This book was inspired by a French railway disaster in 1895. A train is hurtling towards Montparnasse in Paris – Donoghue describes all the passengers in detail: Marcelle is a scientist and an admirer of Madame Curie. Alice is travelling with her boss, as the secretary for his photography business, Blonska has a variety of skills, and a sharp intellect. Mado is an anarchist and feminist. Mado and Blonska help deliver a baby on the train. We learn a lot about all these women throughout the book.
I really wanted to love this book, the premise is amazing. Unfortunately, I didn’t. I thought it was okay, but though the women on the train are described in detail, both in their appearance and their inner most thoughts… I wasn’t really a fan of any of them. Compared to for instance Learning by Heart, this book didn’t reach that level for me.
Read for the Shelf Reflection Reading Challenge 2026
Prompt 1: A book with a city on the cover
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
