love books that take me to a certain time period, and this book is one of them, Before I received this book, I had no real knowledge of the sinking of the Lusitania, After reading this book, I feel like I knew the crew, and the passengers, and the history that goes along with it, Greg King does a great job of bringing the characters to life, I love that you can reference the passengers in the front of the book if something slipped your mind, Now that I have read this, I plan on researching more extensively on the Lusitania, and devouring anything I can find on this illfated ship, This was such a great read, and it may have sparked a new passion for luxury liners for me,
Disclaimer I received this book through Goodreads First Reads giveaway, While I enjoyed reading this book, I can honestly say it's not my favourite book on Lusitania, It reads more like a social history with descriptions of many first class passengers and their daily lives on board in the days leading up to disaster, At times it felt like the book took a back seat to the descriptions of the life of rich and famous people in, There was about a handful of second class passengers and no one from third class, I felt this left a bit of a void, You can't get a good look at life on board during the crossing if you leave out a big chunk of people who were on the ship, But all that being said, it was a readable account and for the most part a relaxing read, Along with the usual passengers including in Lusitania books, Lady Mackworth, Avis Dolphin, Rita Jolivet and Alfred Vanderbilt there were people mentioned that I hadn't heard much of or didn't realize were on the ship, like one of Timothy Eaton's daughters and Lady Allan from one of the most powerful families in Montreal who had the Prime Minister inquiring if she survived the sinking.
It turns out Canada and Lusitania have a lot of connections, Maybe someday someone will write their story as they did with the Titanic, or maybe they have and I just haven't found that book yet, So overall a decent read, good if you want to hear more about the passengers, especially those in first and second class, but if you are looking for an in depth look into the disaster, and what led up to it, from the U, to the Admiralty and all the behind the scenes politics, then I suggest books like Wilful Murder, Seven Days to Disaster or Dead Wake instead.
This book provides a good overview and primer of the Lusitania disaster, though it follows so many people that they blended together at times, I would have loved to also see the authors follow some third class passengers too, though I understand why they didnt, Probably not the most thorough book out there, but it was still an enjoyable read, We are nearing the centenary of the sinking of the Lusitania and a plethora of new books are coming out, Two highly regarded historians, Greg King and Penny Wilson, have written an amazing true story of wealth and scandal set aboard the final voyage that ended in a huge loss of life.
Focusing on the first class passengers, the authors use many rare accounts not normally seen in books to move the story along, They zero in on the intimate backgrounds and what brought them to be aboard the illfated Lusitania, King and Wilson detail the unique personalities such as a fairly open gay couple, a bigamist, a Broadway and silent screen star, a philandering millionaire, nobility from the far corners of Canada, Italy, Wales and Ireland, automobile manufacturers, art dealer, sufferagettes, spiritualists, a female architect, doctors, nurses, soldiers.
. . Think of it as Downton Abbey at sea, Society columns followed many of these people Alfred Vanderbilt, Rita Jolivet, Lady Marguerite Allan, Albert and Gladys Bilicke, George Kessler, Josephine Eaton Burnside, etc, . The large cast of characters used to move the story along are wellchosen and are so welldrawn that it gives the book an intimate quality as if we are peeking in on them.
An impressive array of photos of the people and the ship help us as we try to picture who and what the authors are describing, The fact that several Lusitania families helped with information for this book shows the hard work of the authors,
The glamorous backdrop is the ship itself and the readers are treated to vivid descriptions of the Lusitania's luxurious interiors, Life at sea is not what it is today, As there were no commercial planes it was really the only way to get to another land, We follow this group as they make friends, sip tea, read, play cards, and dance, while trying in vain not to worry about submarines and torpedoes, The suspense of what is about to happen carries readers to the fateful day, The authors show the agony of trying to abandon the ship inminutes, Many heroic deeds are recorded and sad tales of overturned lifeboats, parents separated from children, and strangers helping strangers in moments of peril,
The story does not end as the waters close over the stern King and Wilson use their impressive research to show what happened to the survivors and the families of victims in later life.
