The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue
The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
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The Paris Express

Author: Emma Donoghue

Narrator: Justin Avoth

Unabridged: 7 hr 15 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/18/2025


Synopsis

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

From the bestselling and “soul-stirring” (Oprah Daily) author of Room, a sweeping historical “nail-biter” (People) of a novel about the infamous 1895 disaster at the Paris Montparnasse train station.

Based on an 1895 disaster that went down in history when it was captured in a series of surreal, extraordinary photographs, The Paris Express is a propulsive novel set on a train packed with a fascinating cast of characters who hail from as close as Brittany and as far as Russia, Ireland, Algeria, Pennsylvania, and Cambodia. Members of parliament hurry back to Paris to vote; a medical student suspects a girl may be dying; a secretary tries to convince her boss of the potential of moving pictures; two of the train’s crew build a life away from their wives; a young anarchist makes a terrifying plan, and much more.

From an author whose “writing is superb alchemy” (Audrey Niffenegger, New York Times bestselling author), The Paris Express is an evocative masterpiece that effortlessly captures the politics, glamour, chaos, and speed that marked the end of the 19th century.

About Emma Donoghue

Born in Dublin in 1969, Emma Donoghue is an Irish emigrant twice over: she spent eight years in Cambridge doing a PhD in 18th-century literature before following her partner to London, Ontario. She is best known for her novels, which range from the historical (Learned by Heart, Haven, The Pull of the Stars, The WonderFrog Music, Slammerkin) to the contemporary (Akin, Landing). Her most recent novel, The Paris Express, was a finalist for the 2025 Giller Prize. Her international bestseller Room was a New York Times Best Book of the Year and a finalist for the Man Booker, Commonwealth, and Orange Prizes. Donoghue also wrote the screenplays for Room and The Wonder and adapted Room and The Pull of the Stars for the stage. 2026 saw the premiere of her first musical, The Wind Coming Over the Sea. Her most recent film (adapted with Philippa Lowthorpe from Helen Macdonald’s memoir) is H Is for Hawk.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Shelley's Book Nook on March 17, 2025

My Reviews Can Also Be Found On: The Book Review Crew Blog 3.5 Stars This story takes place in the late 19th century, on a train, no less. I loved reading about how life was back then, especially for women. Ms. Donoghue's writing was amazing, as always, and the research was meticulous. The best part o......more

Goodreads review by Annette on January 28, 2025

The Paris Express is one of those novels that leaves me questioning what was the purpose of writing such story. The premise in a way is interesting. It is based on an infamous 1895 train derailment at the Paris Montparnasse train station. The story begins at 8:30 am with embarkment at Granville statio......more

Goodreads review by Blaine on April 03, 2025

A wonderful blend of history and fiction inspired by the 1895 train crash in Paris in which the engine actually crashed through the 2nd floor of the train station and ended with the engine falling to the ground outside the station, Author Emma Donoghue uses both historical and fictional characters to......more


Quotes

"This thrill ride of an audiobook tells the many stories of those onboard Train 721, which crashes in Montparnasse station in October 1895. British narrator Justin Avoth narrates the drama at a good pace and keeps the story moving. Donoghue brings her plotting skills, eloquent style, and eye for social mores to the cast of fictional people who are on the train. To the group she adds the real-life playwright John Synge and American painter Henry Trainer, among others. Tension mounts as a young anarchist carries a homemade bomb, a baby is born, and, inexorably, the train plows into the station. It’s remembered in a famous photo of the engine dangling out of a parapet."