Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage

The Titanic's First-Class Passengers and Their World

By: Hugh Brewster

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

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 Titanic has often been called "An exquisite microcosm of the Edwardian era", but until now, 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, he accurately depicts the ship's brief life and tragic denouement and presents compelling, memorable portraits of her most notable passengers: millionaires John Jacob Astor and Benjamin Guggenheim; President Taft's closest aide, Major Archibald Butt; writer Helen Churchill Candee; the artist Frank Millet; movie actress Dorothy Gibson; the celebrated couturiere Lady Duff Gordon; aristocrat Noelle, the Countess of Rothes; and a host of other travelers. 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?"

©2012 Hugh Brewster (P)2018 Tantor

excellent read

Absolutely enjoyed this book. So many things, stories and people that I just didn't know. I recommend highly recommend it.

Unbelievable

I'm learning all the time about the times and lives of the people who lived during this time period! Avid research, and all that glitters was NOT gold!

Must be a titanic fan

This is a well researched book that goes into the history of the people who were on the titanic. He got way too in depth for me in terms of the minutia of peoples lives in details of people. If you were a titanic fan in love reading about all things titanic. This book is for you. Other than that it’s an interesting overview with less contact and more bibliography.

A titanic experience

Absolutely fascinating I must read for anyone interested in the Titanic. Getting to know the real lives of the people who lived and died is a very sobering experience. I’ve had the blessing to see the artifacts recovered from the Titanic, which brings a whole new perspective. Thank you.

very good book.

This
was a very good book. It had history about so many of the people, and then the people that survived had interesting stories to share too. What a disaster! I can't imagine going through that. So very tragic. JS