The Last Lifeboat

Description

The gripping new WW2 novel, capturing a little-known story of the evacuees sent away by sea, from the NYT bestselling author of The Bird in the Bamboo Cage. September 1940. In the immediate aftermath of a U-boat attack on an evacuee ship, one lifeboat of terrified survivors endures a fierce storm in the North Atlantic. June 1940. Three months earlier, two very different women - Alice King, a teacher, and Lily Nicholls, a young widow, confront life-changing choices as Britain prepares for invasion and the devastating Blitz bombing raids begin. In Kent, Alice sees a chance to play a part in the war and volunteers as an escort on the 'seavac' ships; in London Lily faces the agonizing decision of whether to keep her children with her as the Blitz begins, or send them to safety in Canada. The dramatic events of one fateful night in the mid-Atlantic, and the eight unimaginable days that follow, bind the two women together in the most devastating way...

Hazel Gaynor is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A Memory of Violets and The Girl Who Came Home, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. Her third novel, The Girl from the Savoy, was an Irish Times and Globe & Mail Canada bestseller, and was shortlisted for the BGE Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year. In 2017, she has published The Cottingley Secret and Last Christmas in Paris. Hazel was selected by US Library Journal as one of 'Ten Big Breakout Authors' for 2015 and her work has been translated into several languages. Hazel lives in Ireland with her husband and two children.

Acclaim for Hazel Gayno: 'Deeply moving. Be prepared - have handkerchiefs on standby at the end' Antonia Senior,The Times 'Vivid, heart-rending and so, so beautiful' Jenny Ashcroft 'Moving and authentic' Dinah Jefferies 'An inspiring novel about the power of determination, courage and unity' Woman's Own 'Stunning ... Based on an incredible true story... immersive, moving and utterly unforgettable' Catherine Ryan Howard 'A beautiful, tender & fascinating story of a group of young British schoolchildren interned by the Japanese during WWII...a gem' Sinead Moriarty 'Above all this is a novel about human courage, generosity of spirit, and the power of friendship. I was hooked from first to last page' Gill Paul 'A little-known corner of the war - absolutely fascinating. Beautiful descriptions of the seasons changing over China and characters who had me rooting for them all the way.' Tracy Rees