The title and cover of this book hooked me even though I don't usually read nonfiction. It was an interesting read, although not exactly what I thought I thought it would be. The first few chapters focused on horrible tragedies, and I wasn't sure the book would deliver the feminist success stories I thought I would be getting. Eventually the book included more about the incredible and adventurous lives of these women.

Reading this non-fiction book focused on amazing females who braved the waters during The Great War and World War II was pretty fascinating. To hear the stories of struggle and luxury; war time uses of ships as well as delivering War brides and children to husbands and fathers was new information.
Some chapters feature vignettes of women who were the rise of the stewardess and other maritime employees. I enjoyed listening to their stories and learning some background on these amazing women.
Also included in this book are chapters of ship building, war time, and distinct socialites and royalty.
I really enjoyed this non-fiction book. The dedication and research it must have taken to write this book is impressive. At times, I felt overwhelmed by the amount of information being delivered and it was confusing to try and keep track of all the different players.
It was profound how much women’s lives had to be modified because of male inability to control themselves and take responsibility for their behavior and this book showed how even at sea, women always had to be proper and keep herself safe.
While I enjoyed the writing style, the book was quite repetitive in some instances. Examples of the repetitive narration include: women as stenographers and how that was their only job available for a while, how passengers wanted to sail British ships during prohibition so they could drink and how socialists preferred specific ships and cabins and others would scout out guest lists/passenger lists to see who was sailing on what ships.
Overall I would give this a 3.75/5 stars. I enjoyed this book and would recommend to anyone who wants to read a women’s non-fiction and/or maritime books focusing on women roles during wartime.

A beautiful non fiction account of the women who traveled on the first ocean liners as well as the boats themselves. I loved the narration and storyline started with the building of these incredible ships. I highly recommend this to anyone that loves historical reads. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

"They had a sense of their own agency, and had proved to themselves that they could earn an independent living...that they could be citizens of the world...And in order to do that, they had to go to sea."

The time from WWI and WWII proved to be transformative for women in the work force and Maiden Voyages by Sian Evans takes us through the surprising changes that had world wide and royal ramifications.

This extremely well researched history book not only details how women became necessary on ocean liners whether as maids, companions for unaccompanied women and children and eventually some radio operators but how those traveling from Europe to America and America to Europe changed our current world.

I also listened to the audiobook narrated by Jilly Bond who with her British accent lends substance to some great gossip about famous travellers like Hedy Lamar and Josephine Baker.

My favorite story was about how Gloria Vanderbilt's twin sister was the mistress of King Edward but had a shipboard romance that ended their affair and led to him falling for Wallis Simpson and abdicating the English throne. There are also fascinating stories about the Titanic, Lusitania and Queen Mary.

Women fought for these jobs often told no because the ship builders would not make a women's bathroom. They had to take tests twice as hard as the men to show there was no favoritism and then they were told no because it was thought they "might go to pieces in a crisis."

Though the parts on the building of the ships went over my head I will remember the sacrifice and bravery this author highlights of these revolutionary women.

I received a free copy of this book and audiobook from the publishers via #Netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them by Sian Evans is a non-fiction history book that I found fascinating! I listened to about half of it and read the other half. I've been intrigued by maritime history since I briefly worked at Mystic Seaport in their education department and liked reading about the women who worked on the ocean liners in the twentieth century.

As far as history books go I thought this was extremely well written and liked the storytelling aspect and how she focused on a few different women and their experiences to give insight into that time period. I also thought the narrator for what I listened to was great I do like to listen to non-fiction history, especially when driving!

If you're into history and want to read about some fascinating women - I totally recommend Maiden Voyages.

If you love to learn about individual woman who worked or traveled in the early days of the transatlantic ocean liners this book will be a good read for you.
Besides some of the history of the ships you learn why these women decided to leave their families for lengthy times to serve in various positions on these transatlantic ocean liners. Not only did they have a love for the sea but in a lot of cases it enabled them to support their families.
You get to know about how the wealthy traveled and the poorer emigrants.
We learned about the sinking of some ships and how some women survived more than one shipwreck. These women had lot of courage to continue on.
The stories are a fascinating read that you will have a hard time putting down.
On the audio book Jilly Bond did an excellent job as narrator and brings the story to life.

I was granted an audiobook from NetGalley for this book. This narrator was excellent for the most part [she should try and NOT do voices, especially male ones as those didn't quite meet the mark]. For the most part, the narration was very good, very crisp and easy to understand, and the narrator being British really added to the book as a whole, and I was glad to have the audiobook version as well. [See book review below]

Thank you to NetGalley, Jilly Bond - Narrator, and Macmillian Audio for providing the Audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*BOOK REVIEW*
This is a very good book, though there is not a lot about the women that sailed and a LOT about the ships, the trips themselves, and the wars the ships and travelers were in. The parts that WERE about women and how they worked and sailed on these ships was both interesting and captivating [I found myself wanting to go sailing myself, and then reminded myself that I don't LIKE sailing. LOL] and really makes you admire the women that did the work that they did, from stewardesses, guides, and then in the war, nurses, matrons, WRENS, and the like. They worked just as hard [if not harder in some instances] as the men and are quite often overlooked, which is close to criminal to me. They deserved [and continue to deserve] so much more. The parts about the war will break your heart and if you don't tear up and feel the feels when they are talking about the bombing of passenger ships that carried children to Canada, then you need to check yourself. It was all I could do to finish that part of the book.

