Customer Reviews

Titanic Survivor

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Violet Jessop went to sea as a stewardess on an ocean liner in 1908. She continued as a stewardess through the glory days when a transatlantic ship crossing was as much a society event as a mode of transportation. She retired at age 63 in 1950, long after traveling by ship had ceased to be chic. During her career Violet Jessop lived through three ocean disasters:

1. the September 1911 collision of HMS Hawke with Olympic,

2. the sinking of Titanic in 1912, and

3. the sinking of the hospital ship Britannic during World War I.

But the reader who picks up this book expecting a gripping first-person account of the sinking of Titanic will be disappointed. Jessop treats that experience in a mere two or three pages. She dismisses the sinking of Britannic in a couple of pages and doesn't even mention the collision between Hawke and Olympic.

From our current historical perspective, it's easy to judge that the most important event in Violet Jessop's life was her presence on board Titanic. But for Violet the best part of her life was her early childhood, before her father's death, in South America. Her book tells in lovingly remembered detail of her days on the Pampas before her father's illness and early death sent the family back to England and into financial need. Violet went into service on a ship not because of the glamour of the work, but because it was a job that required little education.

Violet, who lived from 1887 to 1971, completed this manuscript in 1934, probably for some contest that she apparently did not win. Her nieces discovered the manuscript after her death and submitted it to Sheridan House for publication in 1996.

This woman who is the subject of this book should not be judged for when and where she happened to be in history, but the kind of life she led.

I know that many people will buy this book for the fact alone that Miss Jessop survived the Titanic sinking. That episode, however, represents only a tiny fraction of the entire tapestry of her life, and it is that "saga", recounted here with invaluable editing and background information, that is truly riveting.

Prior to reading this book, I was familiar with Miss Jessop's White Star collision and sinking experiences onboard the Olympic, Titanic, and Britannic, but had NO idea of the rest of her work, background or personality.

What a life! And when you finish reading this, you will be hoping that there are more memoirs hidden somewhere! I did a marathon read of this book, not being able to stop until I finished.

This book is truly a winner! I am so thankful that it has been published.

I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting. Violet Jessop survived near fatal illnesses in childhood, the loss of her father in adolecence (which meant that her mother had to work on the ships to provide a scanty income and leaving Violet as the "mother" to her siblings), and two shipwrecks. Mr. Maxtone-Graham wisely let Miss Jessop tell her story in her own words. I could almost hear the lilt in her voice.

Unfortunately, Miss Jessop wrote little of the details of her shipboard duties, of her passengers, or of the Titanic and Brittanic sinkings. What she did write is priceless and naturally she would not want to dwell on painful memories of her passengers and shipmates cries for help; but I wish she had wrote more than she did. What was her daily routine? Did she clean the toilets as well as make the beds? Did the stewards have a duty room where they gathered for orders or to polish brass and shine shoes while waiting for the passengers bells? Did she act as lady's maid and if the passengers had their own servants, how did they split the work? What were her duties as a VAD nurse? What differences did she find between Olympic/Titanic as luxury liners and their sister Brittanic as a hospital ship? What was Mary Pickford like as a passenger (her photo is in the book)? What made up her uniform's 12 parts? How did she inform her family of her survival? Did she have to stay with the other crew awaiting the American Senate inquiry? If so, how did they live? Mr. Maxtone-Graham could have interviewed other steward(esse)s and people who knew Miss Jessop to write more background details that would've fleshed out her narrative. Miss Jessop was very discreet about the identities of people on paper; but she might've been more candid when describing them to her friends and family. This is a good book to read once and donate to the public library, since it is a record of a woman's work in the Edwardian era and one person's recollection of the Titanic disaster and so would be useful for study. But if you want to drench yourself in Titanic lore, the book's not for you.

What is truly remarkable about Violet Jessop's memoirs is not simply the fact that this simple and ordinary woman survived not just the sinking of the Titanic but also that of the Britannic; what truly sets her account apart from all others is the eloquent and yet utterly straightforward manner in which she describes the events. One has the sense that those she served upon those and many other ships would have been completely devastated by the events. Yet Violet herself considers them merely two of many mishaps she she encountered in her long life at sea. Violet had a rare gift for storytelling that transports the reader back in time to the glory days of the great oceanliners. Certainly there are times at which one wishes she had delved further into some of her tales, offering up greater detail or lengthier explanation, but in the end those that come to truly appreciate this book will realize that the very brevity of her accounts of the Titanic and Britannic tragedies only adds to the charm of the matter-of-fact storytelling that marked the long and meaningful life of one truly extraordinary woman.

I enjoy reading about the lives of everyday people who lived at least 100 years ago, and this was fantastic. Surviving the Titanic was just a small footnote in a full life. Her observations of people's behavior reminded me that the more things change, the more they stay the same, and her courage in facing life was inspirational. I very highly recommend this book!

I thought that Violet Jessop did a wonderful job of telling her tale. The woman not only survived one but three sea disastors and lived to tell. I will admit I only bought the book because of the simple fact that she shared my last name and the realization that I resemble her in looks. I read the book and through Violet I learned about my family history. I was able to find some old relatives and learn more about my family name. Although my great great great aunt has passed through her book I was able to see what a great women she was.I hope that other Titanic lovers or even book lovers will read this book and see what a truly amazing women she was. It owuld be worth eery one's time to read this book. You can see into another time and place and you can see it through an amazing woman's eyes.

When I heard about this book, I absolutely had to read it! Violet is so heroic, I would have loved to know her and now I almost feel as if I do. I was immersed in this book and all the coincidences in her life and journeys. The commentary by John Maxtone-Graham was at times helpful but also annoying. He questions her authority about a few incidences. It's her memory, I think he should respect her word. It was a great read, I liked it very much.

How I would have loved to have met Violet Jessop. Her book is frustratingly short and I have so many questions that I would love to ask her about her years at sea. She attaches very little importance to her experiences during the sinkings of the Titanic and Brittanic, and doesn't even mention the Olympic collision of 1911 - her story is the day-to-day drudgery of dealing with entitlement queens and first-class divas on the luxury liners of the early part of the last century. Her descriptions of of her clients and her fellow seamen are by turns hilarious and sad. Her work sounds like something that I wouldn't want to do for a million dollars a year. But she did it well and, for a person who was not expected to live much past her seventh birthday, she had an amazing, interesting and LONG life. A book not to be missed; I only wish there were more of it.

I beg to differ with those who were disappointed that this book did not focus on the Titanic. It was a good read for me, I am interested in Titanic and her sisters but this woman's life did not begin and end with Titanic, the book is titled Titanic Survivor and says these are her memoirs, it did not say that the book was about her Titanic experience alone. My memoirs would not be about one event in my life and neither were hers. I liked reading about the fussy passengers and about her romance with Ned, the book was an eye-opener on how things were to work on an ocean liner back then. I LIKED the book!

This well-written memoir provides insight into many aspects of background for the Titanic and Brittanic disasters, including morals, outlooks and attitudes common on shipboard at the time. Violet Jessup provides several new and very interesting details about both shipwrecks. This book should be part of every collection of Titanic materials.