Maurice and Maralyn

Electrifying . . . a tender portrait of two unconventional souls blithely defying the conventions of their era and making a break for freedom -- Fiona Sturges * Guardian * An extraordinary survival story… Elmhirst’s reconstruction of their ordeal is riveting, told in illuminating detail * Sunday Times * A compelling book about a shipwreck, but also as thoughtful a tale about marriage, for better and worse, as you are likely to read * Observer * An amazing tale of survival . . . reminds me how incredibly hard it is to find love out there in the world -- Tracey Thorn * New Statesman * A gripping tale of maritime catastrophe but also of marriage -- India Knight * Sunday Times * An epic story of adventure and survival * Daily Express * Superb… Elmhirst is good at evoking an era that feels both familiar and like deep history… you really do hang on to her every word -- Maggie Fergusson * Spectator * With its period detail and softly poetic prose, the book melds together the sweet conjugal bonds of a quirky pair with the adrenaline kick of Jaws… It is a remarkable portrait of a marriage kept afloat against the odds * Financial Times * Never sentimental and perfectly paced, this is the best sort of story: a true one * Economist * A quirky, thrilling and moving tale of a love which proved stronger than starvation, dehydration and the mighty Pacific -- Peter Carty * i * Extraordinary . . . Elmhirst is a terrific writer -- ELIZABETH DAY Maurice and Maralyn somehow contrives to be both gripping and elegiac. Sophie Elmhirst's graceful, confident prose is novelistic in its pleasures and profoundly moving in its impact -- KALIANE BRADLEY, author of The Ministry of Time This dramatic, profound human story is so beautifully told in calm, thoughtful, perfectly judged prose. I really could not put it down -- NINA STIBBE, author of Love, Nina A beautiful meditation on endurance, codependence, and the power of love. A dazzling book -- PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE, author of Empire of Pain A beautiful, brilliant book, an exquisitely written piece of non-fiction that reads like a great novel An exciting, fast-paced, terrifying adventure story, and at the same time a slow, gentle commentary on love -- ALEXANDER MASTERS, author of Stuart: a Life Backwards A beautiful, searing book -- a miniature epic of seafaring and survival with an unbreakable, unusual love story at its heart -- SAM KNIGHT, author of The Premonitions Bureau What an astonishing story. And what a sublime piece of writing -- JULIET NICOLSON, author of A House Full of Daughters An unlikely love story wrapped in a dramatic adventure * Waitrose * An extraordinary account * Guardian, *Books to Look Out For 2024* *