Very well done.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sian Evans, and St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Maiden Voyages
Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled
and Worked Aboard Them
author: Siân Evans
narrator: Jilly Bond
Macmillan Audio from St. Martin's Press

In Maiden Voyages, readers will be transported to the Golden Age, between the two world wars, of work and travel for women aboard ocean liners. Evans' historical non-fiction book exquisitely details the journeys of women through telling of their individual maritime lives in narrative form. The women are as diverse as their stories, with a wide range of social class, heritage, jobs, and purposes of their travels during post war migration between Europe and North America.
Lovers of history and those who like stories about women's heritage throughout time will find this book intensely intriguing and educational, as well as entertaining. I loved reading about the jobs women had such seamstress, sailmaker, cook, stewardess, nurse, chaperone, and so much more. To add even more enjoyment, Jilly Bond's narration was perfection as she told the tales of these fascinating women and their transatlantic adventures. Her voice is perfection. This book presents pieces of history that readers may be familiar with, but Evans adds the polish with the stories of the Maiden Voyages.
Thank you to Net Galley and Macmillan Audio with St. Martin's Press for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#NetGalley #MaidenVoyages

Interesting details and nicely narrated. Sian Evans clearly did her research. The result is a nicely meandering narrative of a surprising pivot point for women who wanted to break out of traditional roles in the days before that was much done.

I love women’s history and will grab any book/audiobook on this subject any chance I can get! I love to learn new things!!

The Maiden Voyage tells the story of the women who worked on luxurious ocean liners like the Titanic and Lusitania during the golden age and also, about those that traveled via these ships. We read/hear the untold stories of celebrities, migrants, millionaires, refugees, aristocrats and crew members.

Evans shares with us information from individual accounts and diaries along with, what must have been, an enormous amount of research to deliver such a detailed account of history.

I’ve always been fascinated with the behind the scenes of transatlantic travel during the 20th centruy and this book/audiobook was a great history lesson for me! Some non-fiction historical stories can be dry at times, but I felt Jilly Bond did a fantastic job of narrating this book and bringing the stories to life.

I’d recommend this to any of my history-loving friends who love to read about women pioneers.

Ever hear of Victoria Drummond, the woman who single handedly used her sailing skills to prevent German bombing of her British troop ship? Did you know there was a huge market for women travelling as stewards across the Atlantic? The new book Maiden Voyages looks at the stories of these women, and the history of women at sea. While we’ve read time and time again about the influences of men on sea travel, we don’t always get to hear about the women who helped establish ship travel, which later turned into the cruise ship industry. With fascinating stories about individual ships and the women who sailed in them, the book itself is already a must read. The audiobook narrated by Jilly Bond makes it even more delightful.   It was wonderful to hear the stories of women watching out for young immigrants, protecting them from possible traffickers and guiding their charges safely to port. Stories of bravery in war time abound in this book, and it gave me a new look at many women I'd never heard of, but who should be greatly celebrated. 

As someone who grew up around The Queen Mary and has loved time out on the water, Maiden Voyages is a superb read or listen.  Maiden Voyages is available now from Macmillan.

“For the first time women had been actively recruited and welcomed into offices and banks, factories and canteens. They had been employed alongside men, in clerking and administrative positions. Their abilities and skills had been required and valued, because they were filling vacancies left by men called up for the forces. As a result, many young women had developed a new sense of independence and self confidence. They had a sense of their own agency, and had proved to themselves that they could earn an independent living. The most outgoing and enterprising were realising that they could be citizens of the world, especially if they were prepared to travel. And in order to do that, they had to go to sea.”

Yessssss ladies. YES. 🙌🏻 Maiden Voyages was a fabulous and very informative look into the beginnings of the ocean liner era and how women found themselves both thrust into, and then subsequently enjoying, the freedom and independence that a career could provide. What an awesome and engrossing look into how women adapt and excel in the face of change! It was fantastic to see how the male dominated shipping industry had to alter and change with the introduction of more and more female passengers during the World Wars, and thus the need for a female crew.

This nonfiction book gripped me from the very first page with its tales of the sinking of the Titanic and the Lusitania. It’s a story we all know, but somehow continue to be fascinated by. The audio version was amazing! The way the narrator did the accents for all of the different European nations touched upon in this story was superb. Fun fact-Titanic was the first, and only, movie I ever saw more than once in a theater!

