Passenger is hands down one of my favorite books of the year, and I have no doubt it will hold that spot for the foreseeable future. This historical fiction novel revolves around the ill-fated Titanic. Elinor, along with her husband Frederick, their son, and her father, are all aboard the ship. Elinor and her son are the only ones who survive. Unbeknownst to Elinor at the time, her husband married her for her wealth. Coming from an aristocratic family, Frederick is in a completely different social class from Elinor, and she is deeply unhappy with the way she’s forced to raise their son as the heir to their family title. When the Titanic sinks, Elinor seizes the chance to escape her life and take on a new identity, assuming the life of another passenger who perished in the disaster.

I was captivated by this story, from the portrayal of the contrasting social classes to the backdrop of the Titanic disaster, and the raw struggle of being a single mother in America with no skills. If you love historical fiction, this is a must-read!

Thank you @Penguinrandomhouse for an e-ARC of The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn.

This was not on my radar prior to the publisher reaching out, but I'm happy they did!

A fictional look at a woman whose life was forever changed by the maiden voyage of the Titanic.

Our main character Elinor, has a wonderful father who worked his way up from nothing and only wants the best for his daughter. Unlike others, he wants her to marry for love and lead a happy life. Elinor finds herself a suitable husband only to later discover that she has been played a fool and used for taking her father's money. She is trapped both physically and mentally until her father gives the gift of tickets on the highly sought after Titanic.

This story is less about the Titanic and more about the 'before the Titanic' and 'after the Titanic'. It's a story about resilience, problem solving, and reinventing oneself from scratch.

The 'before' was so painful and very hard to read. I felt every one of Elinor's emotions and I despise gaslighting of females. The 'after' was uplifting. I loved the found family element and the entrepreneurial spirit. I did feel like the after was almost too easy and unrealistic in parts compared to the 'before'.

The Lost Passenger was a great read. A book of self discovery, of resilience, of rising from difficult situations, and a story of a woman who made tough choices for the sake of protecting her child. I really loved this book. A great read!!

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of the book. This is my honest review.

First, I’d like to thank NetGalley, Frances Quinn, and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

Going into this, I was a little worried that it would feel too similar to the Titanic movie, and in many ways, I found the premise to be quite alike. The first half of the book was a bit frustrating for me, as I felt Elinor was quite whiny, making it difficult to connect with her at times.

However, what I did enjoy was Elinor’s growth in the second half. She learned how to work hard, found her inner strength, and built a wonderful support system with her chosen family. Watching her transformation made the read worthwhile.

I’d recommend The Lost Passenger to historical fiction lovers, especially those who enjoy Titanic-era stories and themes of survival, resilience, and found family.

Loved the twist on a titanic story. Heartwarming ending. I was worried that she was going to leave but loved the power of her building herself up.

The Lost Passenger is a historical drama about identity, family, and societal expectations.

Elinor has always believed in romance, but when she finds herself in a loveless marriage, her world crumbles. She accepts she has to change to be accepted by the aristocracy she's married into, but when she's told how her son will be raised--with minimal maternal contact, sent to boarding school at seven, then onto Eton--Elinor decides to push back. When her father buys Elinor and her immediate family tickets to sail on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, Elinor sees a chance to be with her son and get her husband to agree to her terms for his upbringing. But when the unsinkable ship sails, Elinor must make a decision: go back to England and spend the rest of her life in misery, or lie her way to America and make a new life for herself and her son?

The first word I'd use to describe this book is "depressing." Elinor starts off as a sweet albeit sheltered lead, but as the sham of her marriage is revealed, things go downhill quickly. Elinor is heartbroken and defeated, and Quinn does a good job of showing Elinor's depression. However, the first third of the book is one page after another of horribly sad things happening to Elinor. Yes, it gives a solid foundation for her decisions in the second half of the book, but it's too much. I really had to force myself to keep picking the book up to get to the Titanic, which happens around the halfway mark. At that point, I was skimming quite a bit, but I regained interest once Elinor got to NYC.

