4.5*
How far would you go to keep your child safe? Is lying and hiding the truth justified?
These are some of the questions you will be left with at the end of The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction story surrounding the time of the sinking of the Titanic!! It was the most engaging book on the topic I have read.

I was initially disappointed when I began to read and discovered that the story spends more time on character's lives before and after the sinking of the Titanic instead of the actual event but I became invested in the characters and how their lives would change and evolve. There is also an air of mystery and suspense that kept me reading as I did not know how the author would resolve things.

👍If you like:

⚓ historical fiction
⚓character growth
⚓lots of classic literature references, especially Jane Austen
⚓Titanic stories
⚓the resilience of a mother
⚓found family
⚓forgiveness

give this one a go!

This has just a couple occurrences of 🤬and 🌶️.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read this one!

As horrible as the tragedy of the Titanic is, it provides Elinor an opportunity for a new life. When she married above her social class she naively assumed it was a love match. But when the realities of aristocratic English life become her reality, she realizes how powerless she is, even when it comes to raising her son. She is excited when given the opportunity to ride on the Titanic to have a few weeks to spend more time with her son. But when the ship sinks, and she loses her husband and father, she realizes she has an opportunity to create a new life in New York! But that opportunity comes at a cost. And will she be able to get away with it? Will her in-laws find out their heir is still alive?
This was an interesting story of resilience, ingenuity, perseverance, and found family. Although the Titanic is obviously a major plot point, it doesn't focus heavily on the trip and sinking, but more so on Elinor's life afterwards and how she survives and thrives. There are some heartfelt plot points about grief and loss and overcoming trauma as well.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and stories of strong women characters!
Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the free advanced copy in exchange for my review!
#NetGalley #TheLostPassenger

The strict social tiers of early 20th century England prevent Elinor from realizing her dream of running her father’s successful business. Instead, she must marry an engaging aristocrat who sweeps her off her feet. It isn’t until after the wedding g that she discovers his true nature and the fact that his interest is only her father’s money.
A strange wedding present from her father, tickets on the luxury liner Titanic, offers her a respite. When the ship goes down and Elinor survives, she grabs at a chance to change her fortune by adopting another woman’s identity. She and her son learn to survive in an unfamiliar and rugged environment. That is, until a chance encounter with someone from her past forces her to do whatever it takes to keep herself and her son safe.
There was a passing similarity to the movie Titanic, especially in the shipboard environment, and, of course, Elinor’s appropriation of an other’s identity.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and would recommend it for it’s story and historical content.

Elinor Coombes, daughter of a self-made millionaire in England is thrilled to be swept off her feet by a real English lord. After a whirlwind courtship and wedding, she quickly becomes pregnant. Elinor is initially thrilled, but soon concludes that she was only desirable because of the magnificent dowry she brought to repair the castle and prop up the family fortunes. Her husband admits he is, and always was in love with another woman. Elinor realizes the woman is the only who has befriended her. She sinks into a depressed state, especially when she is told that she will only see her son twenty minutes a day and he will be sent to boarding school at age seven. Even if something happens to her husband, it is his parents, not Elinor, who will have custody and make decisions for their son.

The only thing Elinor is looking forward to is a trip with her own father. Her husband and son, as well as a servant to help care for Teddy are all scheduled to sail to America on the Titanic. As they are boarding the ship, their servant refuses to go, Another passenger, a young woman in steerage class, overhears the attempts to get her to stay and volunteers to care for Teddy. Elinor and Molly Mortimer hit it off quickly and confide in one another. Molly is to live with distant relatives that she has never met. Elinor is greatly enjoying the voyage, taking the opportunity to spend time with her son and father as well as making a friend of Molly. Until the evening of April 14th. The unsinkable ship has hit an iceberg and is going down quickly. Elinor's father and husband get her and Teddy on a lifeboat while Molly returns to her cabin for her savings. When the lifeboat is cut free, Molly hasn't returned. Molly and her fellow passengers watch the boat sink and spend the long, dark, cold night listening to the cries of those in the water dwindle away. After being rescued by the Carpathia, Elinor realizes her father, husband, and Molly are all gone.

Knowing she will be required to turn her son over to his grandparents and that her father has left his company to his employees, Elinor decides to assume Molly's identity. She learns quickly and is able to convince most of the family that she is their cousin. But her secret is threatened by another survivor who recognizes her.

Similar to other stories about people assuming someone else's identity after a disaster, the author still provides a fascinating story of what people can and will do when faced with horrible circumstances and decisions.

