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    The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era
    The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era
    The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era
    Audiobook12 hours

    The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era

    Written by Gareth Russell

    Narrated by Jenny Funnell

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    This original and “meticulously researched retelling of history’s most infamous voyage” (Denise Kiernan, New York Times bestselling author) uses the sinking of the Titanic as a prism through which to examine the end of the Edwardian era and the seismic shift modernity brought to the Western world. “While there are many Titanic books, this is one readers will consider a favorite” (Voyage).

    In April 1912, six notable people were among those privileged to experience the height of luxury—first class passage on “the ship of dreams,” the RMS Titanic: Lucy Leslie, Countess of Rothes; son of the British Empire Tommy Andrews; American captain of industry John Thayer and his son Jack; Jewish-American immigrant Ida Straus; and American model and movie star Dorothy Gibson. Within a week of setting sail, they were all caught up in the horrifying disaster of the Titanic’s sinking, one of the biggest news stories of the century. Today, we can see their stories and the Titanic’s voyage as the beginning of the end of the established hierarchy of the Edwardian era.

    Writing in his signature elegant prose and using previously unpublished sources, deck plans, journal entries, and surviving artifacts, Gareth Russell peers through the portholes of these first-class travelers to immerse us in a time of unprecedented change in British and American history. Through their intertwining lives, he examines social, technological, political, and economic forces such as the nuances of the British class system, the explosion of competition in the shipping trade, the birth of the movie industry, the Irish Home Rule Crisis, and the Jewish-American immigrant experience while also recounting their intimate stories of bravery, tragedy, and selflessness.

    This is “a beautiful requiem” (The Wall Street Journal) in which “readers get the story of this particular floating Tower of Babel in riveting detail, and with all the wider context they could want” (Christian Science Monitor).
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateNov 19, 2019
    ISBN9781508296720
    Author

    Gareth Russell

    Educated at Oxford University and Queen’s University, Belfast, Gareth Russell is a historian, novelist, and playwright. He is the author of several books, including The Palace, The Ship of Dreams, Young and Damned and Fair, The Emperors, and Do Let’s Have Another Drink. He lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

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    Reviews for The Ship of Dreams

    4.5/5

    38 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5
      I think what turns a lot of people off about reading history and past events is that some authors and historians include very detailed explanations of the people lives where it makes a reader feel lost or uninspired by their life story. I personally love reading and reading all kinds of history so the detailed life doesn't bother me too much but it may you. I feel I got a first hand account of key passengers stories whose lives were gravely impacted by the sinking titanic. This book gives true accounts to who the passengers were in real life. I guess you have to love history in general to read a book like this but I ended up finishing the book with feelings of incredible insight to a terrible tragedy and as if I was literally talking to the passenger themselves. I feel all the events of this time line in history are worth knowing to better understand the full reality of the Titanic and the story takes place just in enough time for hitlers war on the Jewish people. I really like the little glimpses of other events in history leading up to or around the same time of another event and especially when it involves a specific person. Hopefully I don't leave a spoiler here but just really enjoyed this book. Gareth is from Belfast where the titanic shipyard is located so I think its great he would write a book on this life shattering story.
    • 4/5
      While the topic of the Titanic is fascinating, I feel that this book gave too much background information on some of the ships passengers. It took away from the overall story.