The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor

In 1838, 22 year old Grace Darling is the daughter of the lighthouse keeper on the shores of Northumberland, England.  The lighthouse she helps her father attend to is Longstone Lighthouse on the Farne Islands.  While her siblings have left the island, Grace loves the lighthouse life and helping her aging father.  During a horrible storm when Grace is on shift attending the lights, a shipwreck happens.  Finding courage beyond her years she convinces her father to go out with her in the unprecedented storm to find survivors.  This decision changes Grace's life forever.  As word spreads of what she did, her fame starts to take over the solitary, quiet life her and her parents knew at the lighthouse.  

One hundred years later, in 1938, Matilda Emmerson is the daughter of a politician seeking re-election.  But when Matilda becomes pregnant by a soldier whom she doesn't even know, her domineering Mother sends her to live with a relative in America.  What they tell friends is that she is vacationing but the plan is to have the baby and give it up for adoption in America and return to her family's good graces in England after that and pick up her life where she left off, none the wiser.  The relative she is staying with is Harriet, an unfriendly lighthouse keepers assistant who has secrets of her own.  But when Matilda finds a half finished portrait of a young woman it sends her in a search for her family history.  

I loved this story.  It is based on a true historical character, Grace Darling, who's act of courage and strength made her a celebrity in England.  I found the life of lighthouse keepers both in England and in America depicted in a way that kept my attention.  You'd think it would be boring reading about their quiet lives but the author was able to make me keep turning the pages.  The storms were well written and I could really picture the rage of the weather in my mind as I read.  Courage, loss and duty are themes explored in the book. I like the growth of the character Matilida, who started out as a bit of a spoiled, selfish girl and developed into a strong young woman with character.  The story also made me go down a bunny trail on the internet for information about the real Grace Darling.  I loved how the author brought the two timelines and stories together in the end.  

I gave this a 10/10

Reading Goals Met:  - April Read Your Shelf Prompt:  A book with your initials in the title.  (2 S's, 1 L)

                                  - A book purchased in 2020 - 2022