A young woman uses the tragedy of the Titanic to escape a stifling aristocratic life for her and her son.

The synopsis really gives a lot away but that okay. The story is still intense, even after the Titanic voyage. While this story is similar in plot to the Titanic movie, there is not a romance (thankfully!). This book is solely about a young woman’s resilience, strength, and dedication to her son.

“We’d been given a chance to go on with our lives, when so many others had lost theirs. What if I decided not to waste that chance on a life that would make us both miserable?

The Lost Passenger comes out 2/25.

What a wonderful historical drama in a time era that I love reading about. How ones life can change. How do you go on and make a new life for yourself and your child. This is in 1912 when life was so very different, and then the new life must take place in a new country.

Elinor Hayward was the daughter of a wealthy father. Growing up in England, her father known as "The Cotton King". Life change for her and married a man from a higher society level. So many rules in a higher society and living with what were really strangers to her. They only wanted her father's wealth and for her to bear an heir. She called her son, Teddy. Elinor was so unhappy where she had to live finding out this husband did not love her at all.

Her father offered a generous gift of a cruise on a ship to America. What a break it would be away from the the unhappy life with this family of her husband's. They all would go, father, her, Teddy, Nanny and her husband. Tragedy happened the night the ship hit an iceberg. Her husband making sure she and the little one got a seat on the life boat. Not knowing she would ever see her father and husband again.

The disaster made it so that she must figure out she would go on in life, and in a country foreign. She took the identity of another woman. Learning new skills and how to get on in life. The reason I wanted to read this book is I love historical fiction and learning the name of the ship intrigued me.

Thank you Frances Quinn for a wonderful read, my first of one of your books. Planning on reading more of your writings. And thank you to Random House for choosing me to read her book. Also thank you to Net Galley as always.

A remarkable story of a woman brave enough to throw away her present unhappy life and become someone else. Elinor is trapped in a cold marriage but one day an escape plan is right in front of her. Her father has two tickets for her on the maiden voyage of the Titanic so she boards the ship with her young son. The ship sinks and Elinor takes the chance to become someone else and take another woman’s identity. But she has to learn how to navigate a world unknown to her.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Elinor Coombs survived the sinking of the Titanic. It'll be harder to escape the life she left behind.
It's hard to think why a woman would choose to leave money and a title to live hard scrabble in New York City, but this was so well written that I cheered for her until the end.

Well written historical fiction with strong women characters. Besides being a well paced family drama with excellent characters, this book dealt with many social issues of the early 1900s including class inequities, gender inequities, and immigrant experiences. I couldn't put it down and read it straight through in two days. Highly recommmended

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced reader copy.

Amazing story. I loved it. What a beautiful story of survival, mother's love and courage. So so good, emotional - so well written. So much detail, so vivid - I dont normally binge a historical fiction book but I found myself so sucked in I wanted to know what would happen to Elinor. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was my first book from Frances Quinn and I enjoyed it! I look forward to reading more books from Frances.

Oh wow! I loved this book! The story had a new slant on lots of things, the Titanic, the upper-class Titled English, the rich self-made people, the immigrants, the lower east side of New York, and carts, the living conditions, and a very determined strong woman! Loved it all. I very highly recommend this to anyone and everyone! Great book!

3.5 stars. Historical fiction about a strong woman who forges a new life for herself and her toddler son when they survive the sinking of the Titanic. This was well-written, and I liked the character of Elinor, flaws and all. Elinor, the daughter of a wealthy self-made man, is trapped in a constricting marriage to an aristocrat who tricked her into marrying him so that her father's funds could prop up his family's estate. Worse, when Elinor gives birth to the male heir of the family, her time with her son is severely limited and she has to toe the family line to get any time with him at all. When her father treats Elinor, her husband, and their son to the inaugural sailing of the Titanic, Elinor jumps at the chance to have time with her father and son. After the tragic accident, Elinor and her son are among the survivors, and she decides to escape her life in England by taking on the identity of her maid, who has drowned. This means that Elinor lies to a family of very nice people (who had never met said maid in person) and lives with them, but she works hard and suffers a lot of angst over the lies, so I guess that's okay? There was a Chekhov's gun that was never used, which was frustrating, and everything worked out a little too neatly, but this was still enjoyable historical fiction with richly drawn characters and setting. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a digital review copy.

Elinor Coombes is tricked into a marriage with an aristocratic man who is in love with another woman. Elinor has a son, Teddy, with her husband but has no chance to raise him due to an overbearing mother-in-law and Nanny. She has the opportunity to travel on the Titanic and jumps at the chance to get away and spend quality time with Teddy and her father. We all know what happens to the Titanic, but Elinor and Teddy survive the sinking and arrive in America. Elinor assumes the identity of a lost passenger and starts a new life in America, but her old life catches up with her and she is afraid she will have to return her son to her in-laws.

This was a really interesting read! I was drawn in immediately and couldn't put the book down when Elinor went on the Titanic. I will admit that the second half of the book went in a totally different direction than I was expecting and wasn't as engaging as the first half of the book. When Elinor's past comes back to haunt her around 80% into the book I was fully engaged again and I was satisfied with the ending. This is the first historical fiction that I have read in a while and my overall rating is 5 stars and I added this book to my wishlist.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for the advanced copy. The Lost Passenger is available on February 25, 2025.

3.75 stars

Nicely done historical fiction. Main character Elinor is the daughter of a wealthy English tradesman. She is scooped up by an aristocrat seeking a fortune to shore up the family estate. Elinor is young and naive, although with a sharp head for business. She thinks she is making a love match and is disillusioned when she learns the truth. She is miserable in her marriage and her inlaws make it clear their son has married beneath him. When they have a son, he is whisked away by a nanny and she is told he will be sent off to school at an early age to be molded into the stiff upper lip stereotype.

