A brilliant boy, the son of a leading suffragist, is rewarded for his erudition with a dream-trip to England. During his return he falls in love for the first time with an older woman and the grandeur of the Titanic. Meticulously researched, this riveting creation of the infamous ill-fated voyage trembles with angst, adventure, escape, and loss. Author readings.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
In the 84 years since it sank in the north Atlantic, the Titanic has become a powerful symbol of 19th-century hubris and a generator of multiple myths. Cynthia Bass adds to the store of legends with this engaging tale of a young passenger who, in surviving the disaster in which some 1,500 of his shipmates perished, discovers something steely and enduring in himself. Bass' latest book, with the excitement of a good thriller and the depth of fine history, should find a harbor with Titanic buffs and non-buffs alike.
From Publishers Weekly
We've crossed these waters so often, knowing the story so well-the separations of husband from wife, the third-class passengers doomed from the start-that it hardly seems possible to find a new spin on the tale of the Titanic. But Bass (Sherman's March) achieves a measure of success by tying the story of the sinking ship to the end of an era-dramatized by the suffragist movement. In April of 1912, Sumner Jordan, a privileged 12-year-old Bostonian, finds himself safely aboard the Titanic, finally ready to set sail. Sumner's boredom lifts aboard ship when he discovers the presence of 21-year-old feminist Ivy Earnshaw (on whom he develops a crush). Two thirds of the book pass before the berg is struck and the reader, completely caught up in the tale, remembers that this ship has to sink. But that's when things really start to crackle. Biology is destiny here, expressed in the chivalric maritime call for "women and children first," and Sumner picks a rather inopportune moment to contemplate whether or not it's time to become a man. The lifeboat scenes are top-notch, as is the depicted aftermath of survivors' guilt. Back home, anti-suffragists exploit the disaster to ask if women are willing to sacrifice chivalry for the vote. Bass expertly conveys the peculiarly self-conscious isolation of a child possessed of an adult intelligence; as Sumner grapples with issues of heroism and justice in the face of trauma, she gracefully blends the coming-of-age tale of one boy with that of an entire society.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Child or Man?,
By
This review is from: Maiden Voyage (Paperback)
This is the fictional story of Sumner Jordan, age 12, whom is returning from visiting his father in England on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Sumner is stuck between two worlds, childhood and adulthood and is having a hard time finding a place for himself in the world. When he is living with his mother, he feels as if he is still a child, needing to be mothered and coddled as he watches her endless fight for the right to vote for women. In the spring of 1912, he goes to visit his father in London where he is treated as an adult and begins to wonder about the adult things in life, mainly sex, after an eye opening evening at a party which his father hosts. Returning on Titanic, he is between both worlds, both literally and figuritively. He spends the beginning of his voyage alone and bored, wandering the ship and befriending many of the crew onboard the ship. Finally things turn as he spies his crush that he developed in England, Ivy, on board. The next two days are spent Ivy watching and fantasizing. Fast-forward to the Titanic colliding with the iceburg and all hell breaks loose and Sumner must make the final decision: is he a child or is he a man?
The novel is well written and it is from a unique viewpoint of a young man on the brink of adulthood but not quite there yet. However, I felt the story drug on a bit and there was only so much crushing that I could tolerate of Ivy. I suppose though, a teenage boy would enjoy this novel a lot more than I as he may be able to sympathize with Sumner a lot more than I. I think the portrayal of the Titanic and its sinking was accurate and I did like that it didn't end with the docking of the Carpathia in New York - it continued a bit into the aftermath which is rarely, if ever, done. I also have to say though that I think more description could have gone into this novel where the Titanic is concerned. Overall, it is a decent novel but not one I would rush out to get but definitely one to read for the average Titanic fan whom is wanting to read yet another fictorial retelling of the sinking of the Titanic.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Queen of all Titanic fiction, film or novel.,
By Kelsey May Dangelo (Vermont) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Maiden Voyage (Hardcover)
Artistically, the book is spun with beautiful, modernist, poetic prose. The characters are real and autonomous, complex and flawed. Somehow, unlike any film or other novel, this book turns the sinking of the Titanic into a very real event. It's not a lame excuse to retell the sinking, to catalogue all the set details and historical moments. It's as if the characters are really, really there and experiencing, commenting, feeling. The story concerns a young boy, Sumner (named after the near-martyred abolitionist), who's mother is a suffragette and feminist and whose father is trying to live the bohemian artist life. It's--of course--this young man's coming-of-age tail, perfectly matched with that of the Romantic, idealistic, heroically-idealizing Edwardian society coming of age with the modernism, naturalism, and realism of WWI. These conflicting themes are perfect for the event of the Titanic, where these heightened ideals of heroism had their last moments, for better or for worse. The novel brings this to a horrible human moral conflict as the passengers (most importantly, Sumner), are forced to chose between death and life, bravery and cowardice, heroism and survival. Instead of the usual class issue that usually placed upon the tragedy of the Titanic, this novel investigates feminine issues (appropriately for a ship always referred to as a "she" that sinks on her maiden voyage). Sumner, who falls in love for the first time, desires to be a grown up, but more importantly, a man. He wants to die heroically on the Titanic while saving the women. Meanwhile, Ivy--the object of his affection and attempted heroism--is a suffragette, wanting to be treated equally to a man, but also to (obviously) not die in the tragedy. The idea of "women and children first" is ironically (as are most things associated with the ship) amazingly heroic and gallant, and horrifyingly, insultingly sexist. The ignorant, enslaved women are saved by the men because they supposedly can't save themselves. Yet, Ivy is willing to let men die for her, but not vote for her. It's amazingly, beautifully, perfectly complex, and absolutely suited for the story of Titanic, who herself is a woman.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An A For Style,
By
This review is from: Maiden Voyage (Mass Market Paperback)
While it's true that this book had little to do with the sinking of the Titanic and the main character, Sumner Jordan, is far from a plausible twelve-year-old character, the style transcends all of that. Bass has a very eloquent way of writing and could set a good example for young and aspiring writers.If you want to check out the book because you are a Titanic buff, keep on searching, but if you are interested in a real writing talent, by all means, try it out.
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