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Titanic: The Long Night

(Titanic #1)

Diane Hoh

3.95 · Rating details · 1,931 ratings · 133 reviews

Two teenagers discover true love aboard the doomed ocean liner

Elizabeth Farr never wanted to return to America. During her family’s vacation abroad, she has fallen in love with England, and is despondent when her father refuses to let her stay. Returning to New York means having her debut into society, and that means a swiftly arranged marriage. Elizabeth will never go

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Paperback, 373 pages

Published March 1st 1998 by Scholastic

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· 1,931 ratings · 133 reviews

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Jun 04, 2011 Josiah rated it liked it

The maiden voyage and subsequent sinking of the Titanic is perhaps the most fascinating setting for historical fiction to have occurred in the twentieth century. You have the mixing of social classes, from the wealthy elite (John Jacob Astor, for example) who punch their tickets for first-class accommodations all the way, to the affluent members of second-class, financially secure but not quite up to the level of the Astors on the social scale, down to the third-class passengers, many of whom we ...more

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May 03, 2011 Annabelle rated it liked it

Shelves: ya-history

Read this years ago and remember it fondly.
Probably because I was going through a slight Titanic obsession and there are characters in this novel who may as well have been named Jack and Rose, but that of course is besides the point...

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Apr 24, 2015 Ella rated it liked it

Shelves: incomplete

A nice story. I found the chapters focused on the ship hitting the iceberg and the direct aftermath to be the most entertaining.

Elizabeth was a lot more interesting than Katie, couldn't really get into her and Paddy and Brian as much as I would have liked. I'm not a big insta-love person, but I make exceptions for Titanic-based stories, you kind of have to. Elizabeth and Max didn't particularly set my world on fire.

After the ship hit the iceberg and they were loading the lifeboats, I pretty much ...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Amy rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: Fans of the Titanic

Recommended to Amy by: Cassidy

3.5 stars.
A good book about the Titanic! I liked the characters, especially Katie with her irish accent, and i even liked Elizabeth after a little while. It got a little long in the end, but i guess it was supposed to, because it's called, "Titanic:The Long Niight." it was very similar to quite a few other Titanic stories. (for example, the actual movie) but it was still enjoyable. It makes me so angry and sad to think about what all those poor souls went through. ...more

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Mar 28, 2014 Rachel E. Carter rated it it was amazing

Shelves: have-paperback

Didn't love Elizabeth & Max but I adored Paddy & Katy so much that this gets five stars anyway. I have read this book way too many times because I just can't get over how cute the two of them are! ...more

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Dec 09, 2015 Lindsay rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ya, fiction, books-i-own, united-states, 20th-century, new-york, 90-s-ya, series, romance, tragedy

Review originally posted on Tsundokuholic.

The year is 1998. A story about a rich teenage girl on the Titanic falling for an artist returning to America from a year abroad in Paris grabs my heart.

No, I’m NOT talking about James Cameron’s blockbuster movie Titanic, although the same could be said for the movie. I’m talking about Diane Hoh’s novel, Titanic: The Long Night. Cheap novel riding the coattails of a blockbuster film? Absolutely it is. Compelling story? I sure thought so.

A wealthy sociali Review originally posted on Tsundokuholic.

The year is 1998. A story about a rich teenage girl on the Titanic falling for an artist returning to America from a year abroad in Paris grabs my heart.

No, I’m NOT talking about James Cameron’s blockbuster movie Titanic, although the same could be said for the movie. I’m talking about Diane Hoh’s novel, Titanic: The Long Night. Cheap novel riding the coattails of a blockbuster film? Absolutely it is. Compelling story? I sure thought so.

A wealthy socialite, Elizabeth Farr, is sailing home with her parents on the maiden voyage of the Titanic when she sees a third class passenger wandering around the first class area looking lost, so she decides to help him by directing him back to third class quarters. She feels proud of herself for being helpful and independent, especially since her parents want to marry her off to some boring rich guy when all Elizabeth wants to do is go to Vassar.

Later that night Elizabeth is embarrassed to see the third class passenger at her dinner table and finds out he’s actually Max Whittaker, son of one of her father’s friends. She’s bratty towards him but they strike up a friendship that blossoms into a flirtation that is threatened by a large iceberg with no regards for young love. The book also follows 2 Irish brothers and their friend Katie in third class, but that story line never appealed to me as much as Elizabeth and Max’s romance because it wasn’t anything like Jack and Rose’s story.

