The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn was a solidly written novel that partially takes place on the Titanic, but centers around the aftermath of one survivor's life rather than the sinking of the ship.

Elinor is swept off her feet by aristocratic Frederick and marries him quickly, but it doesn't take long for her to realize she has made a mistake. She is disparaged by her husband's family and is barely allowed to spend time with her young son. When she and her son, Teddy, set sail aboard the Titanic, she has no idea what is in store for them. After the tragic sinking, they are both lucky to be alive, and Elinor is clever enough to create a new life for them in America.

I appreciated the way the story was told and the way that Elinor grew and changed through the story as she became much stronger and determined. The resolution was satisfying.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

this was such a different read. I've never read historical fiction that was based off of the Titanic, and I felt very gripped by the story.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
As a 90s kid who grew up with the iconic movie *Titanic*, this novel immediately drew me in with its perfect blend of historical events and personal drama. The backdrop of the Titanic is used so effectively here, and it completely brought me back to the magic and mystery surrounding that fateful voyage.
Elinor, a strong-willed woman from a wealthy, self-made family, is convinced she’s found her dream man in Frederick Storton, the charming future lord of Winterton Hall. But life has a way of throwing curveballs, and what she thought was a fairytale life quickly spirals into a nightmare. Just when it seems like her world is crumbling, Elinor gets the chance to board the Titanic, hoping it will be a brief escape to reconnect with her father and son. But of course, fate has other plans, and the unimaginable happens—the Titanic sinks.
Elinor is faced with an agonizing decision: return to her old life at Winterton Hall and lose her son, or escape to New York City and build a new life from scratch. What follows is a gripping tale of survival, resilience, and self-discovery. Elinor is the epitome of a strong woman, willing to do whatever it takes to reclaim control over her life, and her journey will have you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
The author does an incredible job of weaving historical events with Elinor’s personal story, bringing the early 1900s England and New York City to vivid life. The level of detail is remarkable, from the opulence of Winterton Hall to the bustling streets of New York. Every scene feels rich and immersive, making it hard to put the book down.
This is a novel that delivers both an emotional punch and historical depth, with a fearless heroine who embodies strength and determination. If you’re looking for a compelling, heart-racing story that will leave you thinking long after you finish, this book is an absolute must-read!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the opportunity to read this advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinions!

This book takes a little bit to get good. The first third of the book was very frustrating for me to get through. So much so that I had to come back to it. Every single thing that could go wrong, did. Too much. Dumb decisions and naiveté. Once she gets on the boat, the rest of the book flowed like water. You walk along with her as she grows and matures.

Frances Quinn’s *The Lost Passenger* is an absorbing historical drama that masterfully explores the rigid constraints of British society and the opportunities of reinvention in the New World. Set against the backdrop of the Titanic disaster, the novel follows Elinor Coombes, a woman caught between social classes, desperate to reclaim her life and motherhood on her own terms.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its historical detail. Quinn paints a vivid portrait of early 20th-century British society, from the rising merchant class, whose wealth was sought after by the aristocracy to sustain their indebted estates, to the stifling social expectations placed upon women. Elinor’s struggles highlight how little control women had over their own lives, especially in marriage and motherhood. Her husband’s family dictates when she can see her own child, and any sign of rebellion is met with threats of being labeled mentally unstable—a chilling reminder of the precarious position of women at the time.

Elinor, later taking on the identity of Molly, is an interesting character whose journey spans multiple social spheres, from the privileged yet suffocating aristocracy to the hardscrabble existence of immigrants in New York’s Lower East Side. Her resilience and adaptability make her a compelling protagonist, though some aspects of her story, particularly the plausibility of assuming another woman’s identity, require some suspension of disbelief.

Beyond Elinor’s personal struggles, *The Lost Passenger* offers an insightful look at the immigrant experience in America, contrasting the rigid hierarchies of Britain with the chaotic but promising landscape of New York City. The novel effectively captures the stark differences between old-world aristocratic privilege and the raw, unfiltered struggle of those seeking a fresh start.

While some plot points feel a bit far-fetched, the novel remains a compelling read for those interested in historical fiction, particularly stories that delve into women’s rights and societal expectations. With a flawed but captivating premise, *The Lost Passenger* is a solid four-star read, offering an engaging exploration of survival, reinvention, and the cost of freedom.

Elinor is denigrated and even denied the opportunity to raise her own son after being duped into a marriage that was solely for the groom's sake since his family, although being aristocrats, needed money.

Although Elinor was quite unhappy, she held out hope that the Titanic would provide her with a little reprieve from this controlling family and its regulations when her father wrote to say he had tickets on board.What happened on the Titanic is well known to us, but what did Elinor take away from the journey?

Was this the respite she needed?


Would it allow her to leave her married family?

See what Elinor does in this gripping, well-written story that demonstrates how tragedy may occasionally be joyful.

You will admire Elinor for her courage, her determination, her ambition, and most importantly, her ability to go on following a catastrophe.

I was intrigued with this book from the premise, historical fiction based on the sinking of the Titanic. Our main character Elinor, enters a loveless marriage with an aristocrat and her father treats her to a trip on the Titanic. Well we all know how that ended. Elinor survives the sinking with her son and makes a new life for herself in New York. This was a beautifully written tale weaving in historical truths with fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn is a sweeping work of historical fiction. I was not sure if any work of media could compare with my love of Kate and Leo in Titanic, but Elinor's tale comes in a close second.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

3.75 ⭐️

Elinor marries into an aristocratic family not knowing what all it entails. Miserable and trapped in her current life, what happens when she gets the chance to start over by faking her and her son’s deaths on the Titanic?

