Maurice and Maralyn
- Author Sophie Elmhirst
- Narrator Florence Howard
- Publisher Random House
- Run Time 5 hours and 52 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Biography and non-fiction prose, Biography: adventurers and explorers, Navigation and seamanship, Ships and boats: general interest, True stories of heroism, endurance and survival.
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
**A Guardian, Observer & Waterstones Nonfiction Book of 2024**
** A Financial Times BEST SUMMER READ**
'One of those very special books that makes you put everything on hold so you can get back to it' RACHEL JOYCE
What begins as an eccentric English love story turns into one of the most dramatic adventures ever recorded...
Maurice and Maralyn couldn't be more different. He is as cautious and awkward as she is charismatic and forceful. It seems an unlikely romance, but it works.
Bored of 1970s suburban life, Maralyn has an idea: sell the house, build a boat, leave England -- and its oil crisis, industrial strikes and inflation -- forever. It is hard work, turning dreams into reality, but finally they set sail for New Zealand. Then, halfway there, their beloved boat is struck by a whale and the pair are cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
On their tiny raft, their love is put to the test. When Maurice begins to withdraw into himself, it falls upon Maralyn to keep them both alive. Filled with danger, spirit, and tenderness, this is a book about human connection and the human condition; about how we survive -- not just at sea, but in life.
'Extraordinary . . . Elmhirst is a terrific writer' ELIZABETH DAY
**READERS ADORE MAURICE & MARALYN**
‘A riveting tale of survival . . . and of the power of love when all appears lost’
‘A mind-blowing story of resilience and love in the face of adversity’
‘The very best kind of true story, and beautifully written’
‘I couldn’t put this book down’
‘I was absolutely hooked from the outset’
©2024 Sophie Elmhirst (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Critics Review
Electrifying . . . a tender portrait of two unconventional souls blithely defying the conventions of their era and making a break for freedom
Extraordinary . . . Elmhirst is a terrific writer
An extraordinary survival story… Elmhirst’s reconstruction of their ordeal is riveting, told in illuminating detail
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
A compelling book about a shipwreck, but also as thoughtful a tale about marriage, for better and worse, as you are likely to read
Thought-provoking…compelling…tender… An ideal gift for a friend or family who likes incredible true stories of survival. But it’s also a book about love and hubris. And in that sense, it’s a book for us all.
An amazing tale of survival . . . reminds me how incredibly hard it is to find love out there in the world
This dramatic, profound human story is so beautifully told in calm, thoughtful, perfectly judged prose. I really could not put it down
A gripping tale of maritime catastrophe but also of marriage
A gripping story of survival at sea and a haunting account of the yearning to escape . . . It hasn’t left my mind since I finished it
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