Titanic Survivor

by Violet Jessop, John Maxtone-Graham (Editor), John Maxtone-Graham (Preface by)

Overview

Violet Jessop's life is an inspiring story of survival. Born in 1887 in Argentina, the eldest child of Irish immigrants, at the age of 21 she became the breadwinner for her widowed mother and five siblings when she commenced a career as a stewardess and nurse on some of the most famous ocean going vessels of the day. Throughout her 40 year time at sea she survived an unbelievable series of events including the sinking of the TITANIC.

“One awful moment of empty, misty blackness enveloped us in its loneliness, then an unforgettable, agonizing cry went up from 1500 despairing throats, a long wail and then silence and our tiny craft tossing about at the mercy of the ice field.”
For most people one sinking would be enough. But four years later Violet, now a nurse with the British Red Cross, was on board the World War I hospital ship BRITANNIC when it struck a mine and sank to the bottom of the Aegean. To her, this disaster was even more horrifying— “Just as life seeming nothing but a whirling, choking ache, I rose to the light of day, my nose barely above the little lapping waves. I opened my eyes on an indescribable scene of slaughter, which made me shut them again to keep it out."

By the end of her story we have a met a woman who could handle whatever life threw at her with determination and good humor. She knew that only by her own strength of character would she survive. But Titanic Survivor is much more. A unique autobiography for those who want to know how it really felt, a story that could be told only by a Titanic Survivor.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781574093155
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	04/14/2012
Edition description:	Special Centennial Edition
Pages:	276
Sales rank:	167,920
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Violet Jessop (1887-1971) was a maritime stewardess and nurse who survived the sinking of both the Titanic and Britannic. She worked aboard ships into her sixties, traveling all over the world. After her last voyage, she lived the rest of her life in Suffolk, England.

Table of Contents

New Preface xi

Preface 1

Introduction 7

1 The Early Years 13

2 The Railway Interval 17

3 Buenos Aires 21

4 In the Mountains 25

5 Illness and Death 30

6 Repatriation 34

7 In Charge 39

8 Convent Days 46

9 Choosing a Career 50

10 To Sea at Last 56

11 Enter Ned 64

12 Insufferable Passengers 69

13 Troubled Voyage 78

14 The South American Run 85

15 The White Star Line 89

16 Cabin Drama 98

17 Olympic 101

18 (This chapter is missing)

19 Polemic and Lament 110

20 Titanic 115

21 Into the Lifeboat 129

22 Rescue 137

23 Australia and Ned 145

24 Shipboard Romance 157

25 A Nurse in the Great War 161

26 Britannic 171

27 Aftermath 178

28 Peace and Prohibition 188

29 Time Goes Missing 193

30 World Cruise 198

31 At Sea 203

32 The Jinrikisha Man 205

33 The Baroness 210

34 Tom's Downfall 214

Epilogue 221

Appendix I 227

Appendix II 233

Bibliography 235

Index 236

Editorial Reviews

This is a true first-hand account of the sinking of the Titanic, written by a stewardess for the first-class passengers. As if that wasn't enough, four years later she was working aboard the Britannic when it struck a mine and sank. These memoirs cover both disasters, along with many tales about passengers and shipmates.

Latitudes & Attitudes

Aside from the disasters, there is much in her memoirs to enjoy; from her tales of travel, to the ships themselves, and to the many characters she met in a fascinating lifetime at sea.

Sailing

Readers of this absorbing account of her untrammeled life will agree that 'ostensibly unsinkable in life, she has proved positively unsinkable posthumously.' An important contribution to the growing body of Titanic literature.

Booklist

Aside from the disasters, there is much in her memoirs to enjoy; from her tales of travel, to the ships themselves, and to the many characters she met in a fascinating lifetime at sea.

Compelling...a fresh, indispensable chapter to the legend...invaluable.

From the Publisher

Readers of this absorbing account of her untrammeled life will agree that 'ostensibly unsinkable in life, she has proved positively unsinkable posthumously.' An important contribution to the growing body of Titanic literature.

Booklist