While I really enjoyed the overall story, I think this book would have benefited from a dual-timeline structure. The plot unfolds chronologically, which can work well, but in this case, it sometimes felt slow and repetitive, particularly at the beginning and end. A dual timeline could have added intrigue to Elinor’s character, allowing us to gradually uncover how she ended up in her predicament rather than receiving all the information in a slower, more expository way.

I was also a bit disappointed that only about 10% of the book actually took place on the Titanic. With a dual timeline, we could have spent more time on the ship, letting key plot twists unfold at more suspenseful moments rather than all at once.

Overall, this was a unique and well-written read, but with some structural changes and tighter pacing, it could have been even stronger. That said, I still enjoyed it! It just came out this week, so if you like Edwardian era, historical fiction I think that you’ll like this.

And I wish the epilogue would have been extended!!! 🥹

And finally - thank you so much to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I loved The Lost Passenger! The whole time I so badly wanted things to work out for Elinor, and got sucked into the story every time I picked it up. What an absolutely beautiful book.

4.5 4.5 I really enjoyed this historic fiction and really kept me wondering what was going to happen next. This book follows Elinor a young headstrong woman who is doted upon by her father the cotton king. When Elinor is wooed by a British aristocrat she is excited to start her new life but upper crust British life is not what she expected. When her father surprises her with an embarkation trip on the Titanic she can’t wait to go on an adventure. When the Titanic sinks and she finds herself at risk of her son being taken by her in-laws so she flees to New York to start a new life. This book started off a little slow but once we got to America I could not put this book down the characters were so well done and the writing was very atmospheric. This is my first book by this author but hopefully not my last. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

The Lost Passenger Frances Quinn took me on an epic journey!
With riveting prose the pages fly and the heart beats for the astonishing heroine. Well-developed character pulls you into the story immediately and stirs emotions within you. This story was masterfully narrated.

I had a very hard time getting into this book and felt like I was watching the movie Titanic all over again--a maid's name was even Rose!

Love the historical aspects of it but felt it was drawn out too much in too many place. I became bored with it about 30%. Pushed on to 60% and finally just stopped.

I’m always impressed by how many writers are still able to come up with original plots using the sinking of the Titanic as the central event in a novel. Reading this one, it was sort of shocking to consider that no one had tried this approach before. What if you took the identity of someone who died on the Titanic to start a new and better life?

Quinn does a lovely job here in this enjoyable piece of Historical Fiction. Elinor Coombes is wealthy and educated but trapped in a loveless marriage and a life controlled by cold and unkind in-laws. After surviving the sinking of the ship, she considers that her life might be better if she switches identities with a servant she met on the voyage.

Elinor is a solidly drawn protagonist, and her adventure takes her from the stilted drawing rooms of London to the Lower East Side tenements of New York. This is a charming and fun read with well-executed historical detail and a terrific sense of place. It’s also an interesting spin of the Hero’s Journey, and offers a thought-provoking twist on what might make for a “better” life.

I read the synopsis and already fell in love with the book. This was such a beautifully written historical fiction piece that has depth, emotion and a mother wanting the best for her son. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this.

Fascinating historical fiction of young mother and son who survive Titanic disaster and create a new identity and life in New York City to escape unhappy circumstances in England. Thanks to #NetGalley and #TheLostPassenger for advanced digital copy.

A sweeping tale of reinvention facilitated by one of the most famous shipwrecks in history.

At the beginning, Elinor thinks she knows what romance is; after all, she’s read all of the classics, and witnessed all the good parts of her parents’ marriage. And marriage is supposed to be the quintessential happy ending. But of course it isn’t, not for her. She ends up having to contend with classist snobs who took advantage of her naïveté and brought her into the family solely to obtain her father’s money to prop up their failing estate, all while seeing both of them as lesser-than. Trapped in that loveless marriage while suffering treatment from her in-laws that ranges from dismissive to downright cruel, including only being allowed to see her very young son for only twenty minutes a day, she becomes, in some ways, a shell of her former self. At that point, a shipwreck, ironically, ends up being the only way she can truly escape.

Elinor’s ingenuity and determination are great drivers to her story and definitely make for worthwhile reading. It’s touching to watch her come back into her own, even better than before, while not shying away from her trauma, learning how to parent her son, and the difficulties of being an immigrant in America at that time. While she makes mistakes along the way, it is difficult not to sympathize with a woman who just wants a happier, more fulfilling life not just for her, but for her son as well. She learns what it means to write her own story, and that it doesn’t have to be like what came before. It is hers, and hers alone.

It took me some time to finish this book. It’s not a quick read but it was well worth every page.
It starts off with Elinor, a person of privilege, but not of the aristocracy. She and her father are invited to a party and she meets someone she thinks is the man of her dreams. He’s not. I’ll let the reader discover the rest of that story. Along the way, Elinor and her family go aboard the brand new ocean liner, the Titanic. Elinor survives and builds a new life for herself. There’s a lot of drama and intrigue along the way.
I thought the story was fascinating and believable. I could see it happening. I really got invested in many of the characters and I’m really sorry the book ended. I did like the way the whole story ended. That was pretty good.
I received this book as a free ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Set against the backdrop of Titanic’s maiden voyage and the city of New York, this story follows Elinor who was making the voyage with her not so great husband, her son and her father. When the unthinkable happens. She has to decide to make a split second decision that could change her and little Teddy’s lives.
Although I did enjoy the read it felt a lot of it was devoted to stirring up trouble that wasn’t essential to the story. That being said, it is always an eye opening experience to read these historical fiction books and realize how it has not been that long ago that women had no rights beyond what their husband gave them.
I received an ARC of this title, all opinions are my own.