Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage takes us behind the paneled doors of the Titanic’s elegant private suites to present compelling, memorable portraits of her most notable passengers. The intimate atmosphere onboard history’s most famous ship is recreated as never before.
The Titanic has often been called “an exquisite microcosm of the Edwardian era,” but until now, her story has not been presented as … her story has not been presented as such. In Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage, historian Hugh Brewster seamlessly interweaves personal narratives of the lost liner’s most fascinating people with a haunting account of the fateful maiden crossing. Employing scrupulous research and featuring 100 rarely-seen photographs, he accurately depicts the ship’s brief life and tragic denouement, presenting the very latest thinking on everything from when and how the lifeboats were loaded to the last tune played by the orchestra. Yet here too is a convincing evocation of the table talk at the famous Widener dinner party held in the Ritz Restaurant on the last night. And here we also experience the rustle of elegant undergarments as first-class ladies proceed down the grand staircase in their soigné evening gowns, some of them designed by Lady Duff Gordon, the celebrated couterière, who was also on board.
Another well-known passenger was the artist Frank Millet, who led an astonishing life that seemed to encapsulate America’s Gilded Age — from serving as a drummer boy in the Civil War to being the man who made Chicago’s White City white for the 1893 World Exposition. His traveling companion Major Archibald Butt was President Taft’s closest aide and was returning home for a grueling fall election campaign that his boss was expected to lose. Today, both of these once-famous men are almost forgotten, but their ship-mate Margaret Tobin Brown lives on as “the Unsinkable Molly Brown,” a name that she was never called during her lifetime.
Millionaires John Jacob Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim, writer Helen Churchill Candee, movie actress Dorothy Gibson, aristocrat Noelle, the Countess of Rothes, and a host of other travelers on this fateful crossing are also vividly brought to life within these pages. Through them, we gain insight into the arts, politics, culture, and sexual mores of a world both distant and near to our own. And with them, we gather on the Titanic’s sloping deck on that cold, starlit night and observe their all-too-human reactions as the disaster unfolds. More than ever, we ask ourselves, “What would we have done?”
more
An excellent history of the rich and famous who were passengers on the Titanic – how some survived and some did not – chilling and tragic.
Have read many accounts involving the Titanic. This author did a great job of describing all characters and their lives from the personal standpoint of their point in history. Very well done and a page tuner that kept the reader engaged.
There are so many books about the Titanic and it was interesting to read about the rich that were aboard this famous ship. To hear about their lives prior to boarding the Titanic was very interesting.
My heart goes out to those whose story hasn’t been told the 3rd class passengers. Many of them came to America to start a new life and never made …
If you have the slightest interest in the Titanic, then you will find this book interest. It is not a light read but it is very informative.
It gave a background on the people that was more than just a name and I found it very interesting.
Yes, another book about the sinking of the Titanic. However, Hugh Brewster’s Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage is much more than the story of the world’s most famously doomed passenger line. What Brewster does so well here is recreate the world, circa 1912. In particular, Brewster illustrates for the reader time and again how small the world was one …
Wow. Some really interesting characters in this…. Great read
Very interesting details and backgrounds…tragic and hard to put down!
Interesting account of the fatal voyage providing interesting insight into some noteworthy passengers.
I have read a number of books on the sinking of the Titanic. This was by far the best as the passengers are brought to the forefront and the book focuses on them, the crew and the ship. Well written book that certainly held my interest.
Just the sort of personal information, gossip, and tidbits we want to know about the iconic sinking and all the people involved. Fun, interesting, eye-opening.
this book was filled with interesting facts that made you want more
Well written in a captivating manner.
I have read numerous books on the Titanic’s sinking, this book was interesting because it dealt with the lives of famous individuals rather than why the Titanic sank. Highly researched and detailed.
Very informative and interesting.
Very thorough and well researched.
Excellent look at many of the lives of Titanic’s First class passengers.
While not a trove of new material the book was still an enjoyable read. It is meticulously researched and present ed in such a way that even much of the familiar is seen in a fresh perspective.
nice addition to A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.
Clarified that the Astors did not go down together-interesting
Very interesting read. Knew some basic facts about the Titanic and some of the survivors and those lost but this provided more of an intimate look at those who experienced the sinking.
Well written and researched Non-Fiction book about the elite who took the fatal Titanic voyage. I knew a good deal about several of those privileged passengers, but this book brought me more information and told me about many others I had not studied. Good reading.