Very good. Between 4 and 5 stars.

Woman's husband marries her for the money her father provides as part of dowry; this manipulation was by the husband and his parents in order to better secure their estate.

I don't want to give away the plot, but it leads to transit on the Titanic.

Very good historical fiction.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine books for this historical fiction book. Approx 384 pages. Publication date is Feb 25, 2025.

I’m surprised I haven’t seen more reviews or buzz about this book. It’s absolutely fantastic! I’ve read many books based around the Titanic tragedy, but this is a completely new take and something I never considered - how easy for someone to disappear and start over if they were on that ship and survived. The story was so intriguing and held my attention from start to finish. I will definitely be recommending!

Thanks for the opportunity to read!

A wonderful story about perseverance and strength of spirit.

As a sucker for anything related to the Titanic, this was an immediate interest because the inciting incident of this book was the sinking. But the rest of the story was just as captivating. Elinor is a character that grows on you, and while some of her naivete about her married life was a bit grating at times, it was hard not to sympathize with her.

Having consumed a lot of media around this time period and around dynastic English families, Elinor's treatment was not surprising to me, which is probably part of the reason it was sometimes hard to be on her side. it felt like she should have known better, having grown up in the upper class, even if her upbringing was far different. That didn't make the treatment and what Elinor went through and ultimately felt she had to sacrifice any worse. At times, this story could have been a horror story.

The decision to shed her old life and step into that of a woman she barely knew is a fascinating premise, and one I dont feel like I've seen explored in terms of the Titanic before. There was so much chaos, the world was so different; did this happen in real life? Did some survivors see this tragedy as a means to escape? I love the what if of it all. Elinor in America is a wonderful character, watching her change and learn how to live and stand on her own two feet was a wonderful journey.

Elinor Coombes thought she was marrying the man of her dreams. It turned out he wanted her only for her rich father’s money. Elinor was never welcomed into her husband’s aristocratic family and found out too late that her only purpose was to let her husband steal her inheritance and to provide him with a son. Elinor’s father buys the family tickets to sail on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, and as the boat is sinking, Elinor makes a fateful decision to erase her past and start a new life with her young son Teddy, in New York. The author does a good job describing life in New York City in the early 1900s and the strength and determination it would take Elinor and those who helped her to survive there. I would like to thank NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A woman in a love less marriage, with a small child, sees an opportunity for a new life. After surviving the sinking of the Titanic, and the death of her husband and father, the protagonist reinvents herself and her son and embarks on a new life in America. Filled with historical details, this story depicts the struggles of immigrants fleeing to the new world in the hope for a better future.
I did find some parts of the book a bit unbelievable, especially when the main character gets recognized multiple times in a city teeming with hundreds of thousands of people, but all in all, this was a solid read.

Elinor is the only child of a wealthy mill owner, marries a titled man for love only to discover her new husband married her for money. She’s unhappy and becomes even more so when she gives birth to a son who is immediately given to a nanny’s care and she is only permitted to see him for one twenty minute period per day. When she learns he’ll be sent off to boarding school at age 7, and then to Eton, she realizes fully that she has no rights even as a mother.

When a family trip on the Titanic ends in tragedy Elinor is given the opportunity to try to create a new life for herself and her son, if she’s willing to try.

The Lost Passenger was engaging (if fairly predictable), kept my attention, and kept me turning the pages.

I enjoyed this one.



Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the DRC

Really enjoyed this! I am primarily a thriller reader but have gotten into historical fiction recently, and this story intrigued me. The author seems to have done her research to portray life accurately for this time period. I sympathized with Elinor and understood her motivation, but expected the story to be a little more twisty and turny - probably the thriller reader in me. I will say I was surprised it took 2 years for the story to come to a head, and I didn't quite understand the reason the Tommy Jenkins character was added in (I mean, I do, but overall I wasn't sure it added a lot). I was almost expecting a reconciling in England for Elinor but I was happy with her happy ending. It was a great story of immigrant struggles and community in turn of the century NYC. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the galley of this good read!

Centered around the sinking of the Titantic, The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn delves into the fictitious life of Elinor Coombes. Born into the working class in England, Elinor was chosen by a future earl to be his wife, all in order to fill the coffers. Elinor thought they had married for love. Years down the road, after a miserable marriage, Elinor's father bought passage on the doomed Titanic for Elinor, her husband, their son, and him. Upon the Titanic disaster, Elinor saw a way to change her life and that of her son. Would she have the courage to do it?

