What do you think?
Rate this book
The Titanic and the City of Widows It Left Behind: The Forgotten Victims of the Fatal Voyage
When Titanic foundered in April 1912, the world's focus was on the tragedy of the passengers who lost their lives. Ever since, in films, dramatisations, adaptations and books, the focus has mostly continued to be on the ones who died.
_The Titanic and the City of Widows it Left Behind_ focuses on another group of people - the widows and children of the crew who perished on board.
Author Julie Cook's great-grandfather was a stoker who died on Titanic. Her great-grandmother had to raise five children with no breadwinner.
This book focuses on Emily and the widows like her who had to fight for survival through great hardship, whilst still grieving for the men they loved who'd died on the ship. Using original archive sources and with accounts from descendants of crew who also lost their lives, the book asks how these women survived through abject poverty and grief - and why their voices have been silent for so long.
_The Titanic and the City of Widows it Left Behind_ focuses on another group of people - the widows and children of the crew who perished on board.
Author Julie Cook's great-grandfather was a stoker who died on Titanic. Her great-grandmother had to raise five children with no breadwinner.
This book focuses on Emily and the widows like her who had to fight for survival through great hardship, whilst still grieving for the men they loved who'd died on the ship. Using original archive sources and with accounts from descendants of crew who also lost their lives, the book asks how these women survived through abject poverty and grief - and why their voices have been silent for so long.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
256 pages, Hardcover
Published June 19, 2020
61 people are currently reading
236 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
December 24, 2019
3 stars
This book takes on the task of examining the lives and situations of the families of those crew members who died in the Titanic disaster. It is a point of view that I have never considered. I too, like many Titanic aficionados of the sinking of the “unsinkable” ship, have focussed on the “rich and the great” passengers. (To my shame.)
The book discusses the social and economic condition of the day, such as the coal strike and the suffragette movement and how these things affected people's everyday lives.
Following the sinking, wives, mothers and children gathered on the docks by the White Star Line offices to check the list of survivors – and the dead – in hopes that their man (mostly), had survived.
Life for those survivors became very hard. If it was difficult before living in poverty, it was made especially onerous afterwards. Women took in washing or searched for other menial jobs that they could do to support their now fatherless children. People often went hungry, pawned their shoes (for they had nothing else to pawn), or were driven to the workhouses. Even workhouses had limited room, so not all could go there. It was considered a very bad thing to wind up in the workhouse.
This book is written in a clear manner. However, it keeps repeating itself (an annoying habit), over and over mentioning the same situation in almost the very same words. There is much speculation about people's thoughts and feelings. A good point is that it does quote some survivor's descendants and even some survivors of the disaster. While it is an excellent and previously an almost original subject about which to write, it is written in a somewhat sophomoric style. I did find it interesting though and it brought my attention to the extreme conditions which the survivors had to suffer following the deaths of their loved ones.
I want to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword/Pen & Sword History for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read and review.
This book takes on the task of examining the lives and situations of the families of those crew members who died in the Titanic disaster. It is a point of view that I have never considered. I too, like many Titanic aficionados of the sinking of the “unsinkable” ship, have focussed on the “rich and the great” passengers. (To my shame.)
The book discusses the social and economic condition of the day, such as the coal strike and the suffragette movement and how these things affected people's everyday lives.
Following the sinking, wives, mothers and children gathered on the docks by the White Star Line offices to check the list of survivors – and the dead – in hopes that their man (mostly), had survived.
Life for those survivors became very hard. If it was difficult before living in poverty, it was made especially onerous afterwards. Women took in washing or searched for other menial jobs that they could do to support their now fatherless children. People often went hungry, pawned their shoes (for they had nothing else to pawn), or were driven to the workhouses. Even workhouses had limited room, so not all could go there. It was considered a very bad thing to wind up in the workhouse.
This book is written in a clear manner. However, it keeps repeating itself (an annoying habit), over and over mentioning the same situation in almost the very same words. There is much speculation about people's thoughts and feelings. A good point is that it does quote some survivor's descendants and even some survivors of the disaster. While it is an excellent and previously an almost original subject about which to write, it is written in a somewhat sophomoric style. I did find it interesting though and it brought my attention to the extreme conditions which the survivors had to suffer following the deaths of their loved ones.
I want to thank NetGalley and Pen & Sword/Pen & Sword History for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read and review.
June 13, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this book.
I always love reading about the Titanic, so I was pleased to be offered the chance to read this book. Perhaps the format was not the best at the start; it lists the names of those who died so on Kindle it was a long lot of swiping. I have read through the list before, and would have preferred to see it at the end. Then we get to the meat of the book, and it was a really fascinating and often sad look at an angle not considered very often; what happened to those left behind. Of the event itself so much is known, but the small stories that have so much meaning to the families are equally sad. It wasn't something I'd read before, and I was interested in the new information.
