Sophie Elmhirst on the True Story of a Shipwrecked Couple
The Book Review

Sophie Elmhirst on the True Story of a Shipwrecked Couple

B2Upper-intermediateJuly 17, 202631 min
  • Interview

Today, we want to bring back an episode from our archives. It’s about a book that has real beach read vibes. There’s a lot of water. It’s a relationship drama. And it’s also a daring story of survival. “Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession and Shipwreck" made it onto the Book Review Top 10 Books of 2025 and the paperback edition just came out a few weeks ago. It tells the unbelievable story of a British couple in the 1970s who try to sail around the world. They’re trying to reach New Z...

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What had pulled me into it initially was the idea of this happening to a marriage as much as to two individuals,

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When I was setting out on writing the book, I knew it wasn't just the story of the catastrophe that I wanted to write. What had pulled me into it initially was the idea of this happening to a marriage as much as to two individuals, and what that would feel like from the inside. I'm Gilbert Cruz, and this is the book review from The New York Times.

0:20

Today, I would like to bring back an episode from our archives. It's about a book that has real beach-read vibes. There's a lot of water, it's a relationship drama, and it's also a daring story of survival. Marriage at Sea, a true story of love, obsession, and shipwreck, made it onto the Book Review's top 10 books of 2025.

0:41

And it was one of my personal favorites last year as well. It tells the unbelievable story of a British couple in the 1970s who tried to sail around the world. They're trying to reach New Zealand, and they almost make it. but their boat gets capsized by a whale in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean,

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