“The whole family thought that I was lucky to be ‘marrying up,’ and that life as the next Lady Storton had plenty to recommend it. And my father had thought that too. None of us realized we were reading two different stories.“


Cindy Burnett, from The Thoughts From A Page Podcast, recommends The Lost Passenger “for fans of engaging historical fiction” and she hits the nail on the head once again. This new novel features a heroine who does not tip toe around patrician tradition, and then realizes she’s entered a fight with the landed gentry that she can’t win.

In the opening chapters Elinor Hayward, daughter of a self made successful textile entrepreneur, is tricked into marrying Frederick Storton. Her 1910 English wedding sets the stage for a life very different from the one she imagined in her classic novels.

A leisure cruise aboard an ocean liner deemed unsinkable proves to be devastating but may just provide an opportunity for a new beginning. As the Titanic survivors come ashore in New York harbor Elinor discovers that her most pressing challenges may just lie ahead.

This had a similar feel and cadence to one of my favorite novels, The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner, and although it would not be considered a true comparable read, I enjoyed it similarly.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballentine for the early copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Net Galley and Ballantine Books for an Advanced Reader Copy. As sometimes happens, the blurb on Goodreads covers 2/3 of the book. That would have mattered less if the characters weren’t stereotypically one dimensional. The characters and plot in the last third of the book changed my mind about the rating I would have given (up from a 2 to a 3) and my interest in reading more by this author (I’ll be looking for Quinn’s books in the future).

Interesting story.

For a long time, people have used tragedy to escape from their lives, and this is one of those stories. Elinor is unhappy, trapped in a loveless marriage and denied the opportunity to be a real mother to her son. In fairness, her husband and his family are acting exactly as was “the way” in the day for their class of people.

When Elinor sees a chance to escape that life, she takes it. Assuming the identity of a ladies maid, she becomes Molly. Elinor never has had to fend for herself, but in order to fit in as Molly, she learns. I appreciate the strength and determination it took to rebuild her and her son’s life, but I did feel bad about her lying to Molly’s family for so long.

This was a decent story, well-written. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

This is a very informative and touching story. Elinor starts off as the very loved and well taken care of daughter of “the cotton king”. She marries the future Lord of Winterton and soon learns it is not a love match on his part but planned for her money and to have an heir. She realizes how little women are respected and the isn’t happy with the role she is expected to play. When her father sends tickets for her, her husband Frederick, their son Teddy and two servants to join him on the Titanic she is able to convince Frederick to go. When the tragedy strikes she is able to disappear with a false identity. How long can she remain missing? Is anyone looking for her?
I enjoyed this story and found it to be a page turner. Elinor is quite resourceful and uses her skills to help herself and others. She is also adaptable and Kearns new skills quickly when she needs them. I found the ending to be very satisfying. A life one person is content living does not mean everyone else would be happy in the same circumstances.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, pick up this book as soon as it becomes available!

Elinor was raised with "new money" her father earned in the English cotton manufacturing industry. She is a lover of literature and happy endings. Believing she found her own happily ever after, she marries into "old money" but soon realizes she has been tricked. Her husband is in love with another, and her purpose has always been to lend her father's money to their aging estate and give birth to an heir. After giving birth, things decline further as she is not permitted to be an involved mother in her new son's life. Elinor's father keeps a promise and sends her tickets for her and her family to join him on the Titanic's ill-fated maiden voyage. Elinor has to think quick; she has a terrible choice to make.

This is a story of a mother who is willing to do whatever it takes to make a life for herself and her son. I enjoyed the characters, especially Elinor. The novel was perfectly paced with the right amount of before the Titanic, during the event, and the repercussions that came afterward.

Thanks go to Ballentine Books and Netgalley for this incredible ARC.

This was my first ever book by Frances Quinn. I am OBSESSED with the movie Titanic so I was really excited to receive this ARC! I flew through the first 50% of this book. I was like "wow, this book is so easy to read!" I am not sure what changed after that, but I found the second half a little repetitive. I did still enjoy it and I loved all the new characters that got introduced in the second half of the book, so I just can't put my finger on why the second half was a little slower than the first half. I really appreciated the ending and felt like everything got wrapped up nicely.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