If you enjoy nonfiction, history, cruises or just a story of some bad ass women paving the way for how we live now, read this book! Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

#maidenvoyages is the second non-fiction book about trailblazing women in the travel industry I’ve read this year.

Much like Come Fly the World, which is about the first stewardesses in the travel industry, this story looks at the stewardess on ocean liners.

The ladies who worked Ocean Liners like the Titanic faced unbelievable challenges. I was in awe as I listened to this story of ships being sunk by icebergs and wartime submarines.

The stories of unruly passengers, hurricanes, and the sacrifices of leaving their families to help others were unbelievable. I was so engrossed that I kept forgetting the book was non-fiction.

If you love women’s history, the history of travel, or stories about the titanic, this is the book for you!

This was not exactly the audiobook that I expected when I requested it but I found it interesting, intriguing and full of history. The narrator really sold the book and she sounded exactly like what someone would think the voice of a book about the transatlantic ships and voyages would sound like.
The women of history that the book talks about are truly fascinating and they range from the stories of the women who did what they had to do survive on the sea and the women who were powerful enough in their own way to do what they wanted to do.
One thing that really surprised me about the book was just how far away this era feels compared to present day, but just how much the events discussed in the book impacted the world in some very big ways. There are a few names that are discussed in the book that really surprised me.
It is definitely a longer audiobook at just over 10 hours, but it is an excellent 10 hours spent.

Alright Sian Evans, I'll give you 4 out of 5 birds for Maiden Voyages. The title alone sucked me in. I love reading history of women that is often not talked about. I was given this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I thought the stories of these pioneer women were very detailed and I learned quite a few new things. I did find the start to be a little slow and that some of the stories did too much background. I've always been fascinated with the Titanic and was eager to learn more about some of the women on the ship. It was insane to hear those stores. I'd recommend this book to my history and women loving friends, a great non-fiction book to be published soon!

My full review of Sian Evan's book MAIDEN VOYAGES will be published in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Courtesy of Netflix, I had the great pleasure to listen to the audiobook as well as read the ebook. Jilly Bond is a fantastic narrator for this book, bringing the text alive. Her voice and style are a perfect fit.

Maiden Voyages; Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them by Siân Evans is a truly fascinating read/listen that I highly recommend to anyone wanting to learn about women's history! I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of this book. It was a wonderful combination of history and narrative keeping me both entertained and engaged.

Spanning from the late 19th century through post WWII, Maiden Voyages is a non fiction on the women who both worked & traveled the seas with all of its dangers, adventures and everything in between.

I had the chance to listen to this on audiobook and wow is it chock full is great information. You can tell the amount of research and time that went into this book was tremendous. I really liked how the author weaved a couple of the women into a big portion of the book which really showcased how some really did make their work on the seas a lifelong career or their primary mode of transportation to cross the Atlantic. My favorite parts were on the immigrants coming from various nations in Europe as this hit home for me. My own great grandparents were among those people and it was a great reminder in the leap of faith they made.

However, maybe because I listened to this one, I felt some of the parts of the book dragged on for me. The parts on the workers & immigrants more than the wealthy travelers of the time were of more interest. Because all three types of women were in this book and it bounced between them quite a bit it, I felt at times that the book lacked some focus.

Overall, I would recommend to the Women's History crowd and those interested in maritime history.

This was super-fun -- a very interesting slice of history.


Review copy provided by publisher.

(I do short reviews.)

Maiden Voyages by Siân Evans
Narrated by: Jilly Bond
Publication Date: August 10, 2021
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Description from NetGalley…
“During the early twentieth century, transatlantic travel was the province of the great ocean liners. It was an extraordinary undertaking made by many women, whose lives were changed forever by their journeys between the Old World and the New. Some traveled for leisure, some for work; others to reinvent themselves or find new opportunities. They were celebrities, migrants and millionaires, refugees, aristocrats and crew members whose stories have mostly remained untold—until now.”
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Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress for the ALC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts…
Curious. This was a historical non-fiction about ocean liners. Curiously, ocean liners were the only form of transportation to and from Europe and North America in the early 20th century and even until after WWII. Even though commercial airlines started during this stretch of time, it was too expensive for a lot of travelers. Major ocean liners were constantly trying to best each other’s speed and the luxuries they offered on board. In luxurious ocean liners you need staff. This book was about the women on staff. I liked how the book had a lot of details about a few women whose careers were made on these ocean liners, including a couple of women who served as engineers. Unheard of during that time. It was also a book about societal and class divisions. I enjoyed the stories of celebrities who travelled on these ocean liners such as Marlene Dietrich, Jimmy Stewart and Bing Crosby. Know that this is a history book that got dry at times and sounded like an essay at the conclusion. If you’re a history buff, you might enjoy this book. Overall, it was a good, informative audiobook.