Elinor is a new-money rich, British woman who finds herself married into a family seeking her family’s money with a loveless and emotionally abusive relationship. She is isolated from her only remaining family and gaslit into limiting her contact with her son after his birth by her mother in law.

When her father provides the opportunity for Elinor to board the titanic with her son and husband, she jumps at the opportunity and manipulates her husband into agreeing. When the Titanic sinks, Elinor assumes the identity of a poor pregnant woman, Molly, who was caring for her son on board and convinces the woman’s distant family in New York to take them in. Leaning on the kindness of the people she is manipulating, Elinor builds a new life for herself and her son with hard work but she lives in fear of being caught.

While this was a quick and easy read, I struggled with more than 25% of the book passing before we even hear about the Titanic in earnest. There was so much opportunity to show character development on board the ship, but very little of that occurred. The titanic itself was a small moment in the story, and I expected to see much more of its grandeur. The first 1/4 of the book was intended to make the reader feel bad for our protagonist, but she is a rich, manipulative, naive, whiner with no conscience. She is not innocent in her manipulative behavior from very early on. Did I hate her mother in law? 100%. But… What Elinor did to Molly’s family was despicable. I can see where Elinor puts motherhood and her son before other people, but there were not enough redeeming qualities in her character. Most of the characters. Except poor, innocent Molly and her amazing family in NY.

The ending, however, I thought was very sweet.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book caught my eye with the cover and description. I am a sucker for historical fiction and stories about the Titanic.
At first I thought like most Titanic books, this was going to be a tragic love story but I was definitely caught of guard. It was a slow start in the beginning with the lead up to the ship sinking but when the ship sank and Elinor had to make the biggest decision of her life things really kicked into gear. Elinor/Molly was such an inspiration as not only a women but as a mother to do what was best for her well-being and for the future of her son. She followed her own dream and started life anew on her own terms.
Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Random House, Frances Quinn for an advanced e-ARC of this book.

“The Lost Passenger” is a historical fiction book by Frances Quinn. This book follows Elinor, the daughter of a wealthy cotton mill owner, who marries a broke aristocrat. The aristocrat not only lives with his overbearing parents at the family estate, but he’s also in love with someone else. Elinor is miserable for a variety of reasons. Even after the birth of her son, Elinor yearns to be free of her husband’s family. Things look up when Elinor’s father books passage on The Titanic … and, well, that trip didn’t end as Elinor expected. However, Elinor steals another woman’s identity and starts a new life for herself and her son in New York City - which takes grit, determination, and some lying to the family she’s now living with. About half of this book is taken up setting the scene for the trip to New York. While this makes sense, there also seemed like a lot of repeated emotional agony for both Elinor and her husband. While I wanted to cheer on Elinor (forget her husband, he needed to grow a few spines, but I’m not really sure he cared much about anything), she truly didn’t start developing as a character for me until the second half. Then I wanted to know more about her resourcefulness and grit. While her street smarts were shown on the page, it felt a little too late, because (for me) the second half could’ve been most of the book. Overall, this wasn’t a bad book - but if felt a little lackluster until the fateful Titanic trip.

This is a great read! Elinor believes she has her 'fairytale' wedding and marriage but soon finds out things are not always what they seem. Heartbroken and determined to start anew, she fakes her and her son's death on the Titantic and poses as a friend she quickly made and lost aboard. Elinor quickly learns what hard work means but she also discovers a resilience and fight she didn't know she had. A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction and personal growth stories!

This historical fiction book is an ultimate survival story. Elinor and her young son survive the sinking of the Titanic while other family members do not. She has her reasons for not wanting to be known as a survivor so she takes on the identity of another passenger. Her strength she herself was unaware of comes forward as she establishes a new and completely different life for herself in this new country. The author’s writing transports you to the time and place of the story and makes you root for Elinor.
Thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for this advanced eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
#TheLostPassenger #FrancesQuinn #NetGalley

This book was one of the best I've read in awhile. It's a historical fiction, which I love. It takes place around the time the Titanic sunk and follows a fictional character on her journey on the Titanic and her life after. Elinor was such a likeable character and her feelings as a mother resonated with me completely. This book is so well written.

