“In this, her third novel, Kim Izzo renders the last voyage of the Lusitania in such terrifyingly accurate detail that we readers cannot help but feel we too are aboard that doomed ship—and in Winston Churchill’s ultra-secret lair, Room 40—as the ineluctable forces of history converge.” — Erik Larson, bestselling author of The Splendid and the VileFor readers of Kate Williams, Beatriz Williams … Vile
For readers of Kate Williams, Beatriz Williams and Jennifer Robson, a captivating novel of love and resilience during the Great War, inspired by the author’s family history.
As the First World War rages in continental Europe, two New York heiresses, Sydney and Brooke Sinclair, are due to set sail for England. Brooke is engaged to marry impoverished aristocrat Edward Thorpe-Tracey, the future Lord Northbrook, in the wedding of the social calendar. Sydney has other adventures in mind; she is drawn to the burgeoning suffragette movement, which is a constant source of embarrassment to her proper sister. As international tempers flare, the German embassy releases a warning that any ships making the Atlantic crossing are at risk. Undaunted, Sydney and Brooke board the Lusitania for the seven-day voyage with Edward, not knowing that disaster lies ahead.
In London, Isabel Nelson, a young woman grateful to have escaped her blemished reputation in Oxford, has found employment at the British Admiralty in the mysterious Room 40. While she begins as a secretary, it isn’t long before her skills in codes and cyphers are called on, and she learns a devastating truth and the true cost of war.
As the days of the voyage pass, these four lives collide in a struggle for survival as the Lusitania meets its deadly fate.
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Excellent fictionalization of code breakers and the collateral damages of war.
It was an interesting story, but it simply stopped. There is no ending.
It was not riveting but I was not familiar with the story from history so I enjoyed learning about that.
Great piece of historical fiction. Encouraged me to do further research on my own about the Lusitania.
Well researched historical fiction. I could’t put it down. A page turner.
Well written and is based on a real survivor’s story. Great historical novel.
Enjoyed reading it.
I just couldn’t put this down. I’m surprised that I didn’t gulp for air. A truly wonderful writer and fact based. Her great grandfather was a survivor!