Fortune Pearl

After a young woman’s husband vanishes while aboard a magical ocean liner, she embarks on a journey to find him amidst the early chaos of World War II, in this poignant fantasy novel from the author of The White Octopus Hotel.

Estelle Lewis, a reverend’s daughter from rural England, has always longed to escape the traditional life that seems to be her fate. So when Ross Walker, a daring airman, appears out of the blue, it seems like a dream come true. For he offers her not only love and excitement, but also the sky. In the cockpit of his plane, with England laid out like a tapestry below her, Estelle, for the first time, feels the possibility of freedom.

But tragedy strikes during Estelle and Ross’s honeymoon aboard the Fortune Pearl, a magnificent art deco ocean liner making its maiden voyage from England to New York. On the last night of the voyage, Ross vanishes—and no one seems to have any memory of him ever existing. Estelle is told that she boarded alone, with a passport showing only her maiden name.

What follows are Estelle’s attempts to return to both the Fortune Pearl and her husband—a journey of self-discovery that will take her through some of the grimmest, yet most transformative, parts of the war, and teach her the true meaning of courage.