I found some of this book about women in the Golden Age of Atlantic Cruising to be very interesting. The first hand accounts of women who left their homes and took to the sea to either support their families or to find adventure were compelling and eye-opening about careers I had never thought about or knew existed. The women who were cast aside once war started was unsurprising but interesting how they coped until they were once again able to "take to the sea".

Unfortunately, it felt a little like the author ran out of first hand stories so she resorted to name dropping. We were told several times that ocean travel was the only way to get from Europe to the Americas so she just talked about famous people who went from one continent to the other without any real stories about the trip.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I absolutely loved this glimpse into how transatlantic travel impacted the lives of working women.

This is a fascinating study of the opportunities women found as workers on ocean liners from the late 19th century all the way through the 1950s. The author painstakingly researched the personal sacrifices these women made to better the lives of their families in an era that did not provide ordinary women many chances to travel outside of their own communities.

This book examines the challenges these women faced as they faced both gender and class barriers. It delves deep into how wealth defined a woman's experience aboard ocean liners, and how despite the boundaries that separated them, all women were defined and constrained by the same limits to obtaining social equality.

This book is an extraordinary social commentary because it demonstrates how the unique social dynamics that happened on these ocean liners were a reflection of the broader changes shaping society as a whole.

Highly recommended if you read an enjoyed any of the following books, or if you are fascinated by early women's and labor rights movements history:
The Doctors Blackwell, No Man's Land, Out to Woek and Not June Cleaver.

Maiden Voyages, by Sian Evans, is the story of women who were early travelers and workers on the ocean liners of the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th. Evans masterfully includes individual stories of the immigrants, the wealthy, and the workers and weaves in the social history of the era. Some stories were mesmerizing while others were interesting but failed to captivate me. Nonetheless, the author is to be commended for tackling an aspect of history that has rarely, if ever been addressed. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

This is a fascinating nonfiction about ocean liners and the women who worked on them and traveled on them. It is a piece of history that I had never given much thought to before, and I am so glad to have read this book. One of the things that stood out to me the most was the resiliency of these women (especially Violet Jessop.) I am truly in awe of all they did and the roles they served. This nonfiction read more like a memoir to me and was easy to follow. My only struggle was that the chapters are lengthy, which made it harder for me to find good stopping points when I needed to put it down. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

DNF @ 17%

As someone who doesn’t normally read a lot of non-fiction, I’m learning that I’m VERY particular to the type of NF I read and how it is formatted - there’s absolutely nothing wrong with this book, but aside from the fact that I received it as a review copy, I’m not finding a lot of reasons to keep reading. (And at my current pace, it’s going to take me 4 more hours to read it - and that just seems like too much investment for something that’s not, for lack of a better term, “sparking joy.”)

From what I’ve read thus far, it seems well researched - one thing I have enjoyed is the inclusion of snippets from memoirs, newspapers, and telegrams - but it’s just not working for me. If you enjoy non-fiction and have an interest in the early days of trans-Atlantic travel, I would definitely give this one a try!

Maiden Voyages: Women and the Golden Age of Transatlantic Travel by Siân Evans was fully entertaining and full of history. This is not the typical type of book I read, but I thought it would be fun and different for a change. I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about these elegant ocean liners that traversed the Atlantic and the women that worked on them during these voyages. The stories are fascinating and show the grit of these women, some even survived more than one sinking of their ship.

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Maiden Voyages recounts the events from the Great War until the early 1950's of women seafarers. The reasons they travel by sea are as unique as the women themselves. Some worked as a stewardess, others as nurses on ships bearing servicemen from war. Many took jobs on the ships to escape grinding poverty. Each brave and intrepid woman has a story to tell. This book tells their takes of daring, of compassionate service, of loss and love, of celebrities and royalty. Interesting and comprehensive accounts of women at sea. Highly enjoyable historical accounts.

Maiden Voyages was a super easy nonfiction book to read. Topics seem to bleed into each other and loop back, making the entire book simple to get through. It is great to see how these ocean liners not only granted women freedom in terms of accessibility to travel but also in terms of employment.