Once in NYC, Elinor assumes the identity of Molly, her maid on the ship, and goes to live with Molly's family, whom the maid had never met and who are thus unaware of Elinor's deception. The family is sweet, and they welcome "Molly" with open arms. I loved seeing Elinor learn to take care of herself and be part of a household after a lifetime of having servants. She's never underestimated the importance of hard work, but she's never experienced it herself, and again, Quinn's descriptions of Elinor's slow road to being able to perform most tasks reads very realistically. Likewise, the scenes of the work that Elinor and the family have to do to make money give a vivid picture of NYC in the early twentieth century. Elinor leans on the lessons taught to her by her father and shows how hard work and a bit of cleverness can lead to success, but Elinor is also clever when the truth of her identity is threatened. There weren't truly any surprises in this aspect, but I did like how things played out.

Overall, The Lost Passenger isn't a bad book, it's just pretty sad and the pacing is rough. Elinor becomes a strong lead as she finds herself, but it took too long to get to that point.

In 1910, Elinor Hayward is swept off her feet by the attentions of Frederick Coombes, heir to a large English estate. But immediately after the wedding, reality hits. Frederick doesn’t love her. She’s been snatched up for her family wealth, even though her industrialist father is sneered at by her mother-in-law, Lady Storton, who makes Elinor’s life thoroughly miserable. She soon reconciles with herself that she can’t fight the system, even after the birth of a son and heir, so she settles for meek compliance, all the while watching for an avenue of escape. This eventually arrives by way of tickets for the Titanic’s maiden voyage. The sinking of the luxurious liner is the narrative bridge Quinn employs to cross from Elinor’s miserable English life to her new venture, under a new name, in New York.

Elinor’s experiences after her marriage are disturbing. She is repeatedly silenced and kept from her son, nastiness meant to ensure the family traditions are upheld as they have been for hundreds of years. But a fortuitous encounter aboard ship gives her an opportunity to escape and become a real mother to her son. Taking on a dead woman’s persona isn’t a decision Elinor, now Molly, takes lightly. Guilt haunts her, and her feelings are heartfelt as she surmounts many hurdles to avoid being discovered. New York’s Lower East Side’s cacophony is one of the joys of this novel. The clamour of the street markets, raucously competing languages, crowds bantering and bartering. It all creates a marvellous din that really grabs the reader’s senses. Elinor before, and Molly after, are both characters we’re willing to root for. Some necessary subterfuge aids plot tension as Molly finds her way in a life nothing like Elinor ever experienced. Quinn’s focused lens on an immigrant-centred early 20th-century New York explores the sincere value of true family and lasting friendships.

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn was a beautifully written novel that made me think. I really enjoyed it.

Frances Quinn’s latest offering has a fascinating opening line that drew me in immediately. Of course, I knew from the title that much of this novel was going to focus on the sinking of the Titanic. Quinn is an excellent writer and her descriptions of the rigidity of English upper-crust life are as compelling as the description of the sinking of the Titanic. I think it helped that Quinn brought her British sensibility to the descriptions.

Even though the book blurb reveals the centrality of the Titanic, I had no idea what was going to happen. I'm not going to tell you much more than that the main character starts a new life in New York with a new identity. But I will tell you that my heart was in my throat at least six times, as I worried how Elinor, now Molly, was going to get herself out of the variety of scrapes that were engendered by that identity switch.

The story will keep you reading, maybe into the wee hours. It's truly a worthwhile read. Kudos to Frances Quinn for a compelling story.

I highly recommend Frances Quinn’s debut US novel! She is a wonderful storyteller. Her historical novel, The Lost Passenger, reads like a memoir, told in the first person. We know from the first page that the protagonist is going to end up in New York, having sailed on the Titanic, but we do not know why she will take on another’s identity.
The first part of the novel takes place in England among the wealthy, living a lifestyle that appears enviable. The Lost Passenger evoked many emotions as I read about the life that Elinor experienced there. I was reminded that things are not always as they seem.
I could understand the excitement generated by the maiden voyage of a new, “unsinkable” ship that was to set sail to New York. As I read the pages, I felt the excitement that passengers experienced, but it was tempered with their naivety, not knowing what was to come.
The second part of the book takes place in New York as Elinor makes a new life for herself and her young son, always on guard lest her secret be exposed. Quinn’s descriptive writing evoked the sights, sounds, and smells of the city. I really felt that I was there!
Thank you to the publisher for the arc through NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine Books for this early digital copy of the Lost Passenger.

