64 pages • 2 hours read
Shana AbeThe Second Mrs. Astor: A Heartbreaking Historical Novel of the Titanic
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2021A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Further Reading & Resources
Further Reading: Literature
The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott (2012)
In this popular literary novel, the protagonist, a dressmaker named Tess, accompanies Lady Duff Gordon aboard the Titanic and escapes with her when the ships sinks. Once in New York, Tess and Lady Duff Gordon are embroiled in the hearings that follow the disaster. The novel captures the lives of the rich during this period and the obsession with the Titanic even at the time.
The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor (2012)
This dual-timeline historical novel follows the life of Maggie, who left her home and her sweetheart in Ireland to board the Titanic, only to become one of the few passengers in steerage to survive. In 1982, Maggie finally shares her story with her great-granddaughter, Grace, exploring the enduring impact the tragedy had on her life.
Further Reading: Beyond Literature (Nonfiction)
When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods and Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age by Justin Kaplan (2007)
Covering the last days of the Gilded Age in the 1890s through the Roaring 20s, Kaplan’s anecdotal biography covers the rivalry between William Waldorf and John Jacob Astor and how the hotels they built and made famous changed social life in New York, moving glittering events from private balls in high-class houses to the more public venue of the hotel.
Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage: The Titanic’s First Class Passengers and Their World by Hugh Brewster (2013)
Brewster reflects on the upper-class culture of the Edwardian era (as the first decade of the 20th century is referred to in England, after King Edward VII, who reigned during 1901-1910). The book provides biographical information and photographs of the more famous and wealthy passengers, including John Jacob Astor IV. Brewster captures the enduring fascination with the extravagant opulence of the Titanic’s design and the continued preoccupation with the famous and important people among the casualties.
Video Resources
“The Gilded Age" HBO TV series (2022)
Set in 1882, HBO’s series “The Gilded Age” portrays the opulent wealth and dramatic social changes taking place within the later decades of the 19th century in New York. The narrative follows a young woman named Marian who gets caught up in the stratified social world of the upper classes, those attempting to resist the economic changes powered by massive immigration and technological change. The show captures the power that the Mrs. Astor, Lina, had on deciding who was included in New York society. The HBO website includes links to the episodes along with a podcast and peeks behind the scenes.
Titanic by James Cameron (1997)
This 1997 feature film written, directed, and produced by James Cameron is one of the most popular films ever made, setting a box office record that wasn’t surpassed until a later Cameron release, Avatar, in 2010. Titanic features Kate Winslet in the role of Rose, a young American socialite, who falls for Jack, a third-class passenger played by Leonardo DiCaprio. John Jacob and a pregnant Madeleine Astor appear briefly in the film, but the main narrative of the movie is the love developing between Jack and Rose and their scramble to survive as the ship sinks. The film matched records for most Oscar nominations and most wins and garnered many other accolades. The film is one of those preserved by the National Film Registry for its cultural and historical significance, in part for Cameron’s research, which includes footage of the actual wreck, and the full-scale model built for the scenes of the ship sinking. The epilogue of The Second Mrs. Astor recalls the final scene of the movie, when Rose dreams she climbs the staircase of a restored Titanic, where Jack waits for her, smiling.
Other Relevant Media Resources
For those wanting a deep dive into everything associated with the Titanic, from her passengers to her blueprints, the online Encyclopedia Titanica provides articles, video, bibliographies, and photographs that bring the ship, and the tragedy of her story, to vivid life. A community forum allows the interested to share information and ask questions. There’s even an online store selling Titanic merchandise.
This exhibit by the Library of Congress collects pen-and-ink drawings by Gibson, the artist responsible for creating the “Gibson Girl,” a model of femininity that was popular from the 1890s until World War I. The Gibson girl was not only seen as a cool-headed, classy, intelligent, and possibly ambitious, but also possessed of glamour and poise. Madeleine imagines a Gibson girl as her model when she is trying to attract Jack early on in their courtship.
This traveling exhibition recreates the majesty and the tragedy of the Titanic in interactive form. In addition to artifacts recovered from the wreck and statements from survivors, exhibitions feature videos and displays of salvage efforts and, in some locations, a refrigerated display in the form of an ice chunk that lets visitors feel how cold the water would have been in the North Atlantic Ocean that night. Upon entry, visitors receive a boarding pass with the name of a passenger. A tribute wall at the conclusion of the exhibit lists the names of those aboard, dividing casualties and survivors, so the visitor can learn the fate of the person on their boarding pass. The creators of the exhibition, Imagine Exhibition, offer educational materials for classroom instruction on the ship and its sinking.