I absolutely LOVED this story, especially since I was the only kid in my grade who hadn’t been allowed to see Titanic because of the sex and nudity, and I was really bitter about missing out on the greatest pop culture phenomenon in the 6th grade. I read it over and over again while listening to the Titanic soundtrack (yes I bought the soundtrack without seeing the movie and, to prove that it was probably good judgment on my parents’ part to not let me see the movie, I was STUNNED that it was all instrumental music instead of Disneyesque showtunes), crying at the end when characters are lost to the icy sea. Probably one of my most re-read books.
(view spoiler)[
It doesn’t matter that this is a cheap knockoff of Titanic for preteens, I will ALWAYS love this book. Despite the cheesy nature of the book, the writing is well done and suspenseful, and even though I know what’s going to happen at the end my heart still palpitates when Elizabeth searches desperately for Max and her father on the Carpathia after the sinking. I still love the hostile flirtation between Elizabeth and Max, who admire each other but don’t want to admit their feelings because they assume they should dislike each other. Max forsakes his father’s money for authenticity as an artist and Elizabeth forsakes her parents’ plans for her marriage because she wants to get an education and be a journalist. When they meet, they first think the other is just another spoiled rich kid like all the spoiled rich kids they grew up with but gradually realize how they’re more alike than they originally thought.

The growth of their relationship is earnest and, dare I say, cute. They’re a couple you root for.

As an adult I have a greater appreciation for the Irish third class story since I’m not longer in a hormonal Leomania rage (at least that’s what I keep telling myself). Katie Hanrahan is traveling with the Kelleher brothers, mature and mellow Brian, and lighthearted and lively Paddy. Katie is going to move in with an aunt and uncle in Brooklyn until she makes her fortune as a singer on Broadway, Brian plans to work on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, and Paddy aspires to be a writer. Brian, the eldest, feels responsible for the younger two and Katie looks up to him for his strong spirit. She’s always thought of Paddy as flighty, but amusing. Katie and her roommate Eileen, who’s escorting two orphans to America, gush over the grandeur of the ship, where even the third class quarters are finer than anything they’ve seen before. The brothers’ room is on the opposite end of the ship, but the women and men congregate in the public third class areas where Katie begins to see a different side to Paddy, who pines for Katie while also thinking she loves his brother.

So the stage is set for emotional drama and heartstrings to be tugged, and let me tell you your heartstrings will get quite a workout. I loved how Hoh described the different areas on the Titanic and the social norms that ruled the Edwardian era. She obviously researched how passengers on the Titanic spent their days in the spaces allotted to them. She also includes key components of the ship’s doomed voyage, including it’s near-crash with the New York during the departure from Southampton. Attention to historical detail makes the experience of reading historical fiction that more immersive and intriguing.
(hide spoiler)]
The characters each have a unique voice and personality that endears them to you. You don’t want to see any of them come to harm, even Elizabeth’s society-obsessed parents. Of course, it’s a book about the Titanic so there are a few casualties. This book has the perfect combination of family drama, romance, suspense, history, and tragedy. If you were a Titanic superfan in the 90’s, you’ll be a superfan of this book too. ...more

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May 17, 2016 Boundless Book Reviews rated it it was amazing

Shelves: stormi-s-reviews, historical-fiction

I remember being young and reading this book. I always enjoyed the story of the Titanic. I have seen the movie many times and have read countless books about it. This book was just as good this time around as the first time I read it. It even seemed better.

Elizabeth, a young first class passenger, wants to go to college while her parents want her to be married. Max is an artist who has ignored his rich raising and is determined to make his own way. Katie, a young woman in steerage accompanied by ...more

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Jul 16, 2010 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-from-school, fiction-set-in-1900-1950, 2010, books-from-home

It was definitely one of my favourite books. It reminded me a bit of the movie, but the author still managed to change it around and make an interesting plot and romance! The book follows two girls: 1st class Elizabeth Farr and 3rd class Kathleen (Katie) Hanrahan. I love how sometimes they see each other, but they never actually meet. It was a great way for the characters to interact.

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Dec 02, 2008 CLM rated it liked it

Shelves: historicalfiction, 20th-century, ya

Yes, this was sort of a rip off of the movie but it held my interest. I was a little disappointed that the rich NY heiress and the poor Irish immigrant girl, leaving parallel lives on board, never actually met, but that was better than if they had improbably become BFF.