Elinor is the daughter of the cotton king. She has grown up in a life of moderate luxury at the side of her businessman father. Growing up in the mills taught Elinor many wonderful things making her a spirited and intelligent young woman- a true prize bride for a lucky man. After meeting a man from a legacy manor family, Elinor finds out that not all marriages have the happy endings she read about in her books. By the time Elinor, her husband, son Teddy and her father embark on the Titanic’s maiden voyage, she has lost site of the girl she used to be, living a limited life. After the Titanic disappears into the sea, and she is safely aboard the Carpathia, Elinor finds an opportunity that might be just what she needs to escape the overbearing weight of the Combe’s legacy. Will a new life in a new city bring her the happiness she so desperately desires?

Wow this was one of the better historical fiction novels I’ve read in a long time. For some reason the cover image made me think this would be a bit of a bore but I was wrong. I was drawn into Elinor’s story and rooted for her in every turn of her journey. I felt her sadness and outrage when she was worn down to a shell of herself in her marriage. I felt the fear and horror of the titanic’s demise her lucky escape, and I desperately wanted her to find happiness in her new life. There were some moments that the pacing was inconsistent which is why it’s 4/5 stars for me but overall a lovely historical fiction read that I didn’t want to stop reading.

A powerful and feminine novel about a woman's journey to unexpected freedom.

Our female lead, Elinor, went through things I can’t possibly imagine and through it all she does what is needed to give her son a happy life. She grows and expands her knowledge where it is needed to start fresh and her character development is inspiring!

We met many insufferable characters and many of those who we grew to love as they helped Elinor on her path. I loved the multiple settings we had including wealthy England, on board the Titanic, and amid the streets of New York during the early 1900s.

Overall a very powerful, well done, and emotional read!

Thank you to the publisher for the arc through NetGalley! All opinions are my own honest opinions.

This novel did have its ups and downs, but all in all, it was a gripping read. Add to that the very last page, which I never would have expected, and I'd have to say WOW. I would actually love another book that builds on Elinor and her sons lives.

What starts as a romantic novel quickly turns in a direction I never expected. Then, of course, we have the sinking of the Titanic and how Elinor and Teddy's life changes from that moment on.

It was fascinating to read about the time period, especially about New York in the 1910s; you get a good lesson in PTSD, excellent writing, and a lovely little backstab, or shall I say, Elinor gets to 'thumb her nose' at one of the objects of her early misery!

Great historical fiction!

*ARC supplied by the publisher Penguin Random House/ Ballantine Books, the author, and NetGalley.

It’s been awhile since I’ve read a historical fiction novel that blew me away, and this one definitely did! Its unique story set in the Titanic setting, drew me in quickly. I loved the mild suspense element, and that really kept me turning the pages until the very end. Highly recommend this book!

I am always intrigued by stories about the Titanic!This novel is a good one!Elinor is a passenger on the Titanic with her young son Teddy.She had married a man whose family only wanted her father’s money and a male heir.When the Titanic sank she and Teddy were rescued and she had to decide if she would go back and be forced to have her. little son raised by his grandparents or if she would make a new life in New York City.I really liked hearing about Elinor and the twists and turns in this novel,I hope more of this authors works will be printed in the US!Thank You Net Galley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine Books for allowing me to enjoy this ARC!

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

This story is divided into two parts: a pre-Titanic life for the main character and a post Titanic life. Young Elinor is a romantic and reads a lot of Jane Austen books. She thinks she has found the right man to marry. His family is a problem.

Elinor’s father has given the couple, their son Teddy and himself a trip to New York City on the ill-fated cruise liner. No surprises there, but what follows is part two of the story. On arriving in NYC, Elinor must leave her privileged life behind to start over incognito. Luckily she is a hard worker with lots of ideas.

I enjoyed the story though there were parts which didn’t hold my interest or move the story forward. It would pick up again, however, so I would rate it 3.5 stars,and bump it up to four stars for its surprisingly good ending.

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn is a captivating exploration of the sacrifices made for dreams, the illusions of love, and the enduring connection between a mother and her child. I found myself unable to set this book aside, so engrossed was I in its poignant narrative.