I found this book truly fascinating. Of course, ever since stumbling across this fantastic book about the Titanic (Titanic: An Illustrated History - it gives you all the details of the ship, from construction and crew to sinking and discovery. Definitely the best detailed account of the Titanic out there, in my mind.) I've been hooked. So if you give me a book that involves the Titanic, I'm most likely going to be interested. Something about that ship just sucks me in.

So when I came across this book in the pile of new books to be added to our library shelves (I am a Circulation Assistant at our local library) I was immediately intrigued.

What I loved most about this story was that it really didn't focus much at all on the ship and it's sinking. These events take place very early on and are told from the perspective of just a few souls, making the sinking yes, traumatic, but also a little vague. One person in the middle of all those screaming desperate people isn't going to be noticing that many details, and that realism really works in this book. Because this story focuses more on an aspect of the sinking that I'd never really heard much of: the US hearings that took place after the tragedy. When something that awful happens, people will inherently want to dissect it, discover accountability, put the blame on somebody. This makes the tragedy that much easier to handle. And this is exactly what the US government does.

This book focuses on the story of one lowly maid-turned-apprentice-dressmaker named Tess who found herself on board the great ship after some great luck talking her way into the service of a famous dressmaker of the time, Lady Lucille Duff Gordan. You follow Tess after the sinking as she makes her way in New York, overwhelmed by both her new home and her new employers. Her boss, Lady Lucille, is truly a piece of work. Elitist, arrogant, cruel, manipulative ... you get to watch as Tess is both pulled in and repulsed by the life her new Madame offers. And of course, there are a few lover interests in the background, as there always should be.

Flowing seamlessly within the story of Tess and her choices, you get to sit in on the Titanic hearings, slowly discovering bits here and there about the sinking. You get to learn about all sorts of pathetic, sad, selfish, and sometimes brave behavior of many main characters. It's fascinating. Even more fascinating is that the majority of the story involving the hearings is all true to life. The author included many true accounts of actual witnesses that testified at the hearings. Lady Lucille Duff Gordan and her husband were real people who did in fact go through much distress during the hearings, facing the scrutiny of people who didn't appreciate nor understand how these people can have the audacity to basically celebrate their survival when so many others didn't make it. Throw in rumors of shocking behavior on their part during the tragedy - they survived in a lifeboat that had the smallest amount of people - and you have one great scandalous background to Tess' story. (Tess, of course, is a fictional character thrown into this greatly factual account.)

All in all, this book was a great read. I recommend it to anybody who is interested in the Titanic; also great for lovers of period pieces with strong female characters.