This book will appeal to any Titanic enthusiast, and definitely is a stand out in that it contains previously unknown information for me. Five stars.
I always love reading about the Titanic, so I was pleased to be offered the chance to read this book. Perhaps the format was not the best at the start; it lists the names of those who died so on Kindle it was a long lot of swiping. I have read through the list before, and would have preferred to see it at the end. Then we get to the meat of the book, and it was a really fascinating and often sad look at an angle not considered very often; what happened to those left behind. Of the event itself so much is known, but the small stories that have so much meaning to the families are equally sad. It wasn't something I'd read before, and I was interested in the new information.
This book will appeal to any Titanic enthusiast, and definitely is a stand out in that it contains previously unknown information for me. Five stars.
May 3, 2020
I find the era around the Titanic being built and the tragedy of it fascinating. The way it was called “The Ship Of Dreams”, the films that have been made about it all add to its draw to learn more about. Though I have to be honest in that although I have thought about those whose family did not survive and return home. I hadn’t purposely sought out any of their specific stories to read. As the author Julie Cook says in her blurb for this book the films, and both factual and fictional stories all seem to be centred on those wealthy passengers that were on the ship.
As you will notice I have a specific page where I list books about the Titanic both fiction and non-fiction, so I have read quite a few books but am always on the look out for others. More recently I have turned to reading more non-fiction titles about the eras of history I find interesting. As soon as I discovered this one on Pen & Swords website, I knew I had to buy and was really eager to read it. I was intrigued even more by the fact this book centres on the widows and children of the those that perished the night the Titanic sank. The fact that the author Julie Cook is a relative of someone who died on the Titanic makes this book all the more poignant to read.
Julie Cook’s great-grandfather, William Edward Bessant, by a quirk of “luck” he ended up being a stoker on the Titanic. A group of workers from Belfast had failed to turn up for their jobs after a disagreement about safety issues on the Titanic. William managed to get one of these “spare” jobs. Even though it meant leaving his family it wasn’t the first time William had done this type of job. As a family it would have been viewed as something positive as it meant a stable income for a while.
Julie, the author has spoken to her Aunt Doreen, William’s daughter about what she can remember too. William’s job was to stoke the fires and shovel coal into the furnaces that fuelled the ship. The men that did these jobs worked long hard hours, and were considered stoical and hard. They were known as the “Black Gang” as they were always covered in soot and coal and were considered the lowliest workers on the grand ship. Sadly, as they worked in the lowest part of the ship it meant they were the furthest away from the deck and life boats. As Julie’s father told her, “it was working class muscle that kept the Titanic sailing”. No one knows what happened to the then forty-year old William Edward Bessant’s body, it was never recovered. William’s wife Emily at just thirty-eight years old became a widow and was just told William had been “lost at sea”. Emily was left alone with five children, three of which were under six years old. William had been the breadwinner in the family, as the male in the household usually was at the time. At the Sea City Museum in Southampton’s Titanic exhibition there is a wall dedicated to the memories of the crew members. Unfortunately, there isn’t even a photograph of William Bessant.
As in most families, stories are handed down generation to generation, Julie reveals there was a story told that during the turmoil on the Titanic a gentleman passenger whom William assisted to the lifeboats, wrote down William’s address and promised to help his family when he returned to Britain. Apparently, William’s twelve-year old daughter, Gladys, was offered a private education, fully funded by this gentleman.
Julie has managed to speak to the relatives of others that were lost at sea and also those whose relatives survived too. There are so many scenarios about what could have happened to William and why he didn’t survive. Other make crew members survived as they were put on the lifeboats containing women and children to row them to safety. Julie has managed to piece together what shift her great grandfather was on and has an idea roughly where he would have been at the time of the collision with the iceberg.
Julie’s research found that Walter Francis Fredericks was on the same shift pattern as her ancestor William. Walter made it to the top of the ship and was ordered to by officers to row the lifeboat. Walter did this and he survived as did those also on that lifeboat. I certainly agree with Julie and her research which showed that the world’s sympathy at the time and even now when the Titanic story is re-told. was aimed towards the passengers such as Benjamin Guggenheim, and John Jacob Astor who both went down with the ship and portrayed as heroes. I have also heard the story of the strong minded “Unsinkable Molly Brown” who survived in a lifeboat. I also remember the tales I have read about the ships band and how it continued playing “Nearer My God To Thee” as the great ship sank. I totally agree with Julie that you never seem to see, in movies or TV shows, or read the stories of those family members of the lost crew such as her great-grandmother Emily.
