"Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them"--by Siân Evans--an engaging and anecdotal social history that explores how women's lives were transformed by the Golden Age of ocean liner travel between Europe and North America

  

Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them

During the early twentieth century, transatlantic travel was the province of the great ocean liners. It was an extraordinary undertaking made by many women, whose lives were changed forever by their journeys between the Old World and the New. Some traveled for leisure, some for work; others to reinvent themselves or find new opportunities. They were celebrities, migrants and millionaires, refugees, aristocrats and crew members whose stories have mostly remained untold―until now.

Maiden Voyages is a fascinating portrait of these women as they crossed the Atlantic. The ocean liner was a microcosm of contemporary society, divided by class: from the luxury of the upper deck, playground for the rich and famous, to the cramped conditions of steerage or third class travel. In first class you’ll meet A-listers like Marlene Dietrich, Wallis Simpson, and Josephine Baker; the second class carried a new generation of professional and independent women, like pioneering interior designer Sibyl Colefax. Down in steerage, you’ll follow the journey of émigré Maria Riffelmacher as she escapes poverty in Europe. Bustling between decks is a crew of female workers, including Violet “The Unsinkable Stewardess” Jessop, who survived the Titanic disaster.

Entertaining and informative, Maiden Voyages captures the golden age of ocean liners through the stories of the women whose transatlantic journeys changed the shape of society on both sides of the globe.

Reviews

 

 “[A] riveting slice of social history...Evans does a brilliant job of describing the unexpected textures of life at sea.”–The Mail on Sunday (UK)

“[A] wonderfully readable account [of] the women who crossed the Atlantic…from Lady Astor to the half-starved refugees of Europe, from cabaret artistes and adventuresses to unflappable stewardesses and reliable lifeboatwomen.” –The Times Literary Supplement (UK)

"Evans is deft with her interweaving of narrative and history." ―Sunday Times (UK)

"Irresistible and witty." ―Woman & Home (UK)

"Delightful." ―The Herald (UK)

"Enormous fun." ―The Guardian (UK)

 

Siân Evans

 

Siân Evans is a prolific author, journalist, commentator, speaker, publicist and film consultant specialising in social history. She is the author of a plethora of popular social histories including Mrs Ronnie: the Society Hostess who collected Kings; The Manor Reborn (tied in with a major 4 part BBC1 TV series); Life Below Stairs in the Victorian and Edwardian Country House; Ghosts: Mysterious Tales from the National Trust; 7 National Trust Guidebooks between 2008 and 2014 and Great Hostesses (John Murray, 2016), a book examining the role of six influential interwar society hostesses. Siân regularly writes for BBC Antiques Roadshow Magazine, Daily Mail, The Express, Coast Magazine National Trust Members’ Magazine and Royal Oak Foundation Newsletter. She works as a freelance consultant to the National Trust Film Office and is an experienced public speaker. 

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250246479