Maiden Voyages is a well researched novel on female travelers and crew during the height of ocean liner travel. I had a very hard staying interested in the story. For me, the story didn't flow well.

Maiden Voyages is a fascinating history of transatlantic boat travel and the women who were able to find careers on these giant ocean liners. It even made me vaguely contemplate going on a cruise (truly shocking for me). It was cool to learn about the different roles a woman could hold on these big liners, and the influential and inspiring female passengers who criss-crossed the Atlantic in their care.

However, I do think the organization could've been better. Each chapter was organized by time period and theme, but this made it especially hard to keep track of the many names and stories Evans throws around. I kind of wish this book had been organized by woman, though that would have created other problems, I'm sure. Regardless, some stronger editing could've aided this book in both structure and length. It was maybe 50 pages too long, and often repetitive.

If you're really interested in the topic, then I'd suggest reading this title, but if not, I don't think it's compelling enough to strongly recommend.

At almost 400 pages, Maiden Voyages by Sian Evans provides a lot of details, some of which, for me, was not needed for the impact of the book. It is nevertheless an interesting and unique look into history. At the end of the day, I respond to the story of strong women rising to the challenges facing them, overcoming obstacles, and breaking barriers. Finding inspiration is that is my takeaway from this book.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2022/12/maiden-voyages.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of this book for my honest opinion.

Maiden Voyages provides an intriguing oral history of women's role in the story of the great ocean liners of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Each chapter tells the story of an individual woman who made an impact in history of the great ships.

I found those book very interesting. Recommended for anyone who loves travel, adventure and stories of woman making history.

MAIDEN VOYAGES – by Siân Evans

‘[A] collection of selected biographical tales, both cautionary and life-affirming, about dynamic women on the move ….’

As the reader, MAIDEN VOYAGES will take you on a journey by way of maritime travel aboard vast ships, one professed to be unsinkable, abroad to destinations either foreign or familiar, for business, pleasure, employment, or survival—numerous pinpoints on a timeline of the past, if you will, that spans between the two World Wars during what s considered to be the golden age of transatlantic travel.

I tend to lean toward stories about the underdog, those struggling to make ends meet despite their circumstance who never give up. However, tales of the affluent are also highlighted in this book—Mmmmmm, not so much.

Of the women featured, there are two that draw my attention, one being though her circumstance at various points throughout her maritime life as a stewardess is similar to many, she was given the moniker, the ‘Unsinkable Violet Jessop’.

In a word—WOW!!!

And, yes, you will have to read the book to learn more about her, but I will say:

Due to a combination of family connections and financial desperation, in 1908, Violet Jessop embarked on her maiden voyage as a stewardess on board the Orinoco, working sixteen-hour days seven days a week—a career that would span forty-two years and more than two hundred ocean voyages.

And The Other:

Victoria Drummond…

‘There were many tales of individual bravery by women on the Atlantic during the Second World War. Victoria Drummond, the first woman to qualify as a marine engineer in the 1920s, had given up her job ashore and joined the war effort, becoming a second engineer in the Women’s Mercantile Naval Reserve, and assisted with the evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940. According to the Evening Standard, Councillor William Lockyer, the Mayor of Lambeth, who was a friend of the family, said: ‘She has been bombed during her voyages, but all she says about it is ….’

Nope, No Spoilers! ;)

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Publishing Group (Macmillan), for providing me with an eBook of
MAIDEN VOYAGES at the request of an honest review.

An engaging, historical story describing the changes made with Ocean Liners as women began to travel in previously man-centered industry.

A perfect read for #NonFictionNovember

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Interesting story. If you love history you might want to check this out. Love the covee

A really interesting history of early ocean liner travel and the classes of women who worked or were passengers on them. If you enjoy stories about grand ships like the Titanic or Lusitania, this book will be right up your ally. Thoroughly researched and very easy to read. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest reivew.

This is an extensive read about ocean liners and the history of women who worked about them. Spanning the mid 1800s to 2016, this is a very informative novel.

I will admit that it was a daunting read for me. I'm not much of a nonfiction reader. But to read about these women and how they pioneered to make ocean jobs more available for other women was inspiring.

The book does move back and forth through time, but only due to how many historical events spanned multiple years. It also only focuses on a small portion of the outstanding women who forged ahead during multiple wars and terrifying weather.

