The Last Lifeboat

I am a big fan of author Hazel Gaynor, so I was very excited to hear about her new book, The Last Lifeboat. Historical fiction at its best and based on true events.

England, 1940. The war is raging with air raid sirens going off more regularly, the blackouts and the Blitz. The government need to come up with a plan to keep the children from areas most at risk safe. Initiative CORB: Children's Overseas Reception Board, where children are to be evacuated to counties such as Australia and Canada.

This touching, heartwrenching story tells the story of Lily and Alice. Lily, a recent widow, mother to 10 year old daughter Georgie and younger son Arthur, is torn about whether to send her children away. However, with the bombing becoming more frequent she decides to register her children with CORB. Alice, a teacher, makes the decision to sign up as an escort for the CORB programme.

As the story alternates between the two women, both face their worst nightmare as the ship carrying Alice and the children is hit by a U-boat in the Atlantic. With the other boats in the convoy not able to rescue them, those that did mange to board the lifeboats are tossed around by the stormy sea.

Gaynor writes with pure passion and emotion, drawing me into the storyline and characters, transporting me to another place and time. This was an emotive read which I couldn't put down. I loved the fact that this was inspired by the true events of SS City of Benares, which was escorting children and other passengers to Canada when it got hit by a torpedo. Throughout the book there are also extracts from the Mass Observation project, which was set up in 1937 to record the everyday life of Britain. I really looked forward to reading these insightful passages.

One of my favourite books this year! Highly recommend.