Love and friendship blossom when strangers are brought together by tragedy.

It is 1951, and the 8.45 from Bristol to Paddington is preparing to leave. Albert, the driver - whose father and grandfather before him worked on the railway - says goodbye to his wife with mixed feelings. Their seeming inability to have a child has overshadowed their happy marriage. Jenny, clumsy but loveable, longs to make a success of her job in the restaurant car, where she attracts the interest of Marvin, the steward. The passengers - some regulars on the line, others making a rare visit to London - settle down for the journey. Some talk and get to know each other, some while away the journey working or sleeping. But as they near their destination, disaster strikes...

It is 1951, and on a fine spring morning the 8.45 from Bristol to Paddington is preparing to leave. Albert, the driver, says goodbye to his wife with mixed feelings. Their seeming inability to have a child has overshadowed their happy marriage. Jenny, clumsy but loveable, longs to make a success of her job in the restaurant car, but her tendency to get things wrong soon attracts the interest of Marvin, the steward. The passengers - some regulars on the line, others making a rare visit to London - settle down for the journey. Some talk and get to know each other, some while away the journey working or sleeping. But as they near their destination, disaster strikes...

In an instant, lives are changed and everyday concerns become trivial. In this dramatic new novel, bestselling author Susan Sallis relates how love and friendship blossom when strangers are brought together by tragedy.

Susan Sallis
Susan Sallis is now firmly established as one of the most successful writers of engaging family sagas. Her novels include the Rising family sequence, Summer Visitors, By Sun and Candlelight, An Ordinary Woman, Daughters of the Moon, Sweeter Than Wine, Water Under the Bridge, Touched by Angels, Choices, Come Rain or Shine, The Keys to the Garden, The Apple Barrel, Sea of Dreams and Time of Arrival. She lives in Clevedon, Somerset.

2005-01-24 An Ok read

I enjoy Susan Sallis books, finding them easy to read and she invariably introduces characters with whom you can relate and become fond of throughout the course of the book. Time of Arrival is not in her usual style and I found the characters quite unappealing, maybe because the book is set in the 1950s it didn't have the sense of history and romance that many of her other books do. I was disappointed by this book.