The Ship of Dreams

The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era

By: Gareth Russell

Narrated by: Jenny Funnell

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Writing in his signature elegant prose and using previously unpublished sources, deck plans, journal entries, and surviving artifacts, Gareth Russell peers through the portholes of these first-class travelers to immerse us in a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

Critic reviews

"Narrator Jenny Funnell's soft, elegant voice draws listeners into this account of the sinking of the TITANIC, that coincided with the end of the Edwardian era, a time of great change in British history. Focusing on six of the ship's first-class passengers, the author examines a way of life that would be gone forever by the time WWI ended. The story begins at Leslie House, where we meet aristocrat Noel Leslie, who pops up throughout this work. Funnell brings humanity to the devotion between Isidor and Ida Straus, who chose to die together on the ship rather than to have Ida board a lifeboat. Russell also brings in many other accounts of the sinking—from a movie made soon afterward by a surviving actress to James Cameron's computer simulations and exploratory dives."

Meet the Actual People

So far, the best book I have read about the actual PEOPLE aboard the RMS Titanic, rather than the Titanic, itself. I would hardly call it the “end of the Edwardian Era” - I think World War I did that - but it is a compelling examination of the privileged class, and on the flipside, the shameful disregard for the lesser classes. Based largely on survivor accounts, it recounts the events of the disastrous voyage, as well as the survivor guilt experienced by many. Highly recommend!

A look at the era in which the titanic sailed

An interesting look at the Edwardian era, the lives of the people on board the ship and the aftermath of the sinking

New insights to a well known story

I could not stop listening to this. Although quite familiar with the facts about the Titanic, the author deftly wove history, current events and personal stories into a detailed discussion of the Titanic’s last days. It was memorizing and the poignant tales actually brought tears to my eyes. The reader was perfect for this material. Highly recommend.

The Titanic in context

The author takes a long running start at the events of April 15, 1912, setting the stage with an abundance of information about (almost entirely) select first class passengers' lives up to that point. Some may find this slow going, but I found it engaging.

If you are not a Titanic obsessive, it may help to take one of the virtual Titanic tours on YouTube before getting to the sailing itself. I found it helpful to visualizing who was where and what happened.

The suggestion that the author would tie the Titanic's sinking to social changes at the close of the Edwardian Era--I found that an oversell. The book worked better as a set of character studies, combined with a really detailed look at some of the common misconceptions: Ismay's perfidity, the relative survival rates of different demographic groups, and even the conspiracy theory that the Titanic had been swapped out for her previously-damaged sister ship.

I only take issue with one of the author's conclusions: that more lifeboats would not have saved more lives. No, it wasn't possible to launch all the existing lifeboats in the time between the iceberg's impact and the sinking, but part of what made the loading and launching of the boats take so long was the anxiety of the captain and officers not to cause panic, which in turn made the passengers initially so unconcerned that they were reluctant to proceed to the boats. Surely the awareness on the part of the Titanic's crew that the lifeboats were inadequate contributed to their actions and indirectly to the passenger's laggardness.

Russell's character studies are revealing. It might be partly authorial choice, but there is the repeated impression that people face crisis much as they deal with everyday events. Selfishness and self-sacrifice are both honed over a lifetime of decisions and actions.

This is a book that stayed with me after I read it. It is a compelling subject and treated here with meticulous attention to primary sources.

Ship of dreams

What can I say about this? I thought I knew the story of Titanic as I watched the Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet film. Wrong! Gareth is a skilled wordsmith and a story teller. He has made this story about people of all classes. The tragedy reverberated throughout the decades for the survivors. Under the skillful writing the horror enfolded and wrapped itself around me. Am I glad I read this? Absolutely! I just need a week or so to recover from the anxiety of the sinking and the grief of the aftermath.