Maurice and Maralyn Synopsis
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. It sinks within an hour, and the pair are cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
On their tiny raft, over the course of days, then months, their love is put to the test. When Maurice begins to withdraw into himself, it falls upon Maralyn to keep them both alive. Their pet turtle helps, as does devising menus for fantasy dinners and dreaming of their next voyage.
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.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781784744922 |
| Publication date: |
29th February 2024 |
| Author: |
Sophie Elmhirst |
| Publisher: |
Chatto & Windus an imprint of Vintage Publishing |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
261 pages |
| Primary Genre |
Biographies & Autobiographies
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| Other Genres: |
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| Recommendations: |
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Sophie Elmhirst Press Reviews
The most extraordinary book about facing challenges, holding onto hope in dark times and how easy it is to become lost even when you’re surrounded by others. It’s beautiful, moving and genuinely unputdownable . . . utterly captivating and so special -- JOANNA CANNON, author of A Tidy Ending
I loved everything about this inspirational, funny, painful, jaw-dropping and moving celebration of an ordinary couple caught in the most dramatic circumstances imaginable. A poignant reminder that in facing catastrophe, we often discover who we really are -- RACHEL JOYCE, author of Maureen Fry & the Angel of the North
This is a survival story of relentless power, an epic of human resourcefulness, and of the emotional toll taken at last by suffering’s extremity -- COLIN THUBRON, author of The Amur River
An absolute jewel of a book. I can’t stop thinking about it -- INDIA KNIGHT, author of Darling
Easily one of the most captivating works of narrative nonfiction I’ve ever read, Maurice and Maralyn is at once a gripping story of survival at sea and a haunting account of the yearning to escape the ordinary, the mysteries of marriage, and the fleeting nature of fame. It hasn’t left my mind since I finished it -- OLIVER BURKEMAN, author of Four Thousand Weeks
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
An extraordinary story of an even more extraordinary marriage. Sophie Elmhirst's prose is spare and elegant, and in her hands Maurice and Maralyn come vividly to life, characters who will remain with the reader long after they finish this compelling book. I turned each page with my heart in my mouth -- FRANCESCA SEGAL, author of Mother Ship
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
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
No one finds the wit, warmth and mischief in a story quite like Sophie Elmhirst. I will read anything she writes -- HELEN LEWIS, author of Difficult Women
Much of human life is contained in this beautiful, moving book about two people cut off from everything but each other -- LARISSA MACFARQUHAR, author of Strangers Drowning
A mysterious, quiet, beautiful book about fate and marriage and the kind of loneliness that is honored and nourished rather than avoided. Sophie Elmhirst manages to illustrate the ways in which committing to a loving relationship—while shipwrecked or not—can become a matter of survival -- RACHEL AVIV, author of Strangers to Ourselves
