“Maiden Voyages” suffers from an inaccurate summary; I expected a day-in-the-life of various stewardesses and female travelers aboard ships, but the book frequently loses sight of these women in favor of broader historical events. This is probably an attempt at placing the reader in the appropriate time and setting, but it does not matter when there is not a larger story being told beyond this setting.

The book opens with an exceedingly brief description of Violet Jessop, the woman who survived the sinking of three ships including the Titanic, but she never feels real, despite very much being a real person. We’re never given enough characterization of the people rushed on stage and quickly removed thereafter.

This could be an interesting book for someone who is intrigued by historical events and wants some tangential information about ships at the time.

I received a free ARC of this book, and opinions expressed are my own.

This was a fascinating historical and biographical look into the social history of the women who lived and worked on ocean liners during the golden age of transatlantic travel. The author presents details and stories that illustrate how ocean travel gave women - of all standings and social classes - a certain level of independence that was often not attained on land. The height of global sea travel has always interested me, and I'm so glad to have read and enjoyed this very insightful and eye-opening account of how it affected the lives of women.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this great opportunity,.
Unfortunately, I had to DNF this novel, it was not for me.
A lot of research was done by the author and I found that the novel was too technical for me.

April found Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them on Netgalley and immediately recommended it to me based on my love of Titanic and strong adventurous women. It took me a while to get into it. I'm not sure if it was the set up of my e-arc or what but, I really had a hard time following all the different women who were mentioned as well as the ships. I think it might have been a little bit easier if I was able to see the graphics that accompany the information.

Maiden Voyages reveals the history of some of the most daring women who sailed the ocean. Not all of them were daring though. Some of them were just simple women trying to help make ends meet for their families. The book discussed the various hardships that women had to endure. This included just being on an ocean liner to protecting themselves from sexism and attracting unwanted attention. Of course some women enjoyed the attention of the male passengers and fellow stewards. There was also mention of non-heterosexual relationships and friendships as well.

While the book was hard for me to yet into, I enjoyed learning about these various women. I always get excited when a book pays tribute to the unspoken hero of society and I felt that is exactly what this book did. Working aboard ocean liners especially wealthier ones could be an unforgiving job. There were times when the employees were forgotten about and the focus was all on the employer.

There were several ships that faced great parel over the years. From ice bergs to torpedoes, the ship were an easy target due to their structure and size. Once an accident struck it often became the responsibility of the women workers to make sure all passengers got off the ship as safely as possible. One of the stories that I really enjoyed from Maiden Voyages was the story about the stewardesses that were put in charge of the children and how the children bonded with them. It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking depending on the ending circumstances.

I think Maiden Voyages provides a good insight on the relatively under discussed topic of women's employment and responsibilities on ocean liners. Personally, it did not always flow together and would get confusing. I spent alot of my time re-reading information to ensure that I had grasped it correctly. I think some of this may have been alleviated if there were visuals with the e-arc. However, I also think that this particular documentary style does not work well for me. This is not to discourage other readers from this book though - I think it could be very interesting to those who love learning about women's history.

Maiden Voyages by Sian Evans is an account of the women aboard ocean liners at the turn of the twentieth century and beyond. Up until that point, women aboard ship were considered back luck by the all-male sailors. The ocean liners enjoyed a great deal of popularity and facilitated the crossing of the Atlantic with comfort and speed. The women sailed as tourists, employees of the cruise line and there were also women looking to better their lives on a new continent. They could be found on all three levels of the liners. There were women whose fame came from wealth, the theatre and such who enjoyed the comfort and luxury of ocean travel. There were also women who worked on board, some of them spending their entire working life on the seas: they were especially needed to look after the female passengers and their children. There were also women who travelled in steerage with their children, having scraped together all of their money to pay for passage in order to find a better life. Maiden Voyages is a fascinating look at an important part of maritime history. It’s evident that Sian Evans has thoroughly researched this subject. Highly recommended. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry but I oould not finish this book. Although I am a cruise aficionado, I lost interest quickly.

If you are interested in the working lives of women on early cruise ships , want to know how they got hired, why they got hired, what did they do for work exactly. How they were they paid, and so much more about those fantastic women on ships from the early 1900's...this is the book for you.
But, it is so much more too.
This book also shares the story of how cruise ships came into being. The role they played during and after the world wars, both 1 and 2.
And you will learn a great deal about the passengers on those ships. Famous people ( British royalty, Winston Churchill, Bob Hope, Albert Einstein to name just a few ). Some whom actually contributed greatly to our recent success in technology,
You will also learn how it came to pass that those ships became less and less with the advent of air travel ( although cruising now has become popular again, except Covid ).
It is a marvel of a book. I enjoyed every minute of it.