The Lost Passenger is an intriguing historical fiction novel about a young English woman who attempts to run from her previous life after surviving the sinking of the Titanic. Elinor is the 19-year old daughter of a self-made millionaire. She unknowingly enters a loveless marriage with the titled Frederick, who is in need of her money. Elinor is later thrilled by the opportunity to escape her in-laws expectations for a short time when her father treats her, Frederick and their 2-year old son to the maiden voyage on the Titanic. After surviving the horror of the ship’s sinking, Elinor assumes the identity of a working class victim and attempts to make a new life for herself and her son in New York with the other woman’s family.
I preferred the content and pacing of the second half of the novel, especially Elinor’s determination and resourcefulness, and the theme of found family. “This place that I’d found so strange at first was my home now, and I didn’t want to leave it, or the life we’d built here.” I found the ending satisfying, when Elinor realizes “that there’s more than one kind of happy ending”. 4/5⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own. Pub date: 2/25/25

Times were different back then and Elinor was the daughter of “Cotton King,” Robert Hayward, who built up his cotton business from the ground up and became a millionaire. They got invited to a ball, and Frederick Coombes is the son and heir of Lord Stanton, Earl of Winterton Estate, started talking to her and they had a good time. The next thing she knew, Frederick asked her to marry him, and they would get married immediately. She thought Frederick loved her, but discovered on her wedding day, that he proposed because of her wealthy father, and their estate needed a lot of work which required a lot of money. After they were married, she got pregnant and had a son, which is what he needed. Her mother-in-law told her the nanny would be taking care of her son, until he went to boarding schools. She could only see him very little, because he had to be raised right.
Her father buys tickets to go on the RMS Titanic, for her, Frederick, their son Teddy, himself and two servants., they went. When the Titanic hit an iceberg, Elinor and Teddy were the only ones from their group that made it to a lifeboat. Before they arrived in New York, Elinor had a decision to make, and she made it. She became Molly, the servant that helped her with Teddy and took on her identity. The story is fast-paced and when she got to New York she starts to rebuild a new life. She is always wondering if she will be found out, but she starts a small business and makes some friends. It was an exciting story, that kept me reading, and learning what life was like back then. Elinor, being a woman, made things harder for her, but she kept moving forward, and you will have to read the book to see how it goes. Enjoy it, I sure did.
I received an ARC from Ballantine Books through NetGalley.

This was a book I could not put down. It was excellent! I read a lot of historical fiction and this one stands out as one of the best. I was completely invested in Elinor and, despite an extremely frustrating first 30%, I never lost faith that she would triumph over her extremely restrictive marital circumstances. The sinking of the Titanic was handled very well. Not too detailed, not to minimal. The second half of the book kept my attention as well, mainly because Elinor is such an excellent main character. I would highly recommend this book to others and would love to explore others by this author.

Elinor is the teenaged daughter of England’s millionaire widower “Cotton King,” Robert Hayward, who built his cotton business from nothing. Like many young girls, Elinor dreams of marrying for love. When a young aristocrat shows an interest in her at a ball given by Lord and Lady Burnham she and her father were, surprisingly, invited to, she is quickly smitten. Frederick Coombes is the son and heir of Lord Stanton, Earl of Winterton Estate. Within weeks, Frederick negotiates with Elinor’s father for her hand in marriage. On her wedding day, however, Elinor overhears her new mother-in-law, Lady Stanton, talking to Lady Burnham and learns that the invitation to the ball as well as Frederick’s accidental meeting with Elinor had been a set up: the estate needed a lot of money to keep it running, and she was the answer. Elinor is trapped in a loveless marriage with a man who is carrying on an affair with his childhood sweetheart and when she has their first child, a son named Edward (who she calls Teddy), he is whisked away by a nanny, and she is only allowed to see him for 20 minutes a day. Moreover, she learns he will be sent to boarding school at the age of seven, just like his father, and all the male Coombes’s going back in history. In addition, she is forced to sign a document that would make Lord and Lady Stanton Teddy’s legal guardians in the event of Frederick’s death.

When Elinor’s father buys tickets on The Titanic for himself, Elinor, Frederick, Teddy, and two servants, she is thrilled to have this time away from Winterton and the opportunity for Teddy to get to know his other grandfather. When Elinor’s lady’s maid, Rose, refuses to get on the ship because of the nightmares she had been having about it, a young woman name Molly Mortimer overhears and offers her services (along with a reference letter). It’s no spoiler to say what happened to The Titanic; out of their party of six, only Elinor and Teddy make it into a lifeboat and, after not finding any of the others on the rescue ship and seeing a way that she would not have to give Teddy over to Frederick’s parents, Elinor decides to adopt Molly’s name as they arrive in New York. Accordingly, the papers report that Mr. Hayward, Frederick, Elinor, and Teddy perished. Molly had been on her to lower Manhattan to stay with her long-dead mother’s sister, Ruth, whom she had never met; Elinor, along with Teddy, simply took her place, moving in with Ruth, her husband, Per, mother-in-law Anna, and Ruth and Per’s two children.