I loved how the author used these women's own words throughout this book. It brought this rich history to life for me.

“Maiden Voyages” is a history of large ships. This account goes from building ships and their many uses. It was a great insight into cruise ships and how they were used through out the years in peacetime and during the wars. And the many different people who traveled on the ships at different times. From the very rich and famous during the early years to the men going to war and then coming home again.
This was also a look into the role women played on the ships. They started out as Stewardess and as the situations changed were able to step into more administrative positions.
I enjoyed learning how the Cruise industry was started.

I have tried to read this book so many times and unfortunately I just cannot get through it. It is very dry and dense and not enjoyable for me. It's a shame because I LOVE female adventure stories so I thought this would be perfect for me.

An illuminating and engaging read, about a topic I knew little about prior to this reading. Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I did prefer it on audio, as I thought the narrator was fantastic.

I can honestly say this is the first book of this kind that I have read. And I found it fascinating! We all know how cruises work now, but imagine if you were on one 80 to 100 years ago. How much different. This book provides such a great account of this travel especially the women. Whether they be on it for business or pleasure, it definitely was a change.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

I didn't get to finish this one before publication last year, but I am glad I did get around to reading it. Maiden Voyages is full of a variety of history topics that range from the topics in the subtitle to immigration laws, war stories, what it was like for some during colonization and continued expansion, and life for women in general during the time periods covered in the book. Evans has created a detailed and well-researched book that can appeal to a numerous set of readers. The information is presented in a clear and easy to understand format without getting too bogged down in details about anything specific or turning the book into a sluggish story about ships and the many details from building and structure to where passengers could stay or workers could work.
I enjoyed this and I am glad I purchased it.

Originally, I did receive this dARC in exchange for my honest review. For that I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley.

A fascinating, deeply researched read about an intriguing and unexplored fragment of history. Recommended.

Thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the read.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this title. I loved Dead Wake by Erik Larson and hoped this would be similar, It was so boring though. Well researched but not enjoyable to read.

A lovely collection of history focusing on the women of early cruises. This is a well researched and well presented book.

I love to peek into little pockets of history, and Maiden Voyages was certainly that! It fell in the nexus of two subjects I find myself drawn to. First, anthology-style history books about women who were otherwise forgotten - these can be hit or miss! I loved Come Fly the World, but really did not like the recent Confident Women. Second, what I lovingly call "angry sea books," which is what I grew up watching my dad collect and devour. Any history of a shipwreck, explorer, pirate, naval war, you name it, he's got it. And somewhere along the way, I have development own affinity for a select few angry sea books myself.

Maiden Voyages succeeded in telling a thorough and, at times, compelling history about the women of the megaships. Unfortunately, like many of the anthology histories I read, the narrative felt a bit dry and disjointed, and I wish there had been a more engaging framework connecting the women through history. I would have loved to know more about the women and a bit less about the ships.

Thank you for the review copy!

This was a decent read for me. I usually don’t read non-fiction, but sometimes I feel like learning something new about history so when I had the opportunity to read this I figured why not?

Let’s start with- this book is VERY descriptive. It not o my gives you background on the “leading ladies” of the stories, it also gives descriptions of the roles of men and how they differ from the women, as well as interesting information about the ocean liners. I unfortunately found that sometimes the descriptions went a little too deep and dragged on a bit too long- hence the 3 stars.

I really enjoyed the stories of the different ladies were remarkable and I kind of wished I skipped the first part of the book and jumped right into the stories. It provided me with insight into what travel used to be like for my grandparents generation and the women aboard these vessels. It gave me a different appreciation for social studies and how stories like those of these women have shaped how women travel and work today.

Sometimes context and background are nice in historical non- fiction, however I’d much rather focus on the stories of the women!

ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very informative read about ocean liners and strong women that traveled and worked on them. The beginning is more on the liners themselves, which I enjoyed and it is setting the stage to focus on women and how they were able (or not able) to work aboard these ships. It also covers the stories of a few women that traveled across the seas and what it was like for them as well. The prohibition time period was interesting to learn about also, I didn't realize how much it would affect travel coming to and from America.

Overall this was such an interesting and informative read! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital galley to review.