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Jul 31, 2016 Saturday's Child rated it liked it

By fluke I recently found a copy of this novel so of course I just had to read it.

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Jul 23, 2017 Rae rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, historical-fiction

My love for this book is firmly rooted in nostalgia. Is it good? I honestly don't know. ...more

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Jun 18, 2020 Pria rated it liked it

Shelves: on-the-seas, 2020, tear-my-eyeballs-out, historical-fic, ebooks

*3.5 RIP to everyone who died on the ship, and the survivors who have now all passed, since 2009. The first-hand history is gone, but at least we have storytellers and books.

“Why shouldn’t the men have come along if the boat was going to leave only half full? To leave them on a sinking ship was indeed a crime of the worst sort.”

So... I was not expecting a 4 STAR TO EVEN CROSS MY MIND. The first part of this book was complete and utter TRASH! Then, throughout the last 3rd of this book I was just ...more

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Oct 28, 2020 Scott rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020

Thank you too audible stories for allowing us to stream for free during the pandemic.
I enjoyed this story. It was a fictional story that gave the impression of non-fiction. I guess kind of like James Cameron's movie. I guess this is the case with any historical fiction is it can circle around events and lives in a factual way. Even if our main characters are not actual people, or many of their stories are not actually events, they are stories and lives and people that did exist or pieces of thos ...more

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Jul 10, 2017 Loran (Inked with Curiosity) rated it it was ok

When I spotted Titanic The Long Night at my local used bookstore I had to get it. It has the most hilariously cheesy 90s cover and I'm a complete loser for anything Titanic-related so I was pretty stoked to read this one. The plot focuses on a group of five passengers, Max and Elizabeth from First Class and Brian, Paddy, and Katie from Third Class as they travel on board the doomed liner. Most of the characters were quite funny and well-rounded. In fact I really only disliked Elizabeth because s ...more

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May 19, 2019 Wade Walker rated it liked it

Found this on a thrift store shelf for $3 and I'm a sucker for anything Titanic, so I bought it. The book has a lot of pitiful parallels to the 1997 James Cameron film "Titanic," which was suspicious considering this book came out the year after. I wonder if some aspects of the film were appropriated. For example, the primary female protagonist is a 17 year old rich girl aboard ship with her rich parents, who have betrothed her against her will to a man she doesn't want to marry. She is very res ...more

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Jul 10, 2011 Bree Phoenix rated it really liked it