I found the book intriguing, to learn how the families of the missing crew were left with very little information. Expected to just accept the “lost at sea” explanation. Julie reveals how bodies that were retrieved were buried in various places, some of the crew and/or lower-class passengers were left as “lost at sea” yet the bodies of the rich were retrieved, embalmed and brought home for proper burial. It was interesting to read about the formation and workings of the Titanic disaster relief fund. These payments were scaled and based on job of the crew member that died. The widows received their amount of money and there was money paid for each child until they “came of age” which was 18 for girls and 16 for boys. A woman was employed and referred to as the “lady visitor” who would call on all the families to make sure that the children were being cared for correctly, the houses were being kept clean and tidy and that the women were acting appropriately. If a Titanic Widow remarried, she lost her Titanic Relief Fund money immediately.
I could honestly go on and on about this book it covers so much. The poor crew lost at sea, those that made it home but felt guilt at surviving when his neighbours didn’t. It does make you wonder why there was never a film made about the families left behind without their fathers, brothers, or sons.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing reading this book were that it was an
amazing, poignant, emotional and powerful book about those women & children that were left behind by their men who died on board the Titanic. Also tells the story of those few male crew members that survived and the stigma that stayed firmly attached to them until the day they died, despite being heroic and following orders to row life boats of passengers away from the sinking Titanic.
To sum up, it is a sad tale but at the same time it’s an uplifting story as Emily Bessant may have lost her husband and the breadwinner of the family the night the Titanic sank, and she never got a body to bury and visit with flowers, but she didn’t let this totally break her family. I believe she quite literally took it on the chin and got on with life. Emily had to, she had those children to bring up and provide for.
As you will notice I have a specific page where I list books about the Titanic both fiction and non-fiction, so I have read quite a few books but am always on the look out for others. More recently I have turned to reading more non-fiction titles about the eras of history I find interesting. As soon as I discovered this one on Pen & Swords website, I knew I had to buy and was really eager to read it. I was intrigued even more by the fact this book centres on the widows and children of the those that perished the night the Titanic sank. The fact that the author Julie Cook is a relative of someone who died on the Titanic makes this book all the more poignant to read.
Julie Cook’s great-grandfather, William Edward Bessant, by a quirk of “luck” he ended up being a stoker on the Titanic. A group of workers from Belfast had failed to turn up for their jobs after a disagreement about safety issues on the Titanic. William managed to get one of these “spare” jobs. Even though it meant leaving his family it wasn’t the first time William had done this type of job. As a family it would have been viewed as something positive as it meant a stable income for a while.
Julie, the author has spoken to her Aunt Doreen, William’s daughter about what she can remember too. William’s job was to stoke the fires and shovel coal into the furnaces that fuelled the ship. The men that did these jobs worked long hard hours, and were considered stoical and hard. They were known as the “Black Gang” as they were always covered in soot and coal and were considered the lowliest workers on the grand ship. Sadly, as they worked in the lowest part of the ship it meant they were the furthest away from the deck and life boats. As Julie’s father told her, “it was working class muscle that kept the Titanic sailing”. No one knows what happened to the then forty-year old William Edward Bessant’s body, it was never recovered. William’s wife Emily at just thirty-eight years old became a widow and was just told William had been “lost at sea”. Emily was left alone with five children, three of which were under six years old. William had been the breadwinner in the family, as the male in the household usually was at the time. At the Sea City Museum in Southampton’s Titanic exhibition there is a wall dedicated to the memories of the crew members. Unfortunately, there isn’t even a photograph of William Bessant.
As in most families, stories are handed down generation to generation, Julie reveals there was a story told that during the turmoil on the Titanic a gentleman passenger whom William assisted to the lifeboats, wrote down William’s address and promised to help his family when he returned to Britain. Apparently, William’s twelve-year old daughter, Gladys, was offered a private education, fully funded by this gentleman.
Julie has managed to speak to the relatives of others that were lost at sea and also those whose relatives survived too. There are so many scenarios about what could have happened to William and why he didn’t survive. Other make crew members survived as they were put on the lifeboats containing women and children to row them to safety. Julie has managed to piece together what shift her great grandfather was on and has an idea roughly where he would have been at the time of the collision with the iceberg.
Julie’s research found that Walter Francis Fredericks was on the same shift pattern as her ancestor William. Walter made it to the top of the ship and was ordered to by officers to row the lifeboat. Walter did this and he survived as did those also on that lifeboat. I certainly agree with Julie and her research which showed that the world’s sympathy at the time and even now when the Titanic story is re-told. was aimed towards the passengers such as Benjamin Guggenheim, and John Jacob Astor who both went down with the ship and portrayed as heroes. I have also heard the story of the strong minded “Unsinkable Molly Brown” who survived in a lifeboat. I also remember the tales I have read about the ships band and how it continued playing “Nearer My God To Thee” as the great ship sank. I totally agree with Julie that you never seem to see, in movies or TV shows, or read the stories of those family members of the lost crew such as her great-grandmother Emily.
