Maurice and Maralyn: A Whale, a Shipwreck, a Love Story

Sophie Elmhirst

Feb 2024 · Vintage Digital · Narrated by Florence Howard

Audiobook

5 hr 51 min

Unabridged

Eligible

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About this audiobook

Brought to you by Penguin.

**WINNER OF THE NERO AWARDS GOLD PRIZE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024**
**WINNER OF THE NERO AWARDS NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024**

An extraordinary true story of shipwreck, survival and love

Bored of 1970s suburban life, Maurice and Maralyn plan their escape: sell the house, build a boat, set sail for New Zealand. Then, halfway around the world, their beloved boat is struck by a whale and the pair are cast adrift in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Alone on a tiny raft, their love is put to the test. This is a book about human connection and the human condition; about how we survive – not just at sea, but in life.

'An enthralling, engrossing story of survival' Bill Bryson
‘An absolute jewel of a book’ India Knight
‘A gripping tale of adventure’ Elizabeth Day
‘An extraordinary survival story’ Sunday Times

A Guardian, Observer & Waterstones Non-fiction Book of the Year

©2024 Sophie Elmhirst (P)2024 Penguin Audio

About the author

Sophie Elmhirst is a prizewinning writer for the Guardian Long Read and The Economist's 1843 magazine, and a contributing editor at the Gentlewoman and Harper's Bazaar. In 2020 she won the British Press Award for Feature Writer of the Year; she has also won a Foreign Press Award and been longlisted for the Orwell Prize. She first came across the story of Maurice and Maralyn Bailey researching a piece on our desire to escape. This is her first book. She lives in London.

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