I was invited by the publisher to read and review this book. I am interested in history and am a seasoned cruiser. The history of travel on ocean liners is particularly interesting to me. This work of nonfiction focused on the women who worked and traveled on ocean-going vessels from the early 20th century until the middle of the 20th century, when air travel largely replaced transatlantic shipboard travel.
This book is well-researched and thoroughly covers the topic. The author included numerous women who worked on ocean liners in various capacities including Violet Jessop, who famously survived the sinking of the Titanic. I read "Titanic Survivor: The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop Who Survived Both the Titanic and Britannic Disasters". I found the discussion of Jessop's experiences to be well summarized in "Maiden Voyages". The author also included women who traveled for business or pleasure. Female passengers from a variety backgrounds were discussed including desperate immigrants escaping poverty who traveled in steerage to movie stars and royalty. I found this book enjoyable to read and informative.
I would recommend it to anyone interested in women's history, maritime history, as well as people who enjoy modern cruise vacations.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Maiden Voyages is a book about ships and women and so much more.
The author discusses women throughout many years and their roles on a ship. Much of the history shared is about an event and or person on a ship.
It was filled with fascinating information and facts with some very surprising outcomes.
Each ship felt like a historical tour with all the description of a virtual tour at Biltmore. I enjoyed following the survivors of the sinking ships. I can imagine what that felt like. And I had no idea there were so many things for women to do on a ship.
I highly recommend if you love history.
Thanks St. Martin’s Press via Netgalley.

I am so glad I found this book!

Maiden Voyages is the interesting story of the women who traveled and worked on ocean liners during the golden age of luxurious ocean travel. This is a unique and fascinating deep dive into the lives of these women: stewardesses, refugees, debutantes, business women, and many more who traveled on these magnificent ocean liners.

I learned so much from this book! For example, a stewardess who survived the sinking of the Titanic learned that her pay had been stopped by their employer the night the Titanic sunk!

I highly recommend this entertaining book!

4.5 rounded up

This book is not a fluent normal novel, it is a combination of multiple stories of various woman that made ocean travel a part of their lives. I think if it would have combined all of them into a tale and had them intertwine it would have been better. Reading about the various ships was very interesting though.
I thank St. Martins Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC. Comes in with 3 stars.

I was offered an advanced galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was hesitant to read this book at first because it is not a topic I normally am reading about, but I am glad I read this. It was a topic I didn’t know I needed to know about. The anecdotal stories of these brave and courageous women were fascinating. The lives these women led and what they did aboard ocean liners, I never knew was a thing. The progress of these women and their jobs over time is fascinating for me to see because our life is so different today because of women like this. A little bit in the middle that focused on just society norms of the times was a little dry for my taste, though I recognize the importance of this information to the topic as a whole. If you are interested in strong women role models this is a great book of examples from our history. Thank you St. Martin’s Press for this book.

I enjoyed this story.. it was well written and interesting. I will definitely be on the lookout for more by this author. Thanks to publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

I really liked Maiden Voyages. An in-depth look into the beginning of Ocean Liner travel that crossed the Atlantic and the woman that worked and traveled aboard the grand ships. I was fascinated by the many facts about the Cunard liners. From the 1800's after the great war all the way to today I learned so many things. The descriptive writing made me feel like I was reliving the past through the brave woman and big stars. The stories about the different classes, immigrants, business people and the rich and famous. The way the Ocean Liners were transformed to war ships and the story about the Titanic. A very interesting read, I learned about Donald Trumps family, just fascinating facts that I never knew.

I give Maiden Voyages 4 stars for its fact based writing.
I would recommend this book to History/Non-Fiction Fans.
#Maiden Voyages #NetGalley

Was disjointed I had a hard time getting into ot. Seemed rambling. I received an advance copy and it seemed like it was ill,proofed. The subject matter seemed interesting but again it kept jumping around so much it was hard to follow.

This was a fun & interesting read! I wouldn’t have guessed I’d be so captivated by the accounts of women who found their way and built their lives working on giant ships, but that’s what happened. I appreciated the depth and breadth of the author’s research, and while some stories seemed a bit off-topic, they were consistently informative and entertaining. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for obtaining a copy of this book for me to read.
A highly entertaining and informative social history of the women who worked and traveled on board ocean liners during the golden age of transatlantic travel. The research done to create this story is admirable! Through a series of biographical sketches covering women of all classes, the author shows how ocean travel was between the two World Wars, Women enjoyed a level of independence that they often could not attain on land. One story was. the “unsinkable” Violet Jessup, a stewardess who survived the sinking of the Orinoco, the Titanic, and the Britannic; Then there was Victoria Drummond, a ship’s engineer during World War II; and Edith Sowerbutts, a conductress for unaccompanied women and children resettling in Canada, Hilda James, a champion swimmer who escaped a physically abusive family and was hired as a swim instructor.