I found the book intriguing, to learn how the families of the missing crew were left with very little information. Expected to just accept the “lost at sea” explanation. Julie reveals how bodies that were retrieved were buried in various places, some of the crew and/or lower-class passengers were left as “lost at sea” yet the bodies of the rich were retrieved, embalmed and brought home for proper burial. It was interesting to read about the formation and workings of the Titanic disaster relief fund. These payments were scaled and based on job of the crew member that died. The widows received their amount of money and there was money paid for each child until they “came of age” which was 18 for girls and 16 for boys. A woman was employed and referred to as the “lady visitor” who would call on all the families to make sure that the children were being cared for correctly, the houses were being kept clean and tidy and that the women were acting appropriately. If a Titanic Widow remarried, she lost her Titanic Relief Fund money immediately.
I could honestly go on and on about this book it covers so much. The poor crew lost at sea, those that made it home but felt guilt at surviving when his neighbours didn’t. It does make you wonder why there was never a film made about the families left behind without their fathers, brothers, or sons.
My immediate thoughts upon finishing reading this book were that it was an
amazing, poignant, emotional and powerful book about those women & children that were left behind by their men who died on board the Titanic. Also tells the story of those few male crew members that survived and the stigma that stayed firmly attached to them until the day they died, despite being heroic and following orders to row life boats of passengers away from the sinking Titanic.
To sum up, it is a sad tale but at the same time it’s an uplifting story as Emily Bessant may have lost her husband and the breadwinner of the family the night the Titanic sank, and she never got a body to bury and visit with flowers, but she didn’t let this totally break her family. I believe she quite literally took it on the chin and got on with life. Emily had to, she had those children to bring up and provide for.
December 23, 2019
I have been fascinated with the story of the Titanic and her passengers and workers over the years and read most of the books written on the subject however I will admit I have never sat down and thought about the effect it must have had on the people left behind in Southampton and so this book has been a revelation. The sad stories of these poor families left behind and the treatment they received from the White Star Line over the years. It’s so sad to see that even the women and children who managed to get help they were constantly monitored to ensure they lived a life befitting of the relief funds. This really is a very interesting and well researched read.
March 31, 2020
Interesting premise and well researched. The writing didn’t do it for me. Lots of repetition and it had the feeling of being not so much a book as a series of vignettes strung together with no concern for flow - more like a printed website than a cohesive book.
March 20, 2020
I found this book interesting as it felt different from other Titanic books. I overall enjoyed this book and found it an interesting premise.
April 13, 2024
Many years ago when I used to enjoy writing fiction, mostly historical cause I'm a history nerd and I wanted to write a Titanic story about the wife of a crew member of the ship. He dies in the sinking leaving her with five kids and expecting her sixth. Unfortunately there was next to nothing to research. No one seemed to care about the family of the crew left behind and this felt wrong. The population of Southampton was decimated by this disaster and yet people cared more about Guggenheim having a mistress and dressing in his best to go down like a gentleman, or the scandal of Mr. Astor marrying a teenager who was pregnant. And of course the myth of third class passengers being locked below. The crew and frankly the second class passengers are invisible. So when I saw this book pop up in recommended on kindle I found a paper copy at chapters and eagerly started to read. Overall it was a good and much needed entry into the many books, documentaries and movies about this disaster. It's a look at a bygone age where women were forbidden to drink or vote and expected to be a good mother and wife. Once the ship sinks the Titanic committee was interesting, how money was doled out to survivors and families of those lost, not just crew but many survivors lost their breadwinner as well. I enjoyed hearing about the lady visitor and how her job evolved over the years and how many of the women built up their own businesses, others remarried only to lose husbands again in the great war. It was a good book and much needed but it did suffer from being repetitive at times making it tough to read, but I'm glad someone finally wrote this and gave the people of Southampton the recognition they truly deserve.
April 5, 2020
Princess Fuzzypants here: There have been a myriad of books written about the doomed ship Titanic, both histories and fiction. According to the author, no one has delved into the lives of the women and children left behind by the crew who perished in the tragedy. The author has a very personal reason for writing their tales as her great-great grandfather died in the sinking. He worked in the hot bowels of the ship keeping her going. While there is some question exactly where he was at the time as his shift was about to come in when she struck the iceberg, there has been a family legend of how he gave up his chance of survival to help an elderly man into a boat.
