Lost lives
Richard Davenport-Hines's book Titanic Lives has been hailed as one of the best books on the subject. It follows the Titanic from its birth in the dockyard of Harland and Wolff in Belfast to its demise in the frozen waters of the North Atlantic. As well as the life of the ship, it examines the lives of those who sailed on it, their unfortunate endings, and in the cases of the survivors how life continued post-the disaster.
I found the first third of the book (pre-disaster) quite hard to get into. A lot of extraneous, if occasionally interesting information, about travel in the early 20th century, the competitive nature of the luxury liner business, and the backgrounds to some of the characters involved. But once the book moved nearer to the disaster itself and started to focus properly on the people involved, it became a quite different read, and a completely engaging one.
The middle third of the book looks in detail at some of the passengers of all classes, who took part in that fateful maiden voyage. Many of them had ended up on Titanic quite by accident - a strike by miners meant that a smaller number of ships than usual were able to sail; and so many had their tickets changed to the Titanic to enable them to cross at the time that they should have done. Most, who had their tickets changed, were thrilled to be on the new ship, and excited to be on its first voyage. Space in Second class was much more abundant than on similar ships, and even in Steerage there was better room, and a better layout than usual - women and families with children were placed on one side of the ship, while single men were placed elsewhere (presumably so the noise of squalling kids didn't disturb them!). This was considered to be a point in the liner's favour.
There were some fascinating insights into the food available in the Titanic's restaurants, all, even Steerage, sounded extremely tasty - though I was rather bemused by the sight of marmalade without any sign of toast.
There were a few surprises too about the people who sailed on the great liners - who would have thought that even some steerage passengers of quite humble origins would cross the Atlantic on a fairly regular basis? There was much more traffic back and forth than I had previously assumed.
The last third of the book looks at the night that the Titanic encountered the iceberg and subsequent events. A simple error on the part of the crew was probably the major factor in the loss of the ship. The iceberg was spotted late - this was most likely due to the light levels that night, and the fact that the sea was exceptionally still. An error then on the part of the person on the bridge to engage reverse and to slide round the side of the iceberg led to the berg hitting the ship in the side rather on the bow. It would probably have survived hitting the bow, but being caught in the side meant that the watertight compartments were ripped open, and between the time of the ice berg hitting, and the ship sinking was only a couple of hours.
Although class was inevitably to play a part in the lottery of who survived and who died on that fateful night, gender was much more important - you were far more likely to survive if you were a woman. And something as small as deciding which side of the ship to evacuate from was also vitally important, as the crew received mixed messages as to how the ship should be evacuated. A decision to go to port or starboard could save your life.
It also pointed out some of the misconceptions that have been prevalent. Gates to close off Steerage from other areas of the ship were not conceived as a class barrier (though it's hard not to believe that there was at least an element of this), but had been put in on the instructions of the US immigration service, anxious to stop the spread of disease amongst new arrivals. Being a member of the crew didn't mean that you were more likely to survive either.
What I most loved about Davenport-Hines' book was how he brought families and individuals to life, and also how he showed the devastating after-effects of the loss of the Titanic. Families may have arrived alive in America, but with the bread-winner dead, and having taken all their savings with him (perhaps carefully sewn into the lining of an overcoat) destitution awaited many on their arrival in the United States.
People from all over the world and from every walk of life were on the Titanic that night. Many young boys employed as bell-boys and messengers on the ship were killed. There was a Japanese businessman, the heirs to several multi-million dollar fortunes, the owner of a champion dog en route to a dog show (the dog also perished), musicians, a much loved aide to the US President, a devoted gay couple, farm labourers from Greece off to a new life in heavy industry, a baby carefully wrapped up against the cold, card sharps and heavy gamblers, a feckless husband, a glamorous mistress, a Captain on his last command who would never return to his beloved daughter, and so many lives that were all fascinating in their own way.
I thought I was reading a book about the fate of a ship, but in fact Titanic Lives is about much more than that. It's a snapshot of a short period of time, and of the people that lived and loved and died during it. Thoroughly enjoyable, it's also a gripping read.
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| The iceberg that sank the Titanic |
The middle third of the book looks in detail at some of the passengers of all classes, who took part in that fateful maiden voyage. Many of them had ended up on Titanic quite by accident - a strike by miners meant that a smaller number of ships than usual were able to sail; and so many had their tickets changed to the Titanic to enable them to cross at the time that they should have done. Most, who had their tickets changed, were thrilled to be on the new ship, and excited to be on its first voyage. Space in Second class was much more abundant than on similar ships, and even in Steerage there was better room, and a better layout than usual - women and families with children were placed on one side of the ship, while single men were placed elsewhere (presumably so the noise of squalling kids didn't disturb them!). This was considered to be a point in the liner's favour.
There were some fascinating insights into the food available in the Titanic's restaurants, all, even Steerage, sounded extremely tasty - though I was rather bemused by the sight of marmalade without any sign of toast.
There were a few surprises too about the people who sailed on the great liners - who would have thought that even some steerage passengers of quite humble origins would cross the Atlantic on a fairly regular basis? There was much more traffic back and forth than I had previously assumed.
The last third of the book looks at the night that the Titanic encountered the iceberg and subsequent events. A simple error on the part of the crew was probably the major factor in the loss of the ship. The iceberg was spotted late - this was most likely due to the light levels that night, and the fact that the sea was exceptionally still. An error then on the part of the person on the bridge to engage reverse and to slide round the side of the iceberg led to the berg hitting the ship in the side rather on the bow. It would probably have survived hitting the bow, but being caught in the side meant that the watertight compartments were ripped open, and between the time of the ice berg hitting, and the ship sinking was only a couple of hours.
Although class was inevitably to play a part in the lottery of who survived and who died on that fateful night, gender was much more important - you were far more likely to survive if you were a woman. And something as small as deciding which side of the ship to evacuate from was also vitally important, as the crew received mixed messages as to how the ship should be evacuated. A decision to go to port or starboard could save your life.
It also pointed out some of the misconceptions that have been prevalent. Gates to close off Steerage from other areas of the ship were not conceived as a class barrier (though it's hard not to believe that there was at least an element of this), but had been put in on the instructions of the US immigration service, anxious to stop the spread of disease amongst new arrivals. Being a member of the crew didn't mean that you were more likely to survive either.
What I most loved about Davenport-Hines' book was how he brought families and individuals to life, and also how he showed the devastating after-effects of the loss of the Titanic. Families may have arrived alive in America, but with the bread-winner dead, and having taken all their savings with him (perhaps carefully sewn into the lining of an overcoat) destitution awaited many on their arrival in the United States.
People from all over the world and from every walk of life were on the Titanic that night. Many young boys employed as bell-boys and messengers on the ship were killed. There was a Japanese businessman, the heirs to several multi-million dollar fortunes, the owner of a champion dog en route to a dog show (the dog also perished), musicians, a much loved aide to the US President, a devoted gay couple, farm labourers from Greece off to a new life in heavy industry, a baby carefully wrapped up against the cold, card sharps and heavy gamblers, a feckless husband, a glamorous mistress, a Captain on his last command who would never return to his beloved daughter, and so many lives that were all fascinating in their own way.
I thought I was reading a book about the fate of a ship, but in fact Titanic Lives is about much more than that. It's a snapshot of a short period of time, and of the people that lived and loved and died during it. Thoroughly enjoyable, it's also a gripping read.
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