I remember stumbling upon this novel right after the big blockbuster movie Titanic hit the screens. I was not allowed to watch the movie at the time because it was rated 14A and my parents were very strict when it came to ratings (however they were very lenient when it came to novels, quite the hypocrisy I know). Not being able to watch the film when every one of my peers had seen it twice was condemning me to social outcast, thus when I saw this novel at my local bookstore I begged my mother to I remember stumbling upon this novel right after the big blockbuster movie Titanic hit the screens. I was not allowed to watch the movie at the time because it was rated 14A and my parents were very strict when it came to ratings (however they were very lenient when it came to novels, quite the hypocrisy I know). Not being able to watch the film when every one of my peers had seen it twice was condemning me to social outcast, thus when I saw this novel at my local bookstore I begged my mother to buy it for me, and buy it for me she did. At the time I fell in love with the plotline, the characters and the beautiful love stories that this novel entailed and I got many of my friends hooked on the novel as well. Reading it a second time reignited those feelings and for the next 3 years after I bought it (at age 12) I reread it at least once every 6 months. After moving to our new home I’d lost my copy and didn’t seek out to buy a new copy, in fact this novel completely slipped my mind until I ended up in a used bookstore and happened to find a copy of it in the Young Adult section. Needless to say I had to buy it, and buy it I did.
The novel chronicles the lives of five young adults – Katie, the beautiful Irish women who’s accompanied by Patrick and Brian in steerage, and Maxwell the dashing young artist who captures the attention of first class Elizabeth Farr - whose destinies led them to board the tragically fated Titanic. Katie boards the ship in steerage (third class) heading to America with her two childhood friends, Brian the handsome Irish bloke, and his brother Patrick who thinks that by falling in love with Katie he’s betraying his brother’s love and stealing the girl his brother fancies for himself. For Katie the ship and the move to America is the biggest adventure of her life, and embarking on this adventure with the boys she knows better than her own mother, she starts to develop feelings for Patrick, unbeknownst to Katie Patrick secretly loves her too, but his love for his brother and his pride soon sends Patrick down a path away from Katie and into anger and isolation. Elizabeth on the other hand has been cared for and waited on her entire life and never dreams or even dares to think of living any other way, until she meets Maxwell Whittaker. The man whom she once deemed as a third class citizen turns out to be a first class passenger and the son of an acquaintance of her father’s at that. Through his quirky habits, and his irritating conversations and his total lack of proper demeanour Elizabeth finds herself falling in love with this man who’s exiled himself from the community of debutantes and in doing so she awakens her own inner rebel.
Of course one of the main characters is the Titanic herself, her fate, as many people know as tragic, is pushed in the background of the novel until the last couple of chapters. The reader while reading this novel forgets that the Titanic is the ship that sinks because they’re so enthralled in the actual story of the novel to pay attention to anything else.
Reading the novel as an adult for the first time the story resonates within me a different interpretation of the text than I had reading it has a tween yet I still feel the same excitement and wonder I did as a child. Of course being older has put my perspectives on love and happiness in a more cynical and critical level than when I was a little girl hyped up on Disney romances and this idea that love can conquer all (or that the love one experiences will be exactly that found in the fairytales). So when reading Titanic I recognized it for what it really was, much like the trashy romance novels found in bookstores and drugstores alike, this novel was written to send cheap thrills and good chills down one’s spine and at the same time leave the reader desperately craving for more.
Like many romance novels the language is very simple. There are very little allusions or alliterations, very little metaphors and a solid yet focused plotline; however I’ve always said that writing simply doesn’t always insure the writing is simple. “Her knees felt as if they might buckle at any moment. But she kept her head held high and repeated to herself under her breath as she walked, ‘Not Paddy, anyone but Paddy. He’s a heartbreaker that one’” There are so many thrills and so many scenes that gave me butterflies in my stomach that even as an adult I still wanted to believe that fairytales really do come true. The love stories itself are enough to keep this novel afloat, add to it the sinking ship, and this novel very well sails into its horizon.
What I love best about this novel is the sense of suspense one feels while reading. Although predictable I still couldn’t help myself from wanting to find out when they were going to kiss for the first time, when will they tell each other they love one another, or my favourite when are they going to stop denying to themselves that they love one another. “It was all Max’s fault. He shouldn’t have been looking at her like that, shouldn’t have put his face so close to hers.” *sighs* I feel as if I’m melting into the love story that is Elizabeth and Max as I retype this quotation. I love stubborn women in romance novels, the ones who deny deny deny they have any feelings until everything becomes too overwhelming and they explode with emotions, such is the character Elizabeth and she made this novel so much more endearing and suspenseful.
I have to say that I am glad I reread this novel. Not only did it bring back so many memories of my childhood reading, it also didn’t fail to send shivers down my back even though I knew what was going to happen. I’m almost positive that if you read it for the first time you too might experience the feelings I felt and might bring back a sense of nostalgia, back to those days of innocence when you thought love was exactly like a fairytale and that there is indeed a Maxwell and a Patrick out there for everyone.
Happy Reading!!! ...more

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Apr 17, 2020 Tarissa rated it really liked it

This story was alright, but honestly... I feel like the author wanted to recreate a sweet teenage romance similar to what is found in the 1997 film. A free-spirited artist meets a rich, headstrong girl who won't give in to her arranged marriage......

Likes: What I really like the juxtaposition of Elizabeth's story as a 1st class passenger on the Titanic and Katie's story as a 3rd class passenger. This definitely brought up issues that the reader can see between how the different classes were trea ...more

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Oct 26, 2017 Samantha rated it liked it

Like so many others, I bought this book after watching the movie, and I loved it! It was perfect for my Titanic addicted self who was transitioning from kids/teen books to more adult books (I was only 12 at the time). Now 30, I decided to read it again (probably for the fifth time) and see how it held up. As other reviewers have already said, this book is so similar to the movie. You have your spoiled, first-class main character who redeems herself as the book goes on, and your third-class chara ...more

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Mar 07, 2021 Sydney Danenberger rated it liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 02, 2017 Alli rated it really liked it

I bought this book at a garage sale a while ago and finally decided to read it. Going in, my only thoughts were "this is going to be a children's story...I'll just give it a shot though." What I found was an intriguing, relatable tale of two different perspectives on the Titanic. The writing kept me intrigued, and, frankly, stressed out for the characters the entire read. I also learned a lot about the sinking of the Titanic from this book. Titanic: The Long Night makes me want to read more Tita ...more

