The Leaving of Liverpool [Paperback]

Maureen Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2007

On a cold February night in 1925, Mollie and Annemarie Kenny escape from their home in a tiny Irish village. Their beloved mother has died and the girls have suffered shocking abuse at the hands of their doctor father. With sensitive, creative Annemarie so traumatized she can barely remember her name, Mollie decides they should make a new life for themselves, taking her younger sister to Liverpool to board a ship bound for New York and, she hopes, safety. But the smallest, cruelest twist of fate conspires to separate the girls just as the boat is about to sail, leaving Mollie stranded in Liverpool and Annemarie at the mercy of strangers in America. The subsequent paths of their lives could not be more different. Annemarie discovers her future, her fortune, and her raison d'etre on Broadway, while Mollie, devastated by guilt and grief at the loss of her sister, eventually carves out a life of family, hearth, and home in Liverpool, a city of warmth and humor that she grows to love. As the 1920s make way for the Depression and the edgy 1930s, the specter of another war looms. The Second World War will separate many more people from their loved ones, but, as Mollie sees in the cheerful, stoical camaraderie of blitzed Liverpool, it can also bring people together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"a real page-turner from a master of the genre, with believeable characters and lots of period details" Daily Express "Past and present intertwine in this warm, gently nostalgic drama -- a gem" My Weekly "super saga" Peterborough Evening Telegraph

About the Author

Maureen Lee was born in Bottle and now lives in Colchester, Essex.  The Leaving of Liverpool is her fifteenth novel. Kitty and her Sisters, The September Girls, The Old House on the Corner, Queen of the Mersey,  Stepping Stones, Liverpool Annie, Dancing in the Dark, The Girl from Barefoot House, Laceys of Liverpool, The House by Princes Park, Lime Street Blues and three novels in the Pearl Street Series; Lights out Liverpool, Put out the Fires and Through the Storm, are all available in Orion Paperback.  She won the 2000 Romantic Novel of the Year award for Dancing in the Dark. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Orion Publishing (December 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752881922
• ISBN-13: 978-0752881928
• Product Dimensions: 1.2 x 4.5 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #995,333 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, August 8, 2008

By 

Serene (Marina, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Leaving of Liverpool (Paperback)

This is an entertaining piece of historical fiction about two sisters Mollie and Annemarie, and the very different lives they lead after being accidentally separated when Mollie misses the boat to New York, leaving her young sister on board. It is set before the second world war, and involves POV switches between several main characters and a few minor ones.

I find the author's prose to be interesting and realistic. The people she writes about are flawed, and sometimes not nice. As usual in most Lee books, family, infidelity,grief, loss, and marriage play a prominent role.

While I liked this novel, it wasn't perfect. The ending felt really weak. After all the build up in the book, we are sort of left hanging on a variety of issues. I was also a bit disappointed in the character of Mollie who gave up searching for her sister a bit too quickly.

Overall, though, this was a good book. I would recommend it for fans of Lee's or fans of historical fiction.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great Liverpool story!, January 30, 2010

By 

Ellen Janes "book worm" (MI.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Leaving of Liverpool (Paperback)

Again Maureen Lee has sparked my own childhood WWII memories. Though we went through rationing and other small hardships, her books reveal we had it pretty good on this side of the ocean. I was around 6 years old when America entered the war in 1941 so I remember those days quite clearly though I had no idea of how the children and families of Liverpool suffered. What an inspiration these fictional characters are...probably a reflection of those who actually lived it.Maureen's characters are so beliveable you feel as though you knew them personally, even those who were not exactly saints! Her storytelling is incomparable! Hope she continues to write. Will be checking out her page periodically.