RATING: ⭐️ ⭐️ 🌟/5
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SYNOPSIS: Dives in 🚣‍♀️ to the voyages of the transatlantic and the women who were part of the cruise ships. Experience first hand accounts of both interior designers, top guns, and even Titanic survivors. Such a historical read full of empowerment.
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PROS: This was such a learning experience and historical read. I loved learning about the different women aboard the ships and their roles. Learning from first hand accounts kept me wanting more and living the history.
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CONS: At times, a little dry. I feel as though that’s pretty typical with historical reads from first accounts.

Maiden Voyages, by Sian Evans was an interesting nonfiction book. Full of information regarding early luxury boats with emphasis on the women who worked on them. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the copy for review. All opinions are my own.

This book was received as an ARC from St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have read many historical fiction novels in my career but none of them moved me like Maiden Voyages. Before reading the book I was familiar with many of the women who crossed the mid-Atlantic seas mostly with Marlene Dietrich. Reading this reminded me that no matter what life throws at you, there is always an option to live the life you were meant to live. The stories and struggles these women went through in their journey on the ship from each of the decks. The most powerful has to be The Unsinkable Stewardess and what she went through to survive the Titanic. This book should be on a reading list especially for history class when women's history month is celebrated. I know many of our library community will love this book and not want to stop talking about it.

We will consider adding this title to our Historical Fiction collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the opportunity to read this book.

Based on newspaper accounts and memoirs, this is the story of women who decided to go to sea at the dawn of women's liberation. Some went to sea out of financial desperation - to feed themselves and their families, while others went to sea to satisfy their wanderlust and thirst for adventure.

We also learn about the glamorous first class passengers such as Marlene Dietrich and Hedy Lamarr as well as learning about the trials and tribulations of the third class passengers and immigrants to the US, escaping sometimes desperate situations in their home countries.

Spanning the timeframe from the 1900's to 1970, this is an absorbing look at pioneering women at sea over the decades.

Overall, I found the book interesting but at times, it seemed that some of the book was a little repetitive. Granted, the info was presented in a slightly different fashion but I had the distinct feeling that I had read the same info earlier on.

I would recommend the book.

I really enjoyed this book. The different stories of the different women on the voyages were so interesting to read and I loved the fact that the stories were real life experiences,. Will definitely recommend to all my history buff friends.

I really enjoyed this book. The lives of the women who traveled and served on these luxury liners of the past are fascinating.

Maiden Voyages tell a history of women on ships. From the women who took them for a vacation to the women who worked them, this story gives the reader an insight into the history of these fascinating people. Don't worry about getting bogged down by too much information, the narrative storytelling of the different "characters" is engaging and fun.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC for my honest review*

This was such an interesting book about the history of the magnificent ocean liners and the woman who were on board, whether they be staff or guests. This book made me realize how much I would have disliked being on a ship for that long...some of the conditions were horrible to hear about.

You could tell there was a lot of research put in to this book and it was written well.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for the copy!

Entertaining Non-Fiction
Well Researched

Maiden Voyages is quite the read about the women explorers aboard the ocean liner that travelled between Europe and North America. I love cruising and have only done it once, but I am very interested in the topic - though many historical liners that I have read were fiction related murder mysteries, this was a truly fascinating read that opened my eyes to some of the extraordinary women aboard these ships.

I am quite interested in how class were divided from the rich and famous in the upper decks and the cramped conditions in the lower second or third class decks. Such an informative book that really taught me a lot about these women who journeyed transatlantic and the conditions each of the class experienced within the microcosm during that time.

I highly recommend this entertaining book!

Maiden Voyages is a non-fiction book about the lives of women on the high seas, mainly from 1850-1950.
While this book is very interesting, I feel like it's so repetitive and could have been organized better.
Instead of mentioning Violet Jessup or Edith Sowerbutts in every single chapter, it may have made more sense to have a separate chapter or two ALL about each woman. As interesting as this is, it feels like it's going over the same stuff multiple times. There is a ton of detail here, some of which is actually very interesting.

However, by the time I got to the end of the book, I was honestly getting annoyed with the repetition.
I do think this would be a great source/resource to write a historical novelization of one or two of the women, especially if the author could get an intersection point in their lives.

I really cannot recommend this book, except to those academically interested in the subject or those wanting to use it as a source.

I received a free e copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Maiden Voyages is a nonfiction read about women who worked on ocean liners in the early 20th century. Before air travel became the choice of most people, ship travel was the way to go. Movie stars, royalty and the rich traveled in luxury from one side of the ocean to another. This book follows stories of women who had a degree of independence mainly between the two World Wars working on ships as guides, stewardesses and later nurses as ships were used as hospitals during the war. A lot of very interesting information.

What an interesting view into the lives of many of the women who sailed on the Great Ships during the Golden Age of Cruising! I found their stories to be both fun and educational. I learned about the celebrities (including performers and royalty) as well as the hard-working ship's crew of the time. I

t was thoroughly enjoyable to read and I definitely recommend it to anyone interested in history! Solidly written!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I am an early reviewer for many books.

This book was gripping. I was sucked in and could not put it down! The concept was so unique, I loved this book.