I thought the character of Elinor was whiny and self-centered, at least at first. The book was slow in development. However, Elinor did develop into a stronger character as the book evolved.

Releases Feb 25th. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

An interesting tale of a life not as expected and how to overcome and change your path.
I totally enjoyed this book. The characters are kind, generous and caring. Of course we also have the mean, selfish characters early in the story but they enable the plot to evolve.

Oh my - couldn't put this one down! If you were reinventing life, how would you go about it? When the sinking of the Titanic provides a way of escape for Elinor and her son Teddy, she grabs it.

Learning a new way, leaving behind status and fortune, Elinor creates a new future - and the telling of how it happens will have you turning page after page. Exciting, compelling, and satisfying in the end, this is a wonderful tale. Well written and paced.

Well worth buying a copy and passing it on to a friend when you turn the final page.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I really really enjoyed this sweet story for female empowerment. At first young Elinor, daughter of the cotton king of Britton is smitten by being romanced by a charming Earl . However the reality is that he needs her money to keep his vast estate afloat. She is trapped by her inlaws who soon take control of aspects her life, including their young son who she is only allowed to see for 20 minutes a day. After they tear him our of her arms and she complains they threaten have her committed for an asylum her “mental” condition. So when her father offers to take them on a vacation to America, she jumps at the chance to have sometime with her son. Unfortunately, the ship is the Titanic.
Side note- I appreciated the author’s treatment of the event, it was fairly quick.Its a personal phobia of mine, and we all know what happened, and I was dreading reading ghastly details. 100 years later my heart still breaks for the passengers and crew. Fortunately, the story quickly continued in NY. The author treated the resulting PTSD with sensitivity and tenderness.
When their maid Molly lose her life Elinor gets the idea to take her identity. I was completely invested in her success at this point. She starts of doing piece work but then uses her grit, skills and ingenuity to build a future for her son and herself. The characters were richly drawn and I didn’t want the book to end.
Reccomend

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I really enjoyed this book. It’s a fascinating historical drama that dives into life after the Titanic disaster, focusing on a survivor who reinvents their life by taking on a new identity. The story balances the strict traditions of English aristocracy with the energy and opportunities of a bustling, young New York City, which was one of my favorite parts of the book. The descriptions of NYC at the time were so vivid—it felt like stepping back in time!

What really stood out was how the book explored identity, resilience, and the courage it takes to start over. It also made me think about something I hadn’t considered before—the trauma survivors of the Titanic carried with them. Frances Quinn brings that emotional struggle to life in such a thoughtful and personal way.

If you’re into historical fiction with rich settings and a lot of heart, I’d definitely recommend this one!

I really enjoyed this read, from beginning to end, and then the blip of whats to come!
I can just imagine the young girl impressed at being invited to a society affair, and then the chance meeting of her future husband, yes he swept her off her feet.
The wedding and then reality! The one saving grace was her darling Teddy, but the truth of life, so different and so cold.
Her father had promised, two years prior, tickets on the maiden voyage of the beautiful new ship, the Titanic! He provides her with five tickets, one for her, her husband, son, maid and butler. We know what happens to the ship, but do any survive?
The story gets even more interesting, when she takes the name of a missing passenger, and assumes her life.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave, but there are a few whom she comes in contact with that figure out the the truth.
Does she get away with it? What a page turner for answers, and yes, they come, with even more surprises!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and was not required to give a positive review.

This was a great read! I love historical fiction and stories of the Titanic.

I loved the FMC, Elinor and reading her story. Her disappointments in life and how she dealt with them. She made a brave choice and reading her story had me on the edge of my seat rooting for her!

A really great book!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for providing this ARC for my honest review.

#NetGalley #TheLostPassenger #FrancesQuinn

I received this ARC from NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an honest review. This is a very interesting book about the Titanic tragedy where over 1,000 people drowned on a new ship that was supposed to be unsinkable. The story follows Elinor Hayward as she is lured into a loveless marriage to Frederick Coombes . Frederick’s parents encourage him to marry for money and to produce an heir to inherit their estate. The story follows Elinor to New York where she tries to start a new life with her son, Teddy. The story has many surprises that keep it interesting.

The Lost Passenger is an immersive historical fiction novel that sucks you in from the start. Lured into a loveless marriage to prop up the English aristocracy with her father’s money, Elinor is looked down on by her new family as common and has trouble adjusting to the life of the titled. When she finds out that her new husband is having an affair with her best friend and her misery is at its peak, her father sends first class tickets for a vacation to New York aboard the Titanic, and Elinor absolutely insists on taking her husband and young son to spend some much needed quality time with her father.