Elinor, her father, her husband and son journey to America on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. When the unthinkable happens, Elinor and her baby make it into a lifeboat but the men perish. Through the long perilous night, she realizes this is her chance to start over and escape the isolation and boredom of British upper class life. She assumes the identity of a maid and moves in to their NY City tenement.

The book becomes more interesting when Elinor the pampered becomes a wage earner. Her very different life is challenging but she discovers how resilient and tough she really is.

An enjoyable read with a main character that you want to see succeed. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

It was slow to get into this book, but in the end I was glad I stuck with it. Great story about reinventing yourself (or finding it again) and taking change of your life. Elinor proved that you can be brave for yourself and those you love!

As an elder millennial I am and always will be obsessed with all things Titanic. The first half of this book was so interesting… the FMC’s life as a well-to-do wife in England and how little power she had over her own future. Her time on the Titanic was interesting to read about but I wish the actual sinking had been more descriptive. Her life in NYC was a little slow for me but overall it was a good representation of the immigrant experience in the early 1900/.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

There are lots of books around the Titanic, but Quinn makes this one come alive in a very different way.

Elinor marries well, or so everyone thought. Her life becomes so unbearable - until she boards the Titanic with her husband, son and her wealthy father. We all know what happens to the Titanic - it's what happens after that that creates the plot of the book. I don't want to give anything away - but this was an easy read that kept my interest throughout until the very end. It is all about the twists and turns of the story. The characters are so well written that I felt like I could be sitting in the kitchen having a cup of tea with them. I highly recommend this book for a good read that you can escape into.

I was given this book by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

4.0 stars
DEFINITE recommend

I liked this book, but I didn't love it.

I disliked the titled or rich characters including the main character, Elinor. The main character just bothered me by lying, not telling the truth before getting caught, and then having people standing by her after her duplicity was revealed. I think that her sins were too great.

The sinking of the Titanic was well-done, but horrific to read. It was worse than watching the movie because my mind was graphic!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6902669470 - posted 1/29/2025

Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/fadece19-31be-4118-8c7a-d3be86b140e9?redirect=true - posted 1/29/2025

Books by Dorothea blog: https://booksbydorothea.blogspot.com/2025/01/review-lost-passenger-earcebook.html - posted 1/29/2025

I DNF’d this book. I really didn’t like the direction this book was taking. I will let other reviewers who enjoy this book promote it. I will not be posting on social media or reviewing on retail sites. That way, this book gets much deserved attention from those reviewers who loved it!

This book surpassed my expectations. I loved reading about Elinor’s struggle to have those around her to see her as being a loving and caring mother, who is valid and capable of making choices best for herself and her child. This book truly puts into perspective how little advocacy woman had in marriages in the early 1900’s. Elinor to readers today comes off as a saine strong woman who only wants what is best for herself and her child. And I am proud of her that she is willing to leave everything behind to make sure he has the life that she wants for him. This story is beautiful, and poignant and a testament to a woman willing to do anything to protect her child, even start over with nothing in her pocket.
Thank you so much to Random House Publishing Ballantine and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

I was intrigued by this book because it is centered around the titanic, plus all my instagram friends who have been using netgalley for years have been giving it high praise. I trust these friends to know what is a good read because we generally have the same tastes. I am so thrilled to say I was not dissapointed! Elinor was the perfect example of a woman who would go to the ends of the earth to protect her child. My heart broke for her over the way her husbands family treated her. She just wanted to see her kid! She found the courage to leave everything behind to start over. She went from riches to rags and made the most of it. When her secret was threatened to be revealed, she got the best revenge!
I will definitely be buying a copy to put on my shelf when it comes out. I will be thinking back on this story for a long time... It was such an amazing read!

I am always slightly anxious when I start to read historical fiction, because it's not my typical genre and I think it won't be an enjoyable read for me. If you are like me, you need not be concerned about that with The Lost Passenger. It had me hooked from the very first page and I enjoyed every second!

Elinor Coombes is a young girl who is tricked into a marriage with a man from an aristocratic family. He is in love with someone else, but his family needs Elinor for her father's (self-made) money. She has a mother-in-law from hell who won't even let her raise her own son! So, when her father offers Elinor and her husband and her son Teddy a trip on the Titanic with him, she seizes the opportunity to spend time with her beloved son and father. When the ship sinks and her husband and father don't survive, she has to make the choice between going back to an unhappy life where she will have to give up guardianship of Teddy to her in-laws or starting a new life in New York where she will have to live as an imposter. It's actually an easy decision, because above all else Elinor wants the best life for her son.

I don't want to give away too much more, but I do want to say that I absolutely LOVED the relationships that Elinor makes when she arrives in New York and the way she adapts to her new life. I couldn't help but root for Elinor as she found strength and confidence in herself and builds a happy life for her and her son.

Thanks so much to Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The expected publication date is February 25, 2025.

Elinor comes from new money and enters into what she thinks is a fairy tale marriage, but her dream is shattered when she finds her husband and his family are only after her money. I must admit this part of the book was not particularly enjoyable. It felt more like a template romance than a historical novel. However, I persevered and was glad I did because once Elinor was on the Titanic and her "escape" plan started to form things got interesting. The details of the Titanic voyage were riveting and once she arrives in New York I became fully engaged by her deception and need to adapt to a new identity. All was wrapped up tidily with a happy ending.