I loved this novel and was really shocked to learn how much of it is based on real people and a true story – not just the Titanic part! It was fascinating to read what is known and how Imrie created a fictional story based on the little that was known of these people. I loved Marcella, I was rooting for her all the way through the book. It was tense knowing that it’s building to some of the characters ending up on the Titanic but not knowing what their fate will be. This is a wonderful novel that had me turning the pages late into the night and I very much enjoyed it. We also meet Margaret, a New York socialite who has managed to get tickets for the maiden voyage of the Titanic. They go on to have two children but the marriage is not a happy one and Marcella seeks advice about filing for divorce. She meets a man and marries him after a whirlwind romance against the advice of her family. This novel follows a young Marcella in France in 1911. I requested this novel from NetGalley as soon as I heard about it as I can’t resist stories about the Titanic. I really loved this novel and I highly recommend it. This is a short novel but it’s one that took me a few days to read as I wanted to really digest what I was reading. Moss makes you understand all the different views and to have some understanding of why people have struggled in different ways with different aspects of the pandemic. This novel explores so many points of view regarding the pandemic, the restrictions and human nature in the face of all that has happened in the last year and a half. Alice sees Kate leave but doesn’t stop her so when Kate’s son tells Alice Kate is missing she immediately fears the worst and they call the police. We also follow her neighbour Alice, who has cancer and has had to shield throughout the pandemic. She is really struggling with being trapped indoors and convinces herself that a walk on the moor won’t hurt anyone and no one will ever know she’s done it. The Fell follows Kate who is having to self-isolate with her teenage son due to having had contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid. I’ve read and enjoyed quite a few of Sarah Moss’s previous novels but I think this one is my new favourite.

A keeper graham norton synopsis