This non-fiction begins with the history of ships and the history of male dominated crew changing over time. Bustling between decks is a crew of female workers, including Violet “The Unsinkable Stewardess” Jessop, who survived the Titanic disaster.Įntertaining 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. Down in steerage, you’ll follow the journey of émigré Maria Riffelmacher as she escapes poverty in Europe. 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.

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. Maiden Voyages is a fascinating portrait of the era, the ships themselves, and these women as they crossed the Atlantic.

They were celebrities, migrants and millionaires, refugees, aristocrats and crew members whose stories have mostly remained untold―until now. Some traveled for leisure, some for work others to reinvent themselves or find new opportunities.

It was an extraordinary undertaking made by many women, whose lives were changed forever by their journeys between the Old World and the New. In an engaging and anecdotal social history, Siân Evans's Maiden Voyages explores how women’s lives were transformed by the Golden Age of ocean liner travel between Europe and North America.ĭuring the early twentieth century, transatlantic travel was the province of the great ocean liners.

Sian evans maiden voyages