Book Summary and Reviews of The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

Book Summary

Inspired by a haunting true story, a gorgeous and atmospheric novel about the mysterious disappearance of three lighthouse keepers from a remote tower miles from the Cornish coast—and about the wives who were left behind.

What strange fate befell these doomed men? The heavy sea whispers their names. Black rocks roll beneath the surface, drowning ghosts. And out of the swell like a finger of light, the salt-scratched tower stands lonely and magnificent.

It's New Year's Eve, 1972, when a boat pulls up to the Maiden Rock lighthouse with relief for the keepers. But no one greets them. When the entrance door, locked from the inside, is battered down, rescuers find an empty tower. A table is laid for a meal not eaten. The Principal Keeper's weather log describes a storm raging round the tower, but the skies have been clear. And the clocks have all stopped at 8:45.

Two decades later, the keepers' wives are visited by a writer determined to find the truth about the men's disappearance. Moving between the women's stories and the men's last weeks together in the lighthouse, long-held secrets surface and truths twist into lies as we piece together what happened, why, and who to believe.

In her riveting and suspenseful novel, Emma Stonex writes a story of isolation and obsession, of reality and illusion, and of what it takes to keep the light burning when all else is swallowed by dark.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. The Lamplighters is a gorgeous, eerily atmospheric book with scenes that live on the knife's edge between real and imagined. How does Stonex's writing play a part in creating this balance between reality and illusion?
2. We are presented with several versions of what happened the night of the men's disappearance—and we are also given reasons to doubt every account. What do you think really happened? Do you feel there is a clear answer? Do you think the men's accounts of what happened on the Maiden were real? Does it matter?
3. Dan Sharp, the writer who interviews the women, is a bestselling author of naval action thrillers. Do you think The Lamplighters is meant to be his book? If so, how does that shift your perspective...