REVIEW: The Lost Passenger by Frances Quinn

JayneB Reviews / Book Reviews1910s / class differences / First-Person / hidden identity / Historical / Historical fiction / New York CityNo Comments

Sometimes it takes a disaster to change your life.

Marrying above your social class can come with unexpected consequences, as Elinor Coombes discovers when she is swept into a fairy-tale marriage with the son of English aristocrats. But she realizes too late that it was the appeal of her father’s hard-earned wealth rather than her own pretty face that attracted her new husband and his family. Ground down by rigid social rules that include her being allowed to see her nanny-raised infant son for only moments each day, Elinor faces a lonely future. But a present from her father—tickets for the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, a luxurious new ocean liner—offers a welcome escape from the cold, controlling atmosphere of her husband’s ancestral home, and some precious time with her little son, Teddy.

After the ship goes down, Elinor grasps at the chance to take Teddy and start a new life in America: They can disappear completely if they are listed among the dead. After stealing another woman’s identity, a now penniless Elinor must put that terrible night behind her and learn to survive in a brash new world that couldn’t be more different from her own. And when a face from the past appears, she must risk everything to keep her secret—and her son.

An absorbing historical drama set between the hidebound traditions of the English aristocracy and the opportunities of a bustling young city, The Lost Passenger is a gripping and dramatic story about grabbing your chances with both hands, and being brave enough to find out who you really are.

Dear Ms Quinn,

After reading “The Smallest Man,” four years ago, even though that book didn’t get a stellar grade from me, I kept your name in mind and checked for new releases. When I read the blurb for this book, I said “bingo.” I will say that this is a straight historical fiction book with no romance. There was also a strange omission of the Titanic’s stop in France before heading to Ireland. 

The first part of the book flew by and before I knew it I was half the way through. Since it’s in the blurb, I’m not giving anything away by saying that the fairy-tale romance Elinor believes she’s getting is over almost before it’s started. Elinor’s life as wife to the heir to an Earldom is cushioned with servants, couture clothes, and comforts (most now probably paid for with the marriage settlement from her father’s hard earned money). But she’s also stifled and not permitted to see her baby son for more than 20 minutes a day. We see Elinor losing who she is and facing a lifetime of that. If that isn’t bad enough, she discovers another secret that devastates her. 

This is contrasted with the relative freedom she has during the first few days on the Titanic. She has her son with her, her beloved father is on board, and for a short time, she’s free to be who she is. The Titanic sinking though, yeah that was wrenching. Yet it gives Elinor a second chance. All those other people, many like the immigrant woman who sees a chance to work for Elinor and earn some extra money on the voyage and grabs it, have lost their future. Molly and others were going to a new land with little more than their bravery and determination to seek something better. 

Elinor decides this is her opportunity to reinvent herself and see that her son has a better, and loved life, too. She debates, rethinks, hesitates, and finally goes for it. Elinor is clearly misguided, she knows she’s doing lots of wrong things but she has reasons and actual personally experienced history for why she goes ahead.

She doesn’t get off scot free though. Elinor has PTSD nightmares of the sinking, waking with the screams and cries for help of the dying Titanic passengers in her head. She and Teddy were also on one of the lifeboats that was only half filled and though she did initially speak up and urge them to go back, when public opinion on the lifeboat swung towards “us or them and it ain’t gonna be us,” she (along with others) acquiesced. Yep, loads of guilt haunt Elinor. She’s thankful though that Teddy seems to have no memory of that night. 

Frederick and his family had lured and deceived Elinor to believe romance untruths then squashed her like a bug with their sneers and condescension. They subtly threatened her with accusations of madness and being incarcerated in an asylum (read madhouse) and steamrolled her personality to get her to fit in. Frederick had emotionally hurt Elinor in an additional way that I guessed. Even the sister who flat out tells her the truth, despises Elinor for “not being one of us.” Elinor has so many reasons to hate this family. I’m torn about a scene which shows Elinor that Frederick feels the full, crushing weight of the thirteen generations that he’s trying to uphold. Maybe it makes Frederick not quite the total asshole. Maybe he’s 89% asshole?

Wow does Elinor get a wakeup call about her privilege in NYC. She might be scorned by the aristos in England but she was raised with wealth and advantages that these immigrants in NYC can’t even conceive of. Good on Elinor that she realizes this, pays attention to fit in, and dives into learning how to survive and contribute her fair share. It makes her feel good to be using her brain and talents (she’s an ace at haggling) again and earning her own money.  

Elinor and Teddy also find something else in the cramped apartment – a family who takes them in without question and shares what little they have without hesitation. Though she tries to avoid telling any more lies than she has already done, there are times when Molly’s aunt talks about the family back in England and confides things to Elinor, who feels even guiltier. 

Elinor has a real fear that her in-laws could discover Teddy’s alive and use their money to find him and snatch him away. When the possibility finally arrived, I worried about what she’d be tempted to do. It forces Elinor to reach deep for even more courage while, along with another person, facing her nightmares. There’s one final challenge when all might be lost. I was holding my breath again but Elinor remembers the negotiating skills her father had taught her and goes for broke. 

I think this book is a testament to grit and determination. It’s filled with strong women who decide to change their own lives, reaching for the promise of a place that doesn’t hold people back but lets them dream for themselves and their children. I like that Elinor has to face some consequences because yes, she’s not totally innocent even if she’s got excellent reasons to do what she does. But as another woman who faced down her fears  tells her “you are a strong young woman; you don’t run from things that frighten you.” The last page “epilogue” says what we need to know about how things turned out. B 

~Jayne

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