IRISH TIMES and USA TODAY BESTSELLER.
FROM THE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME AND THE GIRL FROM THE SAVOY COMES A NOVEL INSPIRED BY THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF A REMARKABLE YOUNG WOMAN.
“This exquisite, thoroughly researched book places (Gaynor) a clear head and shoulders above the rest.” – Sunday Independent
1838: Northumberland, England. Grace Darling enjoys her quiet island life at Longstone Lighthouse, at one with nature and the wild sea breezes. But her solitude is interrupted when she and her father rescue survivors of a shipwreck in a furious storm and Grace becomes celebrated throughout England, a heroine of her time. As her renown grows, so does her friendship with George Emmerson, an artist visiting the lighthouse. As George captures Grace with his brushes, she in turn captures his heart, but as the accounts of her heroism escalate, Grace wonders if she has the courage to endure the relentless glare of fame.
1938: Newport, Rhode Island. Nineteen-years-old and pregnant, Matilda Emmerson arrives in America in disgrace, sent from her home in Ireland to stay with Harriet Flaherty, a reclusive relative and keeper at Rose Island lighthouse. When a discarded, half-finished portrait opens a window into Matilda’s past, she sets out to discover the connection between a Victorian heroine and her own family. As a deadly hurricane approaches, two women, living a century apart, will be forever linked by their instinctive acts of bravery and love.
Inspired by true events, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter is a sweeping historical novel that explores how our past shapes our present, and what it truly means to be courageous.
International editions