The Lost Passenger tells the story of Elinor Hayward, the daughter of a successful businessman who finds herself married to a man who married her for ulterior motives and does not love her.

The Lost Passenger describes Hayward's married life, the life of society, and what love for a child can land, which in this case, lands to life in a,different country, a life previously unknown and learning the true meaning of family.

This book is definitely for female historical fiction readers who love to see how life changes can lead to unexpected actions which lead to new lives.

This book was so tough at the start to see the frustration that Elinor had as a new wife and a mother of a man/ family who's only purpose was to use her for her fathers money and make sure there was a male kin. It had me heated for sure!!!. It was amazing to see her strength grow and find a family out of friends and go through changes. This book is a spin off of the Titanic if Rose was already married to Kal with the similarity that she chose a different life than the Rich and Ugly of an estate woman. I really did love the intensity of this book as a woman in the 1920s whether she was poor or rich; the characteristics that were demanded from others.

I love historical fiction regarding the Titanic and this was no exception! The first half of the story revolving around Elinor’s life at Winterton Hall was a little slow and drawn out, even though you felt awful for her at the way she was treated. As soon as she boarded the ship though, it picked right up and was a masterful piece of work. The description of the ship and the way first class passengers acted on board was so intricately researched and being able to be there for the entire trip, start to sink, was done so well. Then once Elinor got to the next phase of her life, it was even more intriguing to see how everyone made things work when you had absolutely nothing. Overall, I loved this book and don’t have a single complaint!

The Lost Passenger is an historical fiction story about a woman who survives the sinking of the Titanic but takes the identity of another woman who did not and begins a new life in New York. What could have been a mediocre story in the hands of another writer, shone brightly in the hands of Frances Quinn. This is a coming of age story told exceptionaly well, essentially in three parts, Elinor's early life and marriage, her time on the Titanic and it's sinking, and finally her life as Molly. Elinor is so unsure of herself early in the book and steadily grows through the course of the novel into a very self assured woman. This is also a love story. Not your typical love story, but a story of the love of found family. I thouroughly enjoyed this novel, will miss the characters, and will definately look for others by this author. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

I enjoy historical fiction and survivor stories and this is both. A wealthy woman and her young son survive the sinking of the Titanic but her husband and father do not, Elinor takes advantage of the confusion to take the identity of a maid to create a new life for herself and her son, free of her overbearing in-laws. The author does a good job of showing what life is like for women during this time period, the stark differences in the classes as well as how traumatic the sinking was for the survivors. The ending was a little rushed but overall, a good story.

Although I found this novel somewhat formulaic,( plucky little rich girl has a chance to find out how the other half lives), Quinn threw in enough plot twists to keep it moving along. But, honestly, to use the sinking of the Titanic to build the story is a worn out literary tool. I think it would be good fodder for book clubs, because it'll spark conversations among women, but there's really nothing ground-shaking about it.

I’m so glad I got a chance to read this book! The premise of the story was quite fascinating. Makes you wonder if anyone actually faked their own death on the titanic! There were parts of the story that went on too long and some that weren’t long enough. Same with the background of the characters. The ending also felt kind of rushed and a little anticlimactic. I still give it 4 stars though.

I received this ARC and I'm so glad I did.

The Lost Passenger was a gripping historical fiction about one of my favorite subjects the Titantic. Elinor is a main character that's written so well, you're happy when she is, your sad with her in that room, and you're so proud of her when she makes a choice during the passenger check in after the sinking that changes her life. Elinor's story starts with her life in England, she's from a privileged family and think she's fallen in love. With marriage she learns there's much more happening behind the scenes of her new husband. Truly this section of the book was written with such strong characters, that I really hated Fredricks' family as much as Elinor grew too. I think this is what Frances Quinn hoped to leave the reader with. Because of this I was cheering for Elinor in the second half of her story.

I felt like the cover didn't do this book justice, it looks like it's going to be your standard historical fiction romance novel and it's so so much more.

I wanted to spend more time in Elinor / Molly's world and I was actually very sad for this book to end. I don't usually find historical fiction books are gripping, but I really found with this novel, I just couldn't put it down.

