Titanic Love Stories

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Manufacturer: Gill Paul
Brand: Nonfiction
Brew: Hardback
Steeping Time: 189 pages
Tea Service: Personal Choice
Strength:

Synopsis: On April 10, 1912, the new RMS Titanic set sail on her fateful voyage from Southampton to New York. Among those on board were 13 newlywed couples some simply enjoying the trip of a lifetime, others crossing to America with dreams of starting a new life together. Titanic Love Stories tells the tales of these honeymooners. Featuring haunting portraits of all the sweethearts, these true stories of love, tragedy, heroism, and hope are more remarkable than any work of romantic fiction.

Titanic has always held a special place in my heart.

I was drawn to the story of her tragic maiden voyage since I was a child, and that obsession has only grown. I fell in love with the fashion and style of the era before anything else, but I soon came to love the people and their individual stories. Titanic Love Stories tells the tale of thirteen couples on board the ill-fated ship. They were celebrating the happiest occasion of their lives and traveling for their honeymoon. Little did they know it would turn into one of the most traumatizing events of their lives, if they were lucky enough to survive.

I won’t go too deeply into it, but 2012 was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. I stumbled upon a website for a memorial cruise. It would trace Titanic’s route on the anniversary of her sailing and hold a memorial service over the wreckage to mark the tragic date. For three years, I scrimped and saved every penny to be a part of that once-in-a-lifetime event, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done.

It was an incredible journey filled with lectures, history, talks from experts in the field, and family members of those on board Titanic. Some of their families survived. Some did not. My husband and I made lifelong friends during that transatlantic crossing, and we’ve been all the luckier to know them. I only go into this because, in the months leading up to our voyage, I started having nightmares. So many nights I dreamt that our ship was sinking and my boyfriend (now husband) was calmly putting me off in a lifeboat, all the while knowing there wouldn’t be room for himself.

I’m dramatic. Sorry.

But seriously, losing him in a freak repeat accident kept me up at night. It terrified me. What these couples went through was my worst nightmare. So I felt drawn to this book from the very start. I wanted, needed, to know their stories. Did any of them make it? I already knew that answer for John Jacob Astor and his new wife Madeleine, and I was familiar with a few other names in the book. The rest, however, were new to me. I didn’t know them or their stories yet.

Titanic Love Stories takes us through the lives of the couples, with a chapter dedicated to each one. It works its way from first class down to third class, giving the details of how each couple met, their plans, their wedding date, and, if the information is known, what cabin they stayed in on the ship. We also learn how their journey ended that fateful night. Did one or both of them make it to a lifeboat? Or were they abandoned on the deck of the ship with the hundreds of other people there wasn’t room for? Their stories after the sinking are also included, whether it be moving on with life or the details of a funeral if their bodies were recovered.

I know it’s all a bit morbid, but I don’t want to forget them.

There’s something about honoring a person’s memory by telling their story. In knowing their names and reading about their experiences and journeys, I feel like I’m keeping them alive somehow. Titanic Love Stories carries these thirteen couples into the hearts of every person who reads this book, and I love that.

If you are interested in Titanic and the people that sailed on her maiden voyage, Titanic Love Stories should definitely be on your TBR list.

Have you read Titanic Love Stories? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it! Want to read it for yourself? Click here to get a copy of your own.
Cheers,
Lydia