When the Titanic sinks, Elinor loses her husband and father, and because her husbands will stipulates her sons guardianship in the event of his death be passed to his parents, Elinor is faced with the possibility of losing her son too, so she assumes the life of another passenger when she finally lands in New York.

While this book is a quintessential example of American dream, I remain conflicted. The lies and blackmail abound, the choice Elinor made for her son, the assumption of another persons life, etc. I can absolutely understand why she’d want to disappear— but when and if she remarried, does she tell her new husband who she is? When her business grows big enough to draw attention, how can she get her papers? What if she just told her father the truth in the beginning? He clearly loved her, and he certainly would have supported her.

The story is beautiful and certainly last page was just enough to drive you wild with satisfaction… but taking another persons life— it feels so much like the easy way out. I kept waiting for Elinor to surface and be proudly and unapologetically Elinor - not only broken and tragic, but capable and strong. Clearly this is a book that will stay with you for a bit after finishing.

I would like to thank Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine books for the ARC!
This was fantastic. It was so beautifully written, and such a great story. Being a mom myself, I really felt for what Elinor was going through in the beginning. I was baffled that they could do that to her.
This book is what i think of what i think of historical fiction, and one of the reasons I love it.
The amount of background story was a lot, but crucial to the story, and why she did was she did.
Finding a new life had to be hard, especially after what she went through.
Overall, it was fantastic, well written, quick chapters, great plot and main character.

What a great story! With elements of aristocracy, love, parenthood, and taking on a new identity all tied to the Titanic, how could it miss? It doesn’t. This is the first of British novelist Frances Quinn’s books that I’ve read, but now I’ll check out her previous releases.

The protagonist, Elinor Coombes, is a character to love. She’s smart, willing to take chances, and in love. But the first chance she takes—marrying a wealthy Englishman she doesn’t know well—proves to be miserable. When her father gives the unhappy couple tickets for the maiden voyage of the new luxurious ocean liner, RMS Titanic, she hopes the escape will turn things around.
Well, we all know what happened to that ship. But Quinn has some delectable surprises for her readers. Elinor and her young son survive and start over in a new world that is nothing like hers. Welcome to America, the place of second chances and secrets

Though mildly stereotypical, the characters are all well-drawn and interesting and still have original, compelling voices. Their stories will tug at your heart. From the antagonistic mother-in-law to the scrappy “found” cousin, you’ll see the world at that time through new lenses.
Quinn explores themes of a mother’s love, courage, risk-taking, women's independence, marriage and family, and authenticity with nimble writing. The Lost Passenger is riveting, dramatic, and satisfying—everything you want historical fiction to be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for my advance reader copy.

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn is a wonderfully immersive historical fiction read set in the early 1900's in England and America in the years shortly before and after the Titanic's maiden voyage.

Elinor Coombes, daughter of a self-made businessman with notable wealth, finds herself married to an English aristocrat, Frederick Storton, after a brief courtship. Though she has always dreamed of a love-filled, happily-ever-after marriage, she quickly awakens to the reality that this is not, and never will be, the case. This becomes even more apparent after she gives birth to her son, the long-awaited male heir who is meant to carry the Storton's name, holdings, and way of life into the future.

At first, the trip aboard the Titanic is but a welcome respite from her stifled live in England. When the ship sinks and Elinor and her son survive, Elinor realizes this may be her only chance to break away from the life she hates and save her son from the future in store for him.

Quinn does an excellent job of depicting the differences of life in various social classes in both countries, and of placing the reader into the events and time period of the novel. This is quite an engaging read. I highly recommend it!

My thanks to Ballantine/Dell for allowing me to access a DRC of the novel via NetGalley. Publication is 2/25/25. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

A sincere thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for providing the opportunity to read this advanced reader copy.

The Lost Passenger takes readers on an unforgettable journey through the life of Elinor Coombes, a young aristocratic bride deceived into a loveless marriage. From the harrowing experience of surviving the Titanic disaster to forging a new life as an immigrant and single mother in New York City, Elinor’s story is one of resilience, self-discovery, and inner strength. Her struggles and ethical dilemmas will captivate you, leaving you both astounded by her courage and invested in her triumphs. Perfect for fans of historical fiction, this heartwarming novel is a must-read that promises to leave a lasting impression.