This book caught my attention because of the history of women in ocean travel during a time when most women were relegated to the home. The author did tremendous research, and the only true way to convey the odds these women were up against, the personal strength and free spirit required to do what they chose to do, is to go into great detail. At first, I was tempted to blur through some paragraphs, but I made myself slow down and appreciate the facts.
From maids who took care of the passengers to famous actresses, political figures, and millionaires, the effect that ocean liner travel had on their lives was indisputable. Hedy Lamarr, for instance: she had an amazing career and interesting life, but I chuckled as I read her planning how to make the most of her time on the ship with a captive audience. Her plan worked, and she is a familiar name today because of this one small brilliant scheme.
There are numerous tidbits of facts about the travelers, the workers, the people in the background that made ocean liner travel such a colorful and illustrious way of life. I would have loved to enter these stories, sail along, enjoy the food, music, laughter, and entertainment. There were tragedies, and Ms. Evans doesn’t shy away from the facts and bottom line of these tragic episodes of history. There are people in her book that survived numerous sinkings, (nicknamed the well-deserved moniker “Unsinkable '') and there are people whose life was tragically cut short. Ms. Evans goes into detail about the mode of travel for each level of passenger, from the rich in their extravagant stateroom down to the poorest, and I mean literally down in the hull of the ship for a nauseating, unsanitary, and horribly dangerous, but inexpensive way to cross the ocean.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but at times found it a bit sluggish. The author is obviously a very intelligent person and wishes to convey the facts in their entirety when there were times I wanted to get on to the next chapter.
Sincere thanks to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date was August 10, 2021.

When I saw this ARC available from St. Martin's I had to have a copy. Maritime history, woman's history and the world of ocean travel - this was a great read that held my interest on so many levels.
From the upper class to the immigrants in steerage, every page takes the reader through the world of an ocean liner. The women were celebrities traveling for the fun of it, they were traveling to escape poverty in Europe and there were the women who worked as crew.
There is a lot of shipping history to set the stage, all of which I found fascinating. When the women's stories were told I realized that this was a part of women's history that had really never occurred to me. I'm so glad that Sian Evans gave them voice.
My thanks to the publisher St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

With the title of Maiden Voyages I was expecting more about women and their voyages. Instead it was more of a history of ships, their magnificence, the passengers and the women who worked aboard. In some cases a passenger might have taken one voyage, emigrating to America, and then something significant happened here. I don't think the ship should take credit for her fate/destiny, it was just a mode of travel. I wished there was more about Violet Jessop who survived the Titanic or Edith Sowerbutts, both women who were stewardesses on various ocean liners for years. With all that being said I did find the history interesting and would recommend it to anyone interested in non-fiction of this type.

I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with a copy of this book.

A comprehensive history of women on the seas focusing mainly on the years between the two world wars. This is a very detailed accounting with many interesting historical personages mentioned. Definitely a niche book, though.

Sian Evans explores not only a specific time in history, but also explores the way women used transatlantic travel. Evans tells us the stories from passengers to stewardesses through diaries, letters, and published accounts. She begins in the early twentieth century and goes through to the end of WWII, as we see how these women's lives are changed as they travel from the Old World to the New. </p>

Maiden Voyages is a wonderful exploration into the lives of these women as they crossed the Atlantic. From the luxury of the upper deck to the cramped conditions of steerage of third class travel, readers are given a first-hand account of how women lived, worked, and socialized on these luxury liners. In first class we meet A-listers like Marlene Dietrich, Wallis Simpson, and Josephine Baker, while second class housed a new generation of professional and independent women, like interior designer Sibyl Colefax. Down in third class, we follow the journey of émigré Maria Riffelmacher as she escapes poverty in Europe. Of course, we cannot forget the women hustling between decks, including Violet "The Unsinkable Stewardess" Jessop, who survived the Titanic disaster.

A wonderful and engaging look into a specific time period where women weren't bound to just the Old World for a life, nor were they bound to the land alone.

I found this book absolutely lovely. I knew about some of these people, Wallis Simpson, Josephine Baker, and Mary Anne MacLeod (Donald Trump's mom), but only from how and why they are famous not their personal transatlantic journeys. This made it interesting and eye-opening to see how these women's lives were affected because of traveling across the Atlantic.