Whether the story is fact or fiction or a combination of both, it is understandable how the family and other families like theirs needed something to help them make sense of the loss of the breadwinner and loved one. The plight they suffered right afterwards was both brutal and devastating from not knowing who lived and who died to the even more abject poverty thrust upon them until the charities and fund raisers were able to compensate them, at least to some degree.
The story of her family is one of grit, strength and determination. They survived and thrived while others perished. It seems class made a huge difference in both life and death. If not for her great-great grandmother Emily, the outcome would have been vastly different. This is a story packed with emotion. It makes for an impactful read.
Four purrs and two paws up.
Whether the story is fact or fiction or a combination of both, it is understandable how the family and other families like theirs needed something to help them make sense of the loss of the breadwinner and loved one. The plight they suffered right afterwards was both brutal and devastating from not knowing who lived and who died to the even more abject poverty thrust upon them until the charities and fund raisers were able to compensate them, at least to some degree.
The story of her family is one of grit, strength and determination. They survived and thrived while others perished. It seems class made a huge difference in both life and death. If not for her great-great grandmother Emily, the outcome would have been vastly different. This is a story packed with emotion. It makes for an impactful read.
Four purrs and two paws up.
July 18, 2020
Interesting subject that not many people would know about. Detailed information regarding the families left behind and some survivors, and how their lives were impacted. Only drawback was repetition regarding her own family and some of the survivors. This book meant a lot to the author as it impacted her life and many others for the last hundred years. I would parallel the impact as to those who survived (and their families) to suffering from PTSD at a time when it was not acknowledged. Worth reading. When you notice repetition, just skim the page.
January 22, 2020
A look at her great-grandfather who was a worker that died and his widow along with the situations others would have went through back in England. Really nice look at the history and legacy of what happened.
August 16, 2023
Between 2 and 3 stars.
Seldom indeed has a more thrilling tale been told to the people of two continents than that of the strange accident to the White Star liner Titanic, which all day and night was coming in by installments, as the wireless messages sped over the waters of the Atlantic from the stricken ship and the vessels which she had called up to her rescue. Their alternate burden of dismay and hope held the world in suspense. -- The Daily Mail, April 16, 1912
I've been intending to read this book since it came out a few years ago, but unfortunately it was a let-down for me. As other readers have noted, the writing is very repetitive. The same information, often speculation and musing, is repeated again and again, sometimes not even very far from the last mention of it.
The book has a lot of speculation and outright fictionalizations in a few instances. In one case, the author at least admits it's her "story" version of her great-great grandfather's experience, but there is a lot of "maybe," "must have," "would have," "probably," assuming what people did or said or how they felt without backing it up with anything in particular.
The most intriguing elements of the book are when we get information from actual primary sources rather than the author's assumptions of what people did. Quotes from the minute books of the Titanic Relief Fund, memorial notices from newspapers, quotes from contemporary articles about grieving and uncertainty, updates about what Titanic widows and children who lost fathers did after the sinking, and so on.
Unfortunately, these elements are relatively uncommon compared to the paragraphs of assumptions, the author's personal thoughts and musings, as well as a lot of "Someone's great great nephew told me on social media that their relative did this and that..." which is perhaps fine for discussing something in a conversation, but not really valuable for this type of non-fiction. It definitely feels at times like the author needed to stuff the book to get it to a higher page count.
The only time this type of personal, assumptive writing really worked was towards the end when the author discussed how descendants of Titanic survivors were often passed down mythological stories about their relatives that may or may not be true.
If you're looking for an in-depth look at the widows and families who were impacted by the Titanic disaster, this isn't the book for you. If you're looking for someone's personal interest in their great-great grandmother with lots of speculation with occasional primary source information, give it a try.
Seldom indeed has a more thrilling tale been told to the people of two continents than that of the strange accident to the White Star liner Titanic, which all day and night was coming in by installments, as the wireless messages sped over the waters of the Atlantic from the stricken ship and the vessels which she had called up to her rescue. Their alternate burden of dismay and hope held the world in suspense. -- The Daily Mail, April 16, 1912
I've been intending to read this book since it came out a few years ago, but unfortunately it was a let-down for me. As other readers have noted, the writing is very repetitive. The same information, often speculation and musing, is repeated again and again, sometimes not even very far from the last mention of it.
The book has a lot of speculation and outright fictionalizations in a few instances. In one case, the author at least admits it's her "story" version of her great-great grandfather's experience, but there is a lot of "maybe," "must have," "would have," "probably," assuming what people did or said or how they felt without backing it up with anything in particular.