Some fortunes change for the better, others for the worse, I can assuredly say that this book will be very useful as a research tool in the future and highly regarded by lovers of history, Having read the authors previous works, I knew to expect a wellwritten book and I was not disappointed, I eagerly await their next work, A fascinating story of this ship and its tragic end, I would highly suggest this to anyone interested in WWhistory or just looking for a detailed story of the Lusitania, With the anniversary of the sinking of the Lusitania coming up in May, there are a number of new books on the market including “Dead Wake,” by Erik Larson which I look forward to reading and an excellent Kindle Single, “Act of War,” by Diana Preston and Michael Preston, which is a very good introduction to the subject.
Previously, I had read, “Wilful Murder,” by Diana Preston and thought that also a very interesting read, However, I have to admit that I have long loved books by Greg King and Penny Wilson both individually and together so I was looking forward to reading this immensely and it did not disappoint.
Subtitled, “Triumph, Tragedy and the End of the Edwardian Age,” the authors attempt to concentrate on the human stories and follow several passengers mostly from First Class and some from Second Class their theory being they are better documented as well as Officers and Crew.
This is very much a depiction of the last voyage of Lusitania, rather than a book dwelling on conspiracy theories, although obviously reasons for the tragedy are discussed.
The list of passengers included the immensely wealthy, the famous, businessmen and those travelling to visit relatives injured in the first world war, or looking to undertake relief work.
Just a handful of passenger names include Josephine Brandell, an American opera singer, actress Rita Jollivet, Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, Charles Frohman, a central name in the theatrical world, hotelier Albert Clay Bilicke and automobile manufacturer Charles Jeffery.
The First World War started a year before Lusitania embarked on her last voyage, but America was unwilling to get embroiled in a European conflict and remained isolationist and neutral.
Three years before leaving New York, the Carpathia had docked with the survivors of Titanic now Lusitania was getting ready for her seven day voyage, As well as certain passengers being warned not to sail, there was an ominous announcement in the newspapers, by the German embassy, warning that ships were liable to destruction in the waters around the British Isles.
Warnings were dismissed as propaganda and passengers reassured that the ship could outrun submarines and it was suggested that the Admiralty would provide protection once Lusitania reached dangerous waters.
However, the expected escort did not materialise as Lusitania approached the Irish coast and, indeed, neither was the ship was not going at full speed, Still, ships had been torpedoed shortly before Lusitania sailed and, instances where ships had sailed under neutral flags and refused to heed warning shots, had led to the Germans seeing all ships as possible targets including those carrying civilians.
It is obvious that, although most people thought it impossible that the ship would be attacked, there was a mood of nervousness and contemplation on board ship.
Many passengers were urged to put their financial affairs in order before sailing, some slept in staterooms or on deck as they neared the danger zone and others mentioned the air of tension among passengers.
Of course, much of this had to do with other matters the war had already affected many of the passengers lives in other ways, even before the sinking.
However, the authors paint a very detailed portrait of life on board and of many of the people sailing, It is also obvious that little was done to protect the ship, regardless of the danger and the warnings, Passengers who complained about the lack of information on what to do in an emergency such as lifeboat drills or even showing passengers how to put on their lifejackets were curtly informed it was not necessary, or fobbed off with assurances, or even warned to refrain from upsetting other passengers.
When disaster did strike and a Uboat torpedoed the ship, chaos ensued, Lusitania sank swiftly and the crew were unprepared and often
unhelpful, Of course, Cunard had a crew of whoever they could find, as so many men were fighting in the war, so it is reasonable to say these were not of the standard the line would normally expect.
Still, some of the stories of crew threatening passengers, taking life jackets for themselves, being unable to successfully launch the lifeboats due to lack of knowledge, and of the lack of direction from Captain Turner, are shocking.
This book follows those passengers we have read about, after the sinking, and we discover what happened to them, the aftermath and the international condemnation that followed events.
This is a very interesting read the pages are populated with fascinating characters and it is dreadful to get nearer the point of the sinking and imagine what they went through.
The authors attempt to debunk some myths and look at the events of that time, and that era, through the eyes of the people involved, An excellent book and highly recommended, .