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The Paris Express

Synopsis

'Clever, ambitious . . . a smartly structured novel that ratchets up the pace until it's hurtling along as fast as the train itself' – Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam

'Captivating . . . an edge-of-your-seat historical thriller that I couldn't put down' – Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures


It is 1895, and turn-of-the-century Paris is as chaotic as it is glamorous. Industry and invention have created ever greater wealth and terrible poverty. One autumn morning, an anarchist boards the Granville to Paris express train, determined to make her mark on history.

Aboard the train are others from across the globe: the railway crew who have built a life together away from their wives, a little boy travelling alone for the first time, an artist far from home, a wealthy statesman and his invalid wife, and a young woman with a secret hidden under her dress.

All their fates are bound together as the train speeds towards the City of Light . . .

Inspired by a famous rail disaster, The Paris Express is a thrilling ride and a literary masterpiece that evokes an era not so different from our own.

'Donoghue's talents are at such glorious heights in this novel' – Heather O'Neill, author of The Capital of Dreams

Details

20 March 2025
288 pages
9781035057276
Imprint: Picador

Reviews

Donoghue's historical fiction holds a special place in my heart . . . [she] is not a timid custodian of the past but an excavator, digging beneath bromides to unearth the defiant truthNaoise Dolan, The Irish Times
Clever, ambitious, and richly researched. A slice of 1890s Paris that makes us see that our modern problems aren’t so modern after all! The Paris Express is a smartly structured novel that ratchets up the pace until it's hurtling along as fast as the doomed train itselfAlice Winn, author of In Memoriam
Captivating! Emma Donoghue writes in rich, luxuriant detail, yet the story moves at a exhilarating clip. An edge-of-your-seat historical thriller that I couldn’t put downShelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures
Wonderful. In exploring a little-remembered event in history, she manages to hold a mirror up to a whole society. An absorbing, panoramic, meticulously researched, lovingly peopled gemEsi Edugyan, author of Washington Black