For Mary MacLeod's case, she was escaping abject poverty in Ireland and a ship across to the New World was a way out. Then, unfortunately, we had to deal with her son many, many years later. Who knows what would've happened if Wallis decided to stay in America instead of going abroad? Or if her friend had never introduced Wallis to Edward? The even more fascinating aspect of transatlantic travel was how many doors opened for women in terms of work on ships. It's definitely a book for someone who is interested in social history or women's history.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. Review is based on finished copy acquired via the library, due to ARC copy formatting.
I knew a bit about some of the famous cruise ships in the early to mid-20th century, but I didn’t know a lot of the details, especially as pertained to women’s roles as passengers and workers. One I did know about was Violet Jessop, famous survivor of three maritime disasters, including the Titanic sinking, and I loved getting more insight about her. I also loved getting to know more about the other famous women whose lives were opened up due to these cruise ships, like Martha Gellhorn, who was briefly married to Ernest Hemingway; Thelma Furness, Edward VIII’s mistress before Wallis, and more. I also loved learning more about the inner workings of the ships, and what women could do aboard them. This is an informative, well-researched read that is perfect for anyone who loves history.

Gratitude to #NetGalley for the ARC the E-book in exchange an honest review.

It is clear from the start that there was extensive research conducted to produce this well written social history of women during the golden age of ocean liners. This unique social history focuses on women workers and passengers who embarked on journeys across the world. To be honest this was a wonderful learning experience for me as I dove into the pages and experiences of these individuals. A few sections became conversations at the dinner table. I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I highly recommend this book to those that love history, sea, or boats it was a great read.

This non-fiction book details the era of transatlantic cruise ships during the first half of the 1900s. The focus is on the women who were employed on the ships and the celebrities that sailed. Of course there is much about the Titanic and Lusitania sinking. Quite interesting and much I did not know.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

Maiden Voyages is a look at how the cruise industry was impacted by women from the early twentieth century to the late twentieth century. It is a history lesson on how women helped to change/shape our travel industry, entertainment industry, and even become scientists!

I found this book completely engaging learning more about how women have helped shaped our lives. How these "rule benders' help make the choices women have today the norm and not unusual.

This book starts out with Violet Jessop who is a stewardess voyaging to and from the West Indies. She worked on the Titanic and was rescued via a lifeboat.

World War I cut down on some traffic after the Lusitania was sunk by the Germans. During the war, traveling on water for pleasure was reduced. Thus, women who had worked on the great ships began working in shipbuilding and weapon production. More than 9 million people were killed in World War I. Let that number sink in. After the war and soldiers returned home, the women were thanked for the jobs they had done but asked to leave as the jobs were needed for men. So, many women went back to work on passenger ships.

The book covers immigration and the immense number of people who wanted to come and live in the U.S. and Canada. The stewardesses worked on the ships bringing those people to their destinations. Their jobs encompassed many responsibilities with these immigrants.

When Prohibition in the U.S. hit, lots of people wanted to sail aboard passenger ships so they could drink all the alcohol they wanted. Foreign ships could not come very close to the U.S. coast unless they dumped their alcohol.

The book further discusses many movie stars, politicians and Olympic participants who sailed on these ships.

This is a book that shows how women have contributed to the ship/sailing industry. It is a good resource for someone interested in that subject.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved this book.

Maiden Voyages is a well researched and interesting social history accounts of ocean liner travel during its golden age told through the e.yes of women from different backgrounds and occupations .

Very entertaining.

I just reviewed Maiden Voyages by Siân Evans. #MaidenVoyages #NetGalley

This is almost a book documentary or a history book on female industry afloat - not only do we learn about the individual women and their specific stories, the author also gives historical context, bringing the past to life. The book illustrates what life was like, and it is a book that emphasizes the pioneering women who were instrumental in achieving equality in the sailing and ocean liner industry. I enjoyed reading this book - it might seem a little dry, but if you enjoy reading non-fiction histories and learning more about women’s accomplishments and breaking through barriers, you will enjoy this book.