I found there were too many coincidences, some moments of disbelief suspension, and a couple of predictable plot lines, but the story nevertheless held my interest throughout, and the period details seemed spot on. Three-and-a-half stars.

Thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and Ms. Quinn for the advance reader’s copy of this historical fiction.

This was a fresh story about the Titanic and one of the survivors. I enjoyed reading it and liked the characters, especially Elinor. It was an emotional read as well. I didnt like that the synopsis tells pretty much the whole story. Other than that it was great! I highly recommend for fans of historical fiction.

*3.5 stars - rounding up*

Elinor Coombes thinks she has found the man of her dreams - Frederick - who sweeps her off her feet and proposes to her after a whirlwind courtship. He is heir to Winterton a large estate that is currently run by his father Lord Storton and Lady Storton. After marrying Frederick Elinor moves into Winterton and quickly finds out that all is not as wonderful as she thought - she has been tricked into the marriage for her money and life at Winterton is miserable. After giving birth to their son Teddy Elinor's life becomes even worse as she never gets to see her own child and sees a future mapped out for him that is cold and lifeless.

She is ecstatic when she has the chance to go on the maiden voyage of the Titanic with Frederick, Teddy, and her father. This is her chance to spend some time with her own child and with her father who she hasn't seen since getting married. We all know what the fate of the Titanic is and without going into detail the sinking presents Elinor with an opportunity to have a new life for herself and Teddy in New York - however this new life comes with secrets and lies. Could Elinor lose everything and have to return to Winterton?

When I first started reading this book it didn't quite grab me - I didn't find the characters too engaging and found Elinor to be a bit whiny. Of course, I loathed the Stortons who are the kind of villains of the story. I went into this book not really knowing what it was about so when I read that they were going on the Titanic I was immediately interested as I love any history regarding the Titanic. Honestly though the bit about the Titanic is really just setting up the backdrop for Elinor to start her new life. The book really picked up for me when Elinor and Teddy began their new life in New York. I really loved the new characters that were introduced - Ruth, Per, Anna. They brought some much-needed warmth and flavor to the book. This is also where I really grew to love the character of Elinor - she really came into her own - with each chapter you could see her strength and confidence growing and I loved the character development. She managed to deal with two situations that could have ruined her new life with grace and cunning - instead of totally panicking and I admired that. I won't spoil how it all turns out, but it was a nice, good read - I had never read anything by Frances Quinn before and I enjoyed this. Thank you to Ballantine Books and Net Galley for an advance copy of the book for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book and I can;t wait to check out the audiobook version of this book

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book.

I truly enjoyed this story; the author covered the background of the characters perfectly, plus the Titanic sinking was done well and she had wonderful explanations of why Elinor made some of her decisions. My only con was she repeated various statements multiple times, as if the reader had forgotten what was already said previously.
Nevertheless, this book was a great read. I loved how Molly (Elinor) adapted, jumped right in and flourished in her new environment and I especially was impressed with her new family’s generosity. It was educational to hear about the carts they sold their wares from in the streets, what an enterprising way of selling.
I highly recommend to any Historical Fiction fan.
I received an ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for my unbiased review – This one comes in with a high 5 stars.

I was recommended this book by a friend. I have always found any book that had the titanic mentioned in it to be a book I would love to read. This was such an intriguing book and while the titanic was brought into the story till about a third of the way thru, the build up and the character details helped mack the titanic aspect more meaningful. This was my first book by this author but i will definitely be looking up more books by her as a lover of historical fiction. Highly recommend!

Thank you to netgalley for an early copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I am such a Titanic girlie so I was really excited to receive this book. Elinor is bamboozled into a marriage with a future Lord and heir to an estate in England. She is miserable and under the control of her in laws. When she has a baby, she is told that she is mad for wanting to spend more than 20 minutes a day with him and "that's the way things are". When her father buys first class tickets on the Titanic for himself, Elinor, her husband Frederick and the baby, she jumps at the chance to escape the mansion for several days. When the Titanic sinks, her maid/nanny Molly dies on the ship. Molly was supposed to stay with family in New York, so Elinor takes the opportunity to escape her old life and start over.

I really enjoyed this book, more so the first half. The second half after she arrived in New York was a little bit slower but I still enjoyed it. It was very relatable with her having a toddler, and how hard of a worker she was.