The Ship of Dreams

Written by

Gareth Russell

Read by

Jenny Funnell

Format

Digital Audiobook

Run Time

12h 36min

4.6 stars

(25 ratings)

Performed by a talented narrator with a “soft, elegant voice” (AudioFile), this captivating audiobook follows six first-class passengers aboard the Titanic, including an American model and a captain of industry, and explores the era of unprecedented change the tragedy would bring about. “A meticulously researched retelling of history’s most infamous voyage” (New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan).

Publisher Description

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Writing in his signature elegant prose and using previously unpublished sources, deck plans, journal entries, and surviving artifacts, Gareth Russell peers through the portholes of these first-class travelers to immerse us in a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).

$24.99

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Reviews for "The Ship of Dreams"

Average Rating:

4.6 stars

(25 ratings)

Robert C. - Gareth Russell presents an excellent story about the ship and its passengers, with emphasis on both the similarities as well as the contrasts among people on board. Well-documented background stories about the ship, her builders, and the country she was built in. A well-researched description of the passing of life in Edwardian times, and the fitfull start into the post-Great War world. Terrific narration by Jenny Funnell as well. Well-recommended.

Anne L. - I enjoyed learning the facts about the tragedy, well written and narrated.

Susie H. - Loved this book. A true history lesson. I think telling what happened to all the extended families of survivors was too much, and couldn’t follow relationships in the end.

Karen H. - Very interesting overall. Wonderful narration!!

Deanna N. - I like the book. It's very interesting and detailed. The narrator, however, is awful. She has a pleasant tone, but her reading is stilted with unnatural pauses, sort of. like this. for example. I speeded the narration up to 1.1, but that only helped a little. Also, there are many mispronunciations. For one thing, who doesn't know that Job from the Bible is pronounced like Jobe, not like the job one works at? Honest mistake if done once, but not multiple times. The narration was so annoying that... it seriously affected my enjoyment of an otherwise good book.

The Ship of Dreams

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