Book Description:
Based on the remarkable true story of the Carpathia--the only ship and her legendary captain who answered the distress call of the sinking Titanic.
Just after midnight on April 15, 1912, the passenger steamship Carpathia receives a distress signal from the largest passenger liner ever built, RMS Titanic, which is on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York.
Captain Arthur Rostron is awakened to an enormous maritime emergency with little information to guide his actions in answering the call for help. Is the dire threat to the unsinkable Titanic accurate? His ship is more than four hours away; will Carpathia hold together if pushed to never-before-tested speeds? What if his ship also strikes an iceberg? How many of Titanic's 2,200 passengers will the Carpathia be able to accommodate? And with the freezing temperatures, will there be any survivors by the time the Carpathia arrives?
Kate Connolly is excited to join her sister in America and proud to be traveling on the grand Titanic, which was built in her Irish homeland. As a passenger in third-class accommodations, she is among the last to receive instruction and help after Titanic hits an iceberg. Among the chaos of abandoning ship, the chances of her securing a spot in a lifeboat appear grim. With the help of several men, also from Ireland, Kate finally reaches the upper decks and feels lucky to board Lifeboat 13, although no one knows if or when a rescue ship will come. She fears the icy water and wonders if they'll all freeze to death. After seeing their magnificent ship submerge into the abyss, and hearing the cries of hundreds of fellow passengers drowning, it is almost too much to bear and Kate fleetingly thinks succumbing to her ordeal is the easiest escape.
Told in alternating chapters from the perspective of Captain Rostron on the Carpathia and Kate Connolly on the Titanic, this historical novel is a compelling, heart-pounding account of two eyewitnesses to an epic disaster. Rostron's heroic and compassionate leadership, his methodical preparations for rescue, and his grit and determination to act honorably and selflessly to save lives and care for the survivors, sets the course for this awe-inspiring story.
Review:
I'll be honest, most of what I know about the Titanic sinking came from the Titanic movie from several years ago. Which is probably not all that historically accurate, but there you go. I had heard of the Carpathia before, but didn't know much about it's significance, other than it had something to do with the Titanic. Since I've become much more of a history buff than I ever used to be, I was excited to read this book and find out more about the only ship that came to the rescue. (Something that still completely boggles my mind, and I really want to learn more about why that happened.)
The author does an amazing job at putting the reader right there in all the action. The chapters go back and forth from Rostron, the captain of the Carpathia, and Kate Connolly, one of the survivors of the Titanic. Both points of view are very well written, and I could feel the anxiety, the heartache, the fear, all of it, while I was reading.
If you are interested in history, or even just looking for a good story to read, this is one that I highly recommend.
Title: A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice
Author: Rebecca Connolly
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Published: April 2024
ISBN: 1639932488
Source: I received a review copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.
Purchase: Amazon Deseret Book
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