The most intriguing elements of the book are when we get information from actual primary sources rather than the author's assumptions of what people did. Quotes from the minute books of the Titanic Relief Fund, memorial notices from newspapers, quotes from contemporary articles about grieving and uncertainty, updates about what Titanic widows and children who lost fathers did after the sinking, and so on.
Unfortunately, these elements are relatively uncommon compared to the paragraphs of assumptions, the author's personal thoughts and musings, as well as a lot of "Someone's great great nephew told me on social media that their relative did this and that..." which is perhaps fine for discussing something in a conversation, but not really valuable for this type of non-fiction. It definitely feels at times like the author needed to stuff the book to get it to a higher page count.
The only time this type of personal, assumptive writing really worked was towards the end when the author discussed how descendants of Titanic survivors were often passed down mythological stories about their relatives that may or may not be true.
If you're looking for an in-depth look at the widows and families who were impacted by the Titanic disaster, this isn't the book for you. If you're looking for someone's personal interest in their great-great grandmother with lots of speculation with occasional primary source information, give it a try.
May 22, 2020
The Titanic and the City of Widows it Left Behind by Julie Cook
Genre: History, Non-Fiction
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publish Date: 31 March 2020
Star Rating 4/5
Like most people the story of the Titanic is a fascination for me. And if I'm honest, I'm not sure why exactly, as there are other ships that have sank and then have been discovered beneath the waves but it's the Titanic that lives in my imagination. To discover a new book on the ill-fated ship, but rather, coming from a new perspective – that of the widows left behind in Southampton, was a great find. Not only did these strong women have to deal with the loss of their husbands and the father of their children, but they were also left in a financially insecure world with the Wall Street crash approaching. They lived in a time of social upheaval, there was the Coal Strike and the suffrage movement in swing.
These are sad stories of the already poor families that lined up at the docks of the White Star offices to check the list of survivors. It pulled at my heartstrings, the treatment they received at the hands of the White Star Line was shocking especially the successful widows who received help but were constantly monitored to make sure the relief was used befittingly.
I liked how the author included her own great-grandfather and his widow, it was a beautiful personal touch. However I found the repetition in the book difficult.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Pen and Sword, for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Genre: History, Non-Fiction
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publish Date: 31 March 2020
Star Rating 4/5
Like most people the story of the Titanic is a fascination for me. And if I'm honest, I'm not sure why exactly, as there are other ships that have sank and then have been discovered beneath the waves but it's the Titanic that lives in my imagination. To discover a new book on the ill-fated ship, but rather, coming from a new perspective – that of the widows left behind in Southampton, was a great find. Not only did these strong women have to deal with the loss of their husbands and the father of their children, but they were also left in a financially insecure world with the Wall Street crash approaching. They lived in a time of social upheaval, there was the Coal Strike and the suffrage movement in swing.
These are sad stories of the already poor families that lined up at the docks of the White Star offices to check the list of survivors. It pulled at my heartstrings, the treatment they received at the hands of the White Star Line was shocking especially the successful widows who received help but were constantly monitored to make sure the relief was used befittingly.
I liked how the author included her own great-grandfather and his widow, it was a beautiful personal touch. However I found the repetition in the book difficult.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Pen and Sword, for an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
March 23, 2023
As I live in Southampton, this is a very important local story. There are plaques on houses in my neighbourhood where Titanic crew lived, and the local Sea City Museum includes much about the ship’s crew in its good Titanic exhibits.
This book, with its inspiration from the story of the author’s great grandfather, contains interesting information. It is seriously marred, though, by poor writing and editing. There is a lot of repetition. The author’s frequent speculations on what might have happened to individuals mostly detract from the value of the history. Many of the quotations are banal and don’t add new information in a vibrant fashion. So it’s overall a disappointing read, though not unusual in this genre of local history.
This book, with its inspiration from the story of the author’s great grandfather, contains interesting information. It is seriously marred, though, by poor writing and editing. There is a lot of repetition. The author’s frequent speculations on what might have happened to individuals mostly detract from the value of the history. Many of the quotations are banal and don’t add new information in a vibrant fashion. So it’s overall a disappointing read, though not unusual in this genre of local history.
Read
June 14, 2020This one is a very unique look into a very overlooked aspect of Titanic's loss. With pride of place going to the passengers in all classes, very little has been done about the crew, particularly those from Southampton, and the devastating effect it had n those left behind. Julie Cook, who is herself a descendent of one of the firemen, made a special effort to correct that with this.
There are few Titanic books which I would call a "must have" but this is one of them.
There are few Titanic books which I would call a "must have" but this is one of them.