The book explains the Golden Age of Ocean Travel and how it affected women.. It changed many of their lives. Women set a new standard for employment. . Some women found financial independence. and freedom crossing the ocean to visit American.countries. They took men’s jobs as they went off to war making ammunition’s and planes. They took over administrative jobs. They learned to be sailors, pilots got life boat certificates..

Some of these women worked as stewardess, conductresses. nurses, engineers or hairdressers. These women survived torpedo bombings, smuggling incidents, and hurricanes. War Brides traveled across oceans to marry men they never saw or met in foreign lands..

The upper decks were the wealthy, actors, stars, they brought tons of clothes to change during the day. They brought trunks and their maids and valets.

If you are into the history and detail of ocean travel and how women played a changing part then by all means this history with all its detail is for you. It is quite the making to write this with historical characters thread thru the story.

Cruise trips are fun, pampering and rejuvenating when we sip drinks and sail smoothly on the waves. Has it always been like that? How did it all start? How did these facilities evolve? What circumstances created the need for on board photographers, grand staircases, chefs, stewardesses, royal decor, non-stop entertainment and first class parties that we expect on a cruise trip? You can get all the answers and many other details in this book along with illuminating stories of women who set themselves for transatlantic travel during the first half of twentieth century.
The intentions and interests for travel are as diverse as the people who travelled during that era. This book I feel is well researched and it was eye-opening on many aspects of long voyages in those early years where women weren’t openly accepted to find jobs, much less to be travelling on sea, delivering duties as efficiently as many men, capable of dealing with storms, icebergs, sea sickness and all other inconveniences while the ships were at the mercy of the wide oceans. The stories of many great women, famous personalities, artists, writers and businessmen who saw trans-Atlantic travel as their ticket to new ideas, exposure to new culture, means to generate new business, get popularity and many other new life changing avenues that these voyages promised is illuminating. I enjoyed reading these stories and I am hoping you would too!

My rating: 4.5

What a fantastic and intriguing topic to study and write about! I learned so much about what freedom ocean liner travel gave women. Also, I learned what peerage meant on the Great ships and how classism was still very evident in the work that the poorest women did on the ships. I learned so much from this interesting read!

The book takes a look at the woman who worked and traveled on ocean liners. Not my normal read, but very interesting none the less.

That was a Great Book!

I have just read Maiden Voyages: Magnificent Ocean Liners and the Women Who Traveled and Worked Aboard Them, by Siân Evans.

It is refreshing to read a book that is both interesting and intriguing, plus has a topic that is unique. I thoroughly enjoyed the read. It has so many interesting facts, figures, and tidbits. I had no idea about the impact that women had on this topic. There was a great deal of research put into the writing of this book, and so many details about so many people – both male and female.

Thank you to NetGalley, Author Siân Evans, and St. Martin's Press for my advanced copy to read and review.

#MaidenVoyages #NetGalley

As travel across the Atlantic becomes more common, the comfort of women travelers must be arranged. Thus, a new avenue of employment arises for intrepid women willing to take it on. From celebrities to stewardesses, including The Unsinkable Stewardess who survives multiple sinkings, this book sheds light on a unique part of human history.

I've never been overly interested in the history of ocean travel, but the subject of this book caught my attention immediately. It was fascinating to read examples of the different lives of women who crossed the ocean. There were stewardesses, who began as maids and worked their way up. Celebrities who made multiple crossings for their careers and had favorite ships. I especially enjoyed the descriptions of the luxury ships with their staircases and such for dramatic entrances.

At times, the narrative feels like it goes off on tangents explaining certain details but will bring it back to the main point. There are a few phrases the author seems to especially like, such as when referring to those who have "a portable typewriter and an outgoing personality."

Overall, it was an interesting read. Those who are interested in ocean travel or simply have an interest in an avenue of women's work that allowed them more freedom will enjoy this book.

An all-encompassing telling of the history of women on ships. Their fortitude, determination, and humour from the dire days of The Titanic to their settlement in far-away countries.
This book kept you reading, weaving between the everyday celebrity of the time and the women who had to work to put food on their table. The conditions, pay, devastation of two wars, and the social interactions between passengers and the onboard workers are well-told and bring all these people to life.
Highly recommend for anyone interested in history that is deeply researched and made real. The book is long but well-worth it as the focus of the chapters evolves as in any good story. A definite 'thinking book' filled with realizations of what it was to be a working woman during those times,

Thank you to #NetGalley and #St.Martin'sPress for the opportunity to review this early copy in exchange for my opinion.

I received an E-ARC of this book through Netgalley.

The description mentioning Downton Abbey drew me in, but what I found it to have in common with Downton Abbey is the class system so prevalent in travel from the very rich to the steerage/almost cargo-like passengers piled into the bottom of the ships.

This book was at it's most interesting to me when it is talking about real-life examples of women who worked or traveled by sea. It covered a lot of history up until the 1960s when the airlines really took over the travel needs of most customers who had to rely on sea voyages