Why a Booktrail?
1838, 1938: Two women, years apart, share an amazing link
The Lighthousekeeper’s Daughter
What you need to know before your trail
1838: when a terrible storm blows up off the Northumberland coast, Grace Darling, the lighthouse-keeper’s daughter, knows there is little chance of survival for the passengers on the small ship battling the waves. But her actions set in motion an incredible feat of bravery that echoes down the century.
1938: when nineteen-year-old Matilda Emmerson sails across the Atlantic to New England, she faces an uncertain future. Staying with her reclusive relative, Harriet Flaherty, a lighthouse keeper on Rhode Island, Matilda discovers a discarded portrait that opens a window on to a secret that will change her life forever.
Locations
Reset- North East England - Northumberland
- A: Bamburgh - RNLI Grace Darling Museum
- B: Bamburgh - Grace Darling memorial
- C: Farne Islands
- D: Bamburgh - Longstone Lighthouse
- E: Seahouse
- America/ USA - RI
- F: Newport - Rose Island
- G: Newport - Brewer St
Travel Guide
Travel to Northumberland and Rhode Island with Grace Darling
Longstone Lighthouse
Hazel Gaynor explains in her author note that she was very keen to write about this remarkable lady. she wanted to dig deeper to find out who Grace Darling really was. How did she live in the confined space that was her lighthouse home. She wasn’t just the heroine we know and love today, but a woman like any other with her own needs and views. There was a suggestion that she formed a romantic relationship wit a young man from the area who visited her at Longstone and this captivated Harriet’s imagination.
Some of the place names are different now to what they were then: Harker’s Rock is now known as Big Harcar and North Sunderland is known as Seahouses.
Rhode Island
The author discovered Ida Lewis who was known as America’s Grace Darling. The connection between the two women captivated her and she wanted to find out more about the generations of women who kept the lights in America. The stories helped inspire the character of Harriet Flaherty.
Rose Island is the light house to visit on this side of the pond.
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter
Destination : Northumberland, Seahouses, Rhode Island Author/Guide: Hazel Gaynor Departure Time: 1838, 1938
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