Ship of Dreams

by Martina Devlin

Book by Devlin, Martina

Genres: Historical Fiction, Book Club, Historical

417 pages, Paperback

First published January 27, 2007

About the author

Martina Devlin is an Irish novelist and journalist. She lives in Dublin with her husband David and their cat Chekhov - the latter snoozes at her feet and keeps her company while she writes. It's all a far cry from her Fleet Street days, when she went to Parkhurst (a maximum security prison) to meet gangland leader Reggie Kray, was shown how to do The Twist by the maestro Chubby Checker, and kept watch while Anthony Burgess of 'A Clockwork Orange' filled his pockets with all the uneaten cakes at their interview over afternoon tea. She has had nine books published, beginning in 2000. Her work has won a number of prizes including the Royal Society of Literature's VS Pritchett Prize and a Hennessy Literary Award, and she was twice shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards. A current affairs commentator for the Irish Independent, Martina has been named columnist of the year by the National Newspapers of Ireland. She is vice-chairperson of the Irish Writers Centre, and has a certificate as a chartered director from the Institute of Directors. But none of that impresses Chekhov the cat.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this fictional story about survivors of the sinking of the Titanic.

It was very well written and it kept you interested as lots of stories of very different people intertwined because of their chance meeting in a lifeboat.

I found a few of the characters a touch two dimensional, although the strength lies in the story telling.

I shed a few tears at some of the reminiscences but although its a story about a very tragic subject in many ways its quite uplifting as its more about hope and carrying on.

[Kristen McBee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable period drama for those who enjoy Titanic stories. The author was sure to maintain accuracy about details of the sinking, though I question if some of the dialogue and colloquillisms were relevant to the time.

Fun fact: I bought this book at a second-hand book shop in Ireland after spending a day in Cobh (formerly Queenstown) touring Titanic's last port of call.

[Teresa Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Especially liked one of the story lines. Started off strong. Midway I lost some interest. Wanting to know what happened to some of the characters I keep reading..sometimes skim reading. Enjoyed the ending.

[Rachel Brand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began reading this book about a month after I watched the film Titanic for the first time. Since I’d barely started school at the time of Titanic’s release, I didn’t get around to watching it until I was at university. Many discussions ensued about what we’d do in Rose’s situation – my best friends were convinced that I’d go after the love of my life, whereas I believed that my boyfriend would have tied me into a lifeboat in order to make sure I didn’t do anything as stupid and reckless as Rose did – but what hit me most about the film wasn’t the love story, but the catastrophic loss of life. It almost had the same affect on me as Schindler’s List did. Thus I racked my brains for the name of the Titanic-themed novel that I knew I had buried in my TBR pile back in my parents’ house and picked it up the next time I visited. I started reading it in the early hours of the morning on Monday morning – after working several early shifts at the Open, my brain decided to automatically wake me up at 6am that day – and found the initial introduction a bit cheesy, but once I got into the book later that day I couldn’t put it down. Even after the fuss about the Titanic died down, the characters were still very engaging. I particularly liked Bridie (whose name I constantly read as “Birdie”) and Hannah’s story, as well as the Major’s and the details about Edmund’s crush on Bridie. I have to admit that I didn’t really care for Nancy and Louis’s love story as it was hard to believe that Louis had been infatuated with her since their first brief meeting. Nancy and her relationships with her mother and mother-in-law were interesting – the politics of high society always are – but the ending with her and Louis just struck me as a bit over-the-top and cheesy. Perhaps that wasn’t the best extract to include in the introduction either. Yet overall, I really enjoyed reading about these characters and found it a fascinating period of history. The emphasis on the differences between rural Irish life and that in the city of New York also intrigued me, and made me want to know more about developing America. Devlin also created several interesting minor characters, including Nancy’s mother, Violet, and the black woman, Ellen, whom Hannah befriended. Although they didn’t feature constantly throughout the book, they were incredibly believable. All in all, I was very satisfied with this book, and the only faults I would believe worthy of comment were that Nancy and Louis’s relationship didn’t quite seem convincing enough, and that Edmund’s character didn’t seem quite as developed as the rest, other than his crush on Bridie. This book gets an 8/10 from me and I hope that Devlin writes more historical novels in the future.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Martina Devlin was researching another book on the internet when she came across a list of Irish passengers from the Titanic. On the list she spotted a name, Tom O'Brien from the same small town in County Limerick that her mother came from. On further investigations she found that Tom was her grandmother's Uncle. Tom had eloped with a local girl Hannah - they planned to join his sisters in Chicago, USA. They originally had tickets on another ship but due to a strike they set sail on the Titanic. Tom didn't get a place in a lifeboat but Hannah managed to get to the USA safely - she was pregnant and unmarried.

Ship of Dreams is Martina Devlin's fictionalised account of what may have happened to Hannah and the other survivors in Lifeboat 16 - nobody knows the full story, but there is a lot of factual incidents included in this excellently crafted story.

The story centres around the passengers of Lifeboat 16 - passengers from all walks of life who would probably never had met or become friends if the tragedy of the Titanic hadn't happened.

As well as Hannah, there is Bridie, another poor Irish girl who has left bad times behind her and is determined to find the American Dream. Nancy, also pregnant and very young, the new wife of an American millionaire whose family will not accept her. Other passengers include Louis,a mysterious Belgian, orphan and looking for his past. Major Hudson, ex military man and lonely widow and Edmund - an English classics teacher.

The book tells the story of the lives of these passengers once they reach America - the whirlwind of being Titanic 'survivors' and then their survival in life afterwards, without their loved ones, in a strange country.

This is a really well written story that I really struggled to put down, I was engrossed in the individual stories and really enjoyed the way that Martina Devlin wove them together - the passengers kept in touch regardless of their differences in class and lifestyle.

Filled with real facts about the sinking of the Titanic, along with theories about how and why it sank. A great read, I really enjoyed it.

[Anne Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this fictionalised account of the Titanic survivors of Lifeboat 16. A fascinating cast of characters all with interesting stories, exceptionally well researched and well written too. This was my first brush with Martina Devlin and definitely won't be my last - not what I was expecting at all.

[jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this fictional account. I liked even more reading the notes and discovering that Tom O'Brien was a real passenger on the Titanic. Even if the story of Hannah was fictional, I like knowing they were real people. I like anything about the Titanic.

One thing that bothered me, was the woman with the baby was never mentioned again after Stubel saved the child.

[Helena Abrahams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. Excellent story about survivors of the Titanic. Characterisation was excellent with many idiosyncratic characters, which lent humour to the story. I was disappointed when it ended. I wanted to continue being with the characters as they built a new life for themselves in the States. Would make a great movie.