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About The Book

In the chaos of that terrible night, her secret went down with the Titanic. But secrets have a way of floating to the surface…

Trapped in an unhappy aristocratic marriage, Elinor Coombes sees only lonely days ahead of her. So a present from her father - tickets for the maiden voyage of a huge, luxurious new ship called the Titanic – offers a welcome escape from the cold, controlling atmosphere of her husband’s ancestral home, and some precious time with her little son, Teddy.

When the ship goes down, Elinor realises the disaster has given her a chance to take Teddy and start a new life – but only if they can disappear completely, listed as among the dead. Penniless and using another woman’s name, she has to learn to survive in a world that couldn’t be more different from her own, and keep their secret safe.

An uplifting story about grabbing your chances with both hands, and being brave enough to find out who you really are.


About The Author

Owen Boyd

Frances Quinn grew up in London and read English at King’s College, Cambridge, realising too late that the course would require more than lying around reading novels for three years. After snatching a degree from the jaws of laziness, she became a journalist, writing for magazines including Prima, Good Housekeeping, She, Woman’s Weekly and Ideal Home, and later branched out into copywriting, producing words for everything from Waitrose pizza packaging to the EasyJet in-flight brochure.

In 2013, she won a place on the Curtis Brown Creative novel writing course, and started work on her first novel, The Smallest Man. That Bonesetter Woman is her second novel.

She lives in Brighton, with her husband and two Tonkinese cats.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (February 27, 2025)
  • Length: 416 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781398520684

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Raves and Reviews

‘I'm such a fan of Frances Quinn's writing and her third novel certainly doesn't disappoint. Elinor is such a wonderful heroine and I was rooting for her all the way. A thoroughly enjoyable novel about being brave enough to grab hold of a second chance and make the most of it’

– Louise Hare

‘Frances Quinn is one of my favourite historical fiction novelists and this book may just be her best yet! Quinn writes a multi-layered novel with absolute ease, bringing her characters wonderfully to life. This is a spellbinding tale about Elinor Coombes, so evocative of the Edwardian era, in which the author takes the reader with Elinor on a journey from the suffocating, cold world of aristocratic pre-war England, to the overcrowded maelstrom of Lower East Side New York, and the stark contrast of poverty, hope and love she finds there. The author perfectly captures the terror and tragedy of the sinking of the Titanic without salacious melodrama, and the jeopardy of Elinor as she makes life-altering choices to protect her son and build a new life for them both, is utterly captivating. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!’

– Louise Fein

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