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  • The Ship of Dreams

  • The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era
  • Written by: Mr. Gareth Russell
  • Narrated by: Jenny Funnell
  • Length: 12 hrs and 35 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

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The Ship of Dreams

Written by: Mr. Gareth Russell
Narrated by: Jenny Funnell
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Publisher's Summary

This original and “meticulously researched retelling of history’s most infamous voyage” (Denise Kiernan, New York Times best-selling 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Writing in his signature elegant prose and using previously unpublished sources, deck plans, journal entries, and surviving artifacts, Gareth Russell peers through the portholes of these first-class travelers to immerse us in a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). 

©2019 Gareth Russell (P)2019 Simon & Schuster Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about The Ship of Dreams

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well written and well narrated

The book puts the Titanic disaster into a well defined historical period and illustrates the human impact before and after.
I have read several Titanic books but this book is a valuable addition to the Titanic history collection.
Also, a very good narrator. Her voice adds to the Edwardian spirit of the book.
Well done !

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  • M. M. Jones
  • 2020-04-13

One of my favorites

I'm definitely a history buff and Titanic researcher. This is one of my favorite books on the TItanic disaster because it discusses in a good bit of detail some of the people involved, the time period, what was happening in history, some of the politics of the day, and how a lot of this all came together on one fateful night. If you're interested in a little more than the ship and how it sank, this might be one you'll enjoy.

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11 people found this helpful

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  • Flyte13
  • 2019-12-03

Thoroughly Enjoyed It

Gareth Russell manages to find a fresh perspective and an interesting focus for a much picked over subject. He writes well and succinctly, and at the same time breathes life into a fading past with vibrant anecdotes. Jenny Funnell's narration is the perfect compliment to the book. I enjoyed it so much I plan to listen to Russell's book Young & Damned & Fair: The Life of Catherine Howard - which is a subject I would not normally lean toward. As far as I am concerned Mr. Rusell and Ms. Funnell get full marks. Bravo.

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9 people found this helpful

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  • Mary Brady
  • 2021-02-04

Where does Audible get these readers?

Accent, phrasing and mispronounciation by Jenny Funnel sent me screaming back to the printed word.

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  • Janene VanBebber
  • 2023-07-05

Too many rabbit holes and I have ADHD!

First of all this book is TMI. My interest in the Titanic doesn’t include an interest in the passengers’ sexuality or sex lives. Now when I hear Bruce Ismay’s name I have the unnecessary reference that his wife saw her marital duties as ending when she hit menopause. Why is it necessary for anyone to know this???

Second, there is no need to go down every rabbit hole that leads me further away from the reason that I bought this book. I don’t mind some interesting political, social and economic information that influenced this time period, but I didn’t need to jump down the rabbit hole on so many topics that are not necessary when discussing the Titanic. There was too much jumping around that I couldn’t follow the story line Third, there are parts of the book that is boring and the reader’s voice and cadence only made it more intensely boring. After awhile I found the reader’s voice annoying.

I wish I would have saved my money and skipped purchasing this book.

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  • Underporch
  • 2021-05-16

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.

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3 people found this helpful

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  • Marian Fernald
  • 2021-04-13

I really love this book.

I really enjoyed this book. Thank you to Philippa @ British History for recommending it. Anyone who loves history of Edwardian times and some of those who went on the Titanic will want to read this. At one point it sounds like the writer is talking about the unsinkable Molly Brown but it's never clear? I never knew survivors of the Titanic committed suicide, sadly not surprised. This is a book I will read more than once I only wish it there was more.
Thank you!!

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  • Chihuahua Gal
  • 2021-06-05

so boring

this book is boring beyond words I could not get past the third chapter. ...terrible

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  • cbspock
  • 2020-03-15

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

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  • Joseph
  • 2020-02-08

Excellent on so many levels

This meticulously researched book not only is the definitive word on what happened that awful night, but is also a superb comment on the end of the Edwardian world that presaged the First World War... I was amazed at how much I learned, and how it held me in rapt attention.

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  • Michael Wall
  • 2020-01-28

Excellent Book on the Titanic

Excellent book on the Titanic and the era that she and her ship builders lived. I think the best part was actually the first half of the book in which the author describes the construction of the ship and the weeks and days leading up to the maiden (and only voyage) of the Titanic. In one sense, a prequel to the book "A Night to Remember" by Walter Lord. In that book, the author begins with the moment the ship struck the iceberg.

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