March 23, 2023
This would have been better as a pamphlet size publication. The amount of repetition and complete supposition filled perhaps three quarters of the book. I think the author could have focused in greater depth on the individuals and families supported by the Titanic Fund and not just on her own ancestors. The premise of the book was very worthwhile but there was not enough material to warrant a book.
August 4, 2023
Of course, a tragedy as momentous and unexpected as the sinking of the Titanic was in the news a lot in the spring of 1912. But thereafter? Life goes on. Two years later, the "war to end of all wars" spawned daily death tolls way above the total lost on that fateful maiden crossing. Here, the author traces the stories of the widows and their children who had to plod on. Indeed I remember as a young teacher an article on the death of the last widow in the Southampton Daily Echo
March 17, 2024
Memories of the Inisible
While I really liked reading about life both before and after the sinking of the Titanic, I felt the writing was a bit repetitive. For anyone interested in worldwide tragedy this book is a definite read. We often forget the struggles of the families and relatives that came before us. It is important to realize the difficulties of war and tragedy. Life was always hard. Just as it sometimes is today, maybe even harder back then.
While I really liked reading about life both before and after the sinking of the Titanic, I felt the writing was a bit repetitive. For anyone interested in worldwide tragedy this book is a definite read. We often forget the struggles of the families and relatives that came before us. It is important to realize the difficulties of war and tragedy. Life was always hard. Just as it sometimes is today, maybe even harder back then.
May 24, 2024
Very disappointed in this book. It was full of repetition. Stresses the poverty that the families of the men and women who worked on Titanic were thrown into. Many were already in poverty but the loss of the husband and fathers who were the breadwinners made it worse. Did learn that there was a fund that did provide financial support to the widows and children. This could have been written so much better. Really did not need to repeat the same facts in every chapter.
August 29, 2020
Remarkable book about the women and children who left behind when the Titanic sunk. A new perspective on the tragedy and reminder that every tragedy has waves and networks of people that bear the scars for a long time. A great read. Well-researched and well written.
September 24, 2024
Very interesting. This would have been higher but there was a lot of repetition & sentences which seemed almost exactly the same in different chapters. I always find this really jarring when I read so had to knock at least half a point off.
May 14, 2021
4.2 stars.
The Titanic and the City of Widows It Left Behind was a fascinating, yet dark, read; it's a different, and fresh, look at the Titanic catastrophic sinking from an angle that haven't been written about or showed in movies.
The book recorded the social history of Southampton and its people—many of whom had worked on board Titanic—and demonstrated the suffering that its people had to endure before & after Titanic sank.
I loved how this book gave a voice to the voiceless and an eye to the unseen; the trajectory the book took by introducing us to the "Black Gang", the firefighters aboard the Titanic, was unique and hard not to be invested in since amongst the Black Gang was author Julie Cook's great-grandfather.
And yet, despite feeling completely immersed into that old world and enjoying Julie Cook's writing-style, the book was quite repetitive at times, and this really made me frustrated by the time I got to the last quarter; I know that the author might not have enough materials available at her hands to write a bigger book about the voiceless but that doesn't mean that she needed to rehash dozens of things. I decided to give the book 4.2 stars simply for that reason; otherwise, were the book edited better, I would have given it 5 solid stars.
Highly-recommended!
The Titanic and the City of Widows It Left Behind was a fascinating, yet dark, read; it's a different, and fresh, look at the Titanic catastrophic sinking from an angle that haven't been written about or showed in movies.
The book recorded the social history of Southampton and its people—many of whom had worked on board Titanic—and demonstrated the suffering that its people had to endure before & after Titanic sank.
I loved how this book gave a voice to the voiceless and an eye to the unseen; the trajectory the book took by introducing us to the "Black Gang", the firefighters aboard the Titanic, was unique and hard not to be invested in since amongst the Black Gang was author Julie Cook's great-grandfather.
And yet, despite feeling completely immersed into that old world and enjoying Julie Cook's writing-style, the book was quite repetitive at times, and this really made me frustrated by the time I got to the last quarter; I know that the author might not have enough materials available at her hands to write a bigger book about the voiceless but that doesn't mean that she needed to rehash dozens of things. I decided to give the book 4.2 stars simply for that reason; otherwise, were the book edited better, I would have given it 5 solid stars.
Highly-recommended!
January 20, 2020
I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
This non-fiction book talks about the widows that Titanic left behind. It's an interesting perspective and it's different from what we are used to when we talk about the Titanic. Usually we learn the stories of those who lived or those who died on the ship. The widows and children that were left behind were never mentioned enough. This book is about them and it's told in a part through the story of the author's great-grandmother.
The book also discusses the social and economic conditions back then and how they affected the already difficult lives of the widows.
