Only Two: the loss of the Loch Ard

by Jackie Randall

It’s 1878 and Eva Carmichael is excited to begin her new life in Australia. Her parents and five of her siblings are with her on board the Loch Ard from London, which after three months at sea is just one day’s sail from Melbourne. But late into that last night, the Loch Ard strikes rocks and sinks and all perish except Eva and a midshipman, Tom Pearce. These teenagers face a gritty struggle for survival on the wreckage-strewn shore of a remote gorge. Yet, after a dramatic rescue by a local farmer, the two young people find they must then tackle grief and growth as overnight they become inspirational but unwilling heroes across Australia and around the world.

Some stories are lost to the ravages of time… this one will not be.

(Based on a true story.)

241 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2023

About the author

Jackie Randall is a storyteller who researches historical events to bring people and their stories back from the past.

Born in England, Jackie now lives with her husband Phillip on a small rural property north of Sydney, Australia. They have three amazing adult children who now each have their own beautiful families.

Reviews

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are sceptical about the fact that historical tales about sea voyages (based on a true event) might not be interesting, think again. I have thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written book from the first to the last page. The author has captured both the physical and emotional objects of the story; I felt truly taken back in time. It is not often that a book makes me cry shamelessly. Kudos to Jackie Randall!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

The anatomy of a shipwreck is dissected with humanity by Jackie Randall. The Loch Ard, 1878, on the Shipwreck Coast, gives the unanointed historian a spoiler in the name: Only Two. Eva Carmichael and Tom Pearce, two survivors one day out from their destination after three months at sea.

Randall must be credited not only with her research which puts the reader on the deck or in the rigging, or in the sea at the bottom of the cliffs, but with her delicacy in handling such a subject. The first act of Only Two invests heavily into the personalities of each character, so much so that each page is turned with hesitation and dread, as if by doing so the reader is responsible for sailing the Loch Ard to its destruction. Randall has us watching through each word as the ship nears land, wanting to shout at the crew to tack to starboard and salvation. Alas, this is history, and it peels open as easily as the steel hull against the rocks.

Courage manifests and a hero is made into a celebrity. What fiction there is serves to remedy the real losses suffered by Eva. The best of people is brought out by the worst, and we are reminded to make the best and find our place in the world. An excellent window into the past perils of settlers under sail, and much enjoyed.