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Apr 09, 2019 Connie rated it it was amazing

This book was absolutely amazing! I have always been interested in the Titanic, and every time I put the book down, I couldn't wait to pick it up again. I loved how the story was told from the perspective of the first class and third class passengers. You usually only get one or other, but I've never read a story before that had both. I loved how Elizabeth never backed down from trying to get what she wanted, which was unusual for a girl of her upbringing in that time period. Kathleen and Paddy' ...more

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Mar 27, 2020 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

OMG I *loved* returning to this childhood/early teen favourite of mine. I've been obsessed with the Titanic for a very long time and devoured every history book and novelization I could get my hands on. This was by far my favourite one, the one I kept through numerous cleaning purges and moving out and just growing up.
Is it the best-written book I've ever read? No. Was it fun and did I smile and cry and laugh and go 'awww' in all the places I used to? Yes. So, it's perfect. On to the sequel! (I ...more

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Apr 19, 2020 R.J. Southworth rated it liked it · review of another edition

Published shortly after James Cameron's Titanic came out, this romance novel is pretty cliché. On the one side, there's an enlightened rich girl who wants more out of life than the conservative snobs have planned for her, and falls in love with an unsuitable man; on the other, there's a third-class passenger with a fiery spirit who falls in love with an irresponsible rogue. However, it is still a pleasant and comfortable story which covers the well-known historical events in plenty of detail, an ...more

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Jan 21, 2018 Cierra Bolding rated it it was amazing

I love historical fiction novels and in elementary school was obsessed with the Royal Diaries and Dear America series. In middle school, one of the books in my 8th grade history class reading library was Titanic: The Long Night. I loved the book and read it over 3x times :) I loved it so much that I asked the teacher could I keep the book she said yes!!

Wonderful story and characters!!!Read the sequel when you get a chance!! I still have this book till this day :)

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Jul 01, 2019 Louisa rated it it was amazing

I really enjoyed this book. I’m fascinated by the titanic and really connected with the characters. The story was equally spread between the days the ship set sail and the night of the sinking, giving you time to understand the characters back stories and emotions, so that by the time the sinking occurred you were really engaged with their journey. An easy and enjoyable read with a somewhat hopeful ending!

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Apr 25, 2020 Lauren rated it really liked it

Always had a slight obsession with Titanic so I found this book at a library book sale and bought it a couple years ago. I meant to read it last April and I never did. I try to do something Titanic every April to honor the anniversary. This is what I finally chose. I really liked this, although bits and pieces of the character’s lives reminded me as if it had been inspired by the movie. But I enjoyed it thoroughly.

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Nov 21, 2017 Kasey rated it it was amazing

Now I’m not going to lie and say I read the whole thing —I didn’t— I just read Katie’s story and OH BOY it was one that I sat and thought about the day after I finished it. I absolutely loved her story. I read about 50 pages of Elizabeth’s story and was just bored. I wanted more of Katie’s story - major book hangover.

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Sep 10, 2018 Jen Hodgson rated it liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction

Read this one as a teenager and enjoyed it. I like Diane Hoh's style and read many of the books she wrote for Point Horror series. There is a fascination surrounding the fate of the Titanic and I think this is the book that sparked it for me. Definitely would like to read this again as an adult to revisit those thoughts. ...more

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Jul 18, 2019 Alex Yates rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Must Read

You know how some parents swear they don’t have a favorite child, but you know they do? This book is my secret favorite child. I read it every year in middle school and high school. Now, at 26, I’ve rediscovered it and it is just as fantastic as I remember. I will absolutely recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

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Mar 10, 2020 dorothy cannon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A enjoyable read

This book tells the story of a First and Third class passenger on the Titanic.
I have read a lot of factual books on the Titanic and they featured in this book.
This was an enjoy read

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Around the Year i...: Titanic: The Long Night, by Diane Hoh	2	19	Nov 08, 2016 11:02AM
week 6 summary and reaction	1	5	Oct 23, 2013 07:40AM
Week 5	1	3	Oct 21, 2013 04:40PM
Summary and reaction week 5	1	4	Oct 21, 2013 04:39PM
Summary and Reaction Week 5	1	3	Oct 17, 2013 06:36AM

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About Diane Hoh

Diane Hoh

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Diane Hoh is the author of fifty-seven novels for young adults. She grew up in Warren, Pennsylvania but currently resides in Austin, Texas. Reading and writing are her favorite things, alongside gardening and grandchildren.