As interesting and different the concept of this book is, it was repetitive a lot of the times and that bothered me. The fact that it repeats some situations and facts more than it's necessary and the many specific examples of widows and children that got financial aid I found a little bit tiring at times.
This non-fiction book talks about the widows that Titanic left behind. It's an interesting perspective and it's different from what we are used to when we talk about the Titanic. Usually we learn the stories of those who lived or those who died on the ship. The widows and children that were left behind were never mentioned enough. This book is about them and it's told in a part through the story of the author's great-grandmother.
The book also discusses the social and economic conditions back then and how they affected the already difficult lives of the widows.
As interesting and different the concept of this book is, it was repetitive a lot of the times and that bothered me. The fact that it repeats some situations and facts more than it's necessary and the many specific examples of widows and children that got financial aid I found a little bit tiring at times.
August 25, 2021
Titanic Widows and Others Left Behind.
I started reading this book and soon found it had a scarcity of facts mixed in with a lot of supposition. I grew tired of the repetitive language. I always try to finish any book I start but finishing this book was a test of my endurance. I kept hoping for more substance and sometimes it was there. The minutes of the Titanic Relief Fund were interesting. I liked the descriptions of the more personal, everyday living that people experienced. The descriptions of the Titanic jobs and their pay was also of interest. The names and ages of those who worked on the Titanic gave me a better understanding of what it took to run this ship.
I started reading this book and soon found it had a scarcity of facts mixed in with a lot of supposition. I grew tired of the repetitive language. I always try to finish any book I start but finishing this book was a test of my endurance. I kept hoping for more substance and sometimes it was there. The minutes of the Titanic Relief Fund were interesting. I liked the descriptions of the more personal, everyday living that people experienced. The descriptions of the Titanic jobs and their pay was also of interest. The names and ages of those who worked on the Titanic gave me a better understanding of what it took to run this ship.
August 11, 2022
Did not read the whole book. The subject is interesting, and the author’s personal connection with the subject makes it even more so. But the author repeated herself so frequently that I suspect she did not have enough material for a book-length project.
I had hoped there would be more interviews with descendants, perhaps photos…. Instead there is a great deal of repetitive social commentary featuring discussions of diphtheria, lack of boots for school children, and more. All of that was interesting the first time, but those topics and others feature multiple times in each chapter.
A disappointment.
I had hoped there would be more interviews with descendants, perhaps photos…. Instead there is a great deal of repetitive social commentary featuring discussions of diphtheria, lack of boots for school children, and more. All of that was interesting the first time, but those topics and others feature multiple times in each chapter.
A disappointment.
June 11, 2020
Interesting but needs editing
The book is about a very interesting subject with some unusual facts about the time Titanic sank. However, it is difficult to read as it is repetitive and needs a good proofread and edit.
I struggled to finish the book on my kindle and I'm not sure if some of the editing problems were to do with it being on kindle format.
A great idea for a book but needs a full rewrite.
The book is about a very interesting subject with some unusual facts about the time Titanic sank. However, it is difficult to read as it is repetitive and needs a good proofread and edit.
I struggled to finish the book on my kindle and I'm not sure if some of the editing problems were to do with it being on kindle format.
A great idea for a book but needs a full rewrite.
October 6, 2020
Meh. It is interesting, but the author repeats herself a lot. Interesting to think about the forgotten folks who worked and perished on the Titanic, but if there was less repeating, it would have been a better read. I should read, "as mentioned before" often, and I felt like that was this authors mantra. I was a bit disappointed, because it started off in a good way.
August 7, 2020
The rich and famous.
Even today, many focus on the rich and powerful. The working men and women ignored. I can not imagine letting my 14 year old son take a job such as some did on this ship. Our focus is not where it should be.
Even today, many focus on the rich and powerful. The working men and women ignored. I can not imagine letting my 14 year old son take a job such as some did on this ship. Our focus is not where it should be.
November 3, 2021
Great idea, but horribly written.
This book seems to be a very rough draft that never touched an editor's desk. Rambling, repetitive, and overly dramatic the writing style simple does not do the story justice.
This book seems to be a very rough draft that never touched an editor's desk. Rambling, repetitive, and overly dramatic the writing style simple does not do the story justice.
April 16, 2022
Titanic and the City of Widows…..
I found this book fascinating. After hearing about the Titanic for year, I too, often wondered about the less elite. I learned so much from this book and having been written by a descendant made it all the more real. I highly recommend this book!
I found this book fascinating. After hearing about the Titanic for year, I too, often wondered about the less elite. I learned so much from this book and having been written by a descendant made it all the more real. I highly recommend this book!
August 4, 2022
Another great titanic book. It was really interesting to read how others were affected by the loss of the titanic. Perfect for any titanic lover and history addict!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews