The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter

A Novel

By: Hazel Gaynor

Narrated by: Imogen Church

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

From The New York Times best-selling author of The Girl Who Came Home comes a historical novel inspired by true events, and the extraordinary female lighthouse keepers of the past 200 years.

“They call me a heroine, but I am not deserving of such accolades. I am just an ordinary young woman who did her duty.”

1838: Northumberland, England. Longstone Lighthouse on the Farne Islands has been Grace Darling’s home for all of her 22 years. When she and her father rescue shipwreck survivors in a furious storm, Grace becomes celebrated throughout England, the subject of poems, ballads, and plays. But far more precious than her unsought fame is the friendship that develops between Grace and a visiting artist. Just as George Emmerson captures Grace with his brushes, she in turn captures his heart.

1938: Newport, Rhode Island. Nineteen years old and pregnant, Matilda Emmerson has been sent away from Ireland in disgrace. She is to stay with Harriet, a reclusive relative and assistant lighthouse keeper, until her baby is born. A discarded, half-finished portrait opens a window into Matilda’s family history. As a deadly hurricane approaches, two women, living a century apart, will be linked forever by their instinctive acts of courage and love.

©2018 Hazel Gaynor (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Fantastic

Brilliantly written and brilliantly narrated absolutely fantastic book. You feel as if you are right there in the story.

Lighthouse

Such a remarkable presentation. The voices spoke to me and brought smiles and a few tears. So very well done. Worth every minute.

Lisa

This was recommended to me and I loved it. It is a lovely story and is beautifully read.

Great listen!

As always, Imogen Church excels at narrating this somewhat sad but enlightening story of love and loss.

Amazing

This book had me from the start, I was taken in by each character.
just loved it.

Beautiful and Haunting

Loved everything about this book. Beautifully written and wonderfully performed. There was something a little haunting about the way the book read written, interweaving stories 100 years apart on a timeline as if they happened simultaneously. The characters were well developed and I came to care about each one. Excellent book! I highly recommend!

Great historic novel

I really enjoyed the book, with its historic nature and the interesting lives of lighthouse keepers.
To be honest, it started out a little slow and a bit confusing with going back and forth between 1838 and 1938. But once I got into the story and used to the characters I was enthralled. The revelations at the end were especially interesting and I enjoyed how the characters from the two time periods all fit together.

Enchanting, Mezmerizing

I didn't know what to expect from this book, but I have always loved lighthouses, and the sea. Based on the true story of Grace Darling and her family, this novel weaves fact with fiction so delicately as to make one wish the whole story was true. In the end, this book is a celebration of women who choose the road less taken, the non-traditional, the unexpected, but for all the right reasons of their internal morality and indomitable spirits.

The language is rich, the mood both reflective and joyful, there are no romance novel tropes to be found here, and by the end you'd really like to take tea with every woman in the book... well, maybe not Mrs. Emerson. Well done, to both the author and the narrator If I could give it 7 stars, I would.

This beautiful story stirred my heart, intrigued

This beautiful story stirred my heart, intrigued my mind, and impacted my soul. The narrator is AMAZING!! Entertaining, educational, inspirational!

Enjoyable, interesting story.

Enjoyable, interesting story. Only negative for me personally was the amount of death written in.....