Leaving of Liverpool [Abridged, Audiobook, CD] [Hardcover]

Maureen Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2007

It is a cold February night in 1925 when two teenage sisters - Mollie and Annemarie - 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 father. With sensitive, creative Annemarie so traumatised she can barely remember her name, Mollie decides they should make a new life for themselves and she takes her younger sister to Liverpool where they will board a ship to New York. There, she thinks, they will be safe. But the smallest, cruellest 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 and her fortune, while Mollie, devastated by guilt and grief at the loss of her sister, eventually carves out a new life in Liverpool. Then the Second World War looms - with surprising consequences for the two sisters...

Editorial Reviews

Review

Interview with Maureen Lee with pre-publication plug for the book in the LIVERPOOL DAILY POST on 5 August 2006 Review in: Colchester Gazette 6/04/07 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Bestselling author Maureen Lee was born in Bootle and lives in Colchester, Essex. As well as her novels, she has had a play professionally staged. Maureen won the 2000 RNA Award for her novel DANCING IN THE DARK. With numerous audiobook and stage credits to her name, Jacqueline King has also had a great variety of television roles, including parts in Doctors, Doctor Who, The Bill, 55 Degrees North and Casualty. She has read a number of Maureen Lee audios, abridged and unabridged.

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Orion Publishing; Abridged edition edition (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0752890948
• ISBN-13: 978-1407222813
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,326,150 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.