I'd recommend this to any fiction lover, and my book clubs. I still am in shock that this is a debut novel and I can't wait to see what's next from Frances!

I see you, Frances Quinn. I see what incredible writing you do. This was my first book from you and it won't be the last. I don't usually read books from this time period but I was intrigued by the Titanic aspect and the storyline. And it delivered. Thank you for letting me immerse myself in the life of Elinor and Teddy. I loved them just as much as I loved her new "family". I look forward to reading your other two books. And any other books you write in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Frances Quinn for an advanced e-ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I found this to be a fascinating account of the side of many stories we don't normally see or think about - as people make difficult choices and deal with those decisions for the rest of their lives, while also yearning and wondering what would have been.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "The Lost Passenger" and all opinions expressed are my own. I do enjoy reading historical fiction. Sometimes the book gives too many facts and it becomes less of a story. This book did not do that at all. It was really interesting. It was well written and I did like it. Of course, you always learn something when reading these types of books. A survivor story set in both New York and England. Overall very good!

I really enjoyed The Lost Passenger. Like many Americans, I am fascinated with the story of the Titannic and its doomed voyage and I found Quinn's re-telling to be true to fact.
Elinor is the only child of a widowed, well-to-do English factory owner. Father and daughter are very close, and he has raised Elinor to know enough about his business so that she is a very astute and capable businesswoman. Unfortunately for Elinor, that's not what wealthy, titled Englishmen are looking for in a marriage partner. She and her Father attend their first big society ball, and she almost immediately meets, and is swept off her feet by Frederick, a titled first son of an Earl. Both Elinor and her father are too naive to know that this is not a love match, but a means to an end, so Frederick can replenish the empty family coffers.
By the time Elinor realizes what she has done, she is married and almost cut off from her father by her imperious in-laws who are intent are re-making her to be a leader of society, not a loving and doting wife and mother. Plus, Frederick, unlike the plots of the many romance novels Elinor is so fond of, is not even in love with her.
Elinor's father gives the couple (and their toddler son, Teddy) the gift of round-trip tickets to New York on the maiden voyage of the Titannic, on which he will accompany them. At the very last minute, Elinor's long-time maid is too terrified of the large ship to board and Elinor is forced to hire a capable and enterprising young woman who was planning to travel steerage to America. Molly will double as both a ladies maid and a nanny for Teddy, on the trip.
Of course, you know what happens next... but how does Elinor use this disaster as a means to escape her unhappy marriage and raise her son the way she wants?
The Lost Passenger is well written and the story, particularly once they embark in New York, is very inventive. My only criticism of the was what seemed to me to be an abrupt ending., but maybe I was enjoying the book so much I was hoping for more story before it was over. If you like historical fiction, you will surely find a good read in The Lost Passenger.

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn is set in the early 20th century,first in England and then in New York City. Elinor is the only daughter of a self-made millionaire father who has cotton mills in England. She marries into the Coombes family, a family of royalty of sorts who have had their estate passed downs through many generations, ie old money. Though Elinor married for love she soon realizes that her husband Frederick did not and alas life is not as rosey as she thought it would be and dreams of a way out. Her father buys them tickets for the maiden voyage of the Titanic and she, her husband and son, father and maid all make the journey. After the ship goes down, Elinor realizes she has a choice to restart life in New York with her son Teddy. This second half of the book shows her making her own way in the city starting from nothing and learning how to survive and thrive.
Though I do not believe this is marketed as a YA book, this would be a great book for a young adult to learn more about the early 20th century life. The Titanic section is rather short,most likely because it is so well known and this was not a historical fiction novel about the Titanic really, but a young reader could learn some history from it. Rather, this was a historical fiction with themes of self-reliance,being brave and believing in yourself, all good messages, but I felt it was too simply written for me to get fully invested in it. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing-Ballentine Books for my ARC.

I love anything and everything that involves Titanic in any capacity... and this did not disappoint.
This is more of a survivor kind of story and written in such a way that I felt like I could have been a fly on the wall right there watching it. Elinor, who had to endure so much, was forced to be something and then saw a chance to become someone else to protect her and her child. Lies and truths, found family, titanic... strong FMC. I highly recommend this for everyone!