MAIDEN VOYAGE

The tragic tale of the Titanic serves as backdrop for a series of smaller familial tragedies.

Three girls board the luxurious ship with no idea that their fates are soon to be irrevocably entwined. Lucy’s hope for this trip is for her parents to show affection for each other, though her father’s dark personality makes this unlikely. Abby, Lucy’s maid, hopes her secrets go undetected long enough for her to start a new life in America. And Isabella hopes to discover why her parents woke her in the night and made her board the Titanic—alone. An entertaining series of mishaps, misunderstandings, and revelations play out on various decks as the well-known climax approaches, this knowledge increasing the tension even further. In her debut novel, Jane liberally sprinkles historic references amid the action, including Marconi’s wireless and the women’s suffrage movement, to fold an authentic educational experience into the story. Jane shines at atmospheric descriptions of the opulence of the ship and the people themselves while also managing to bring her powers of keen observation to the third-class passengers, many of whom were immigrant families full of hope. The characters are white and of European background and straddle several economic classes.

A compelling novel that stands both on its own merit and as an addition to the wealth of Titanic literature.