The Story Of The Titanic As Told By Its Survivors

Panic, despair, shocking inefficiency, and a dash of heroism. Two lengthy narratives by passengers who had a thorough knowledge of the sea and by members of the ship's crew. 26 illustrations.

Violet Jessop's life is an inspiring story of survival. Born in 1887 in Argentina, the eldest child of Irish immigrants, at the age of 21 she became the breadwinner for her widowed mother and five siblings when she commenced a career as a stewardess and nurse on some of the most famous ocean going vessels of the day. Throughout her 40 year time at sea she survived an unbelievable series of events including the sinking of the TITANIC. “One awful moment of empty, misty blackness enveloped us in its loneliness, then an unforgettable, agonizing cry went up from 1500 despairing throats, a long wail and then silence and our tiny craft tossing about at the mercy of the ice field.” For most people one sinking would be enough. But four years later Violet, now a nurse with the British Red Cross, was on board the World War I hospital ship BRITANNIC when it struck a mine and sank to the bottom of the Aegean. To her, this disaster was even more horrifying-- “Just as life seeming nothing but a whirling, choking ache, I rose to the light of day, my nose barely above the little lapping waves. I opened my eyes on an indescribable scene of slaughter, which made me shut them again to keep it out." By the end of her story we have a met a woman who could handle whatever life threw at her with determination and good humor. She knew that only by her own strength of character would she survive. But Titanic Survivor is much more. A unique autobiography for those who want to know how it really felt, a story that could be told only by a Titanic Survivor.

IN the early morning hours of April 15, 1912, the icy waters of the North Atlantic reverberated with the desperate screams of more than 1,500 men, women, and children—passengers of the once majestic liner Titanic. Then, as the ship sank to the ocean floor and the passengers slowly died from hypothermia, an even more awful silence settled over the sea. The sights and sounds of that night would haunt each of the vessel’s 705 survivors for the rest of their days. Although we think we know the story of Titanic—the famously luxurious and supposedly unsinkable ship that struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Britain to America—very little has been written about what happened to the survivors after the tragedy. How did they cope in the aftermath of this horrific event? How did they come to remember that night, a disaster that has been likened to the destruction of a small town? Drawing on a wealth of previously unpublished letters, memoirs, and diaries as well as interviews with survivors’ family members, award-winning journalist and author Andrew Wilson reveals how some used their experience to propel themselves on to fame, while others were so racked with guilt they spent the rest of their lives under the Titanic’s shadow. Some reputations were destroyed, and some survivors were so psychologically damaged that they took their own lives in the years that followed. Andrew Wilson brings to life the colorful voices of many of those who lived to tell the tale, from famous survivors like Madeleine Astor (who became a bride, a widow, an heiress, and a mother all within a year), Lady Duff Gordon, and White Star Line chairman J. Bruce Ismay, to lesser known second- and third-class passengers such as the Navratil brothers—who were traveling under assumed names because they were being abducted by their father. Today, one hundred years after that fateful voyage, Shadow of the Titanic adds an important new dimension to our understanding of this enduringly fascinating story.

Tells the true story of the sinking of the S.S. Titanic

There were over 700 survivors of the Titanic disaster and their horrific experience has captivated readers and moviegoers for almost 100 years. But what was it actually like for a woman to say goodbye to her husband? For a mother to leave her teenage sons? For the unlucky many who found themselves in the freezing Atlantic waters? 'Titanic Voices' is a comprehensive collection of Titanic survivors' accounts, and includes many unpublished and long-forgotten accounts, unabridged, together with an authoritative editorial commentary. It also includes substantial accounts from third class and female survivors.

This anthology compiles firsthand accounts of the Titanic disaster by those who lived it. Through their words, we are able to remember the human tragedy and see both the heroism and cowardice on display that fateful night. The accounts presented here come from letters written aboard the Carpathia, correspondences to friends, verbal testimony given at the US Senate Inquiry in 1912, and exclusive interviews given to journalists shortly after the sinking. In total, 25 rare survivor accounts are presented in this anthology, including key crew members as well as First Class, Second Class, and Third Class passengers. First hand stories come from the following individuals: HAROLD BRIDE, LAURA FRANCATELLI, WASHINGTON DODGE, EMILY RYERSON, DAISY MINAHAN, BRUCE ISMAY, GEORGE HARDER, ARCHIBALD GRACIE, MAHALA DOUGLAS, MARY ELOISE SMITH, CATHERINE CROSBY, NORMAN C. CHAMBERS, WILLIAM BURKE, DANIEL BUCKLEY, HELEN BISHOP, OLAUS ABELSETH, LAWRENCE BEESLEY, JACK THAYER, JAMES MCGOUGH, ROBERT HITCHENS, A.H. WEIKMAN, CARPATHIA STEWARD (UNNAMED), CARLOS F. HURD, IMANITA SHELLEY, and JOHN COLLINS. This book is dedicated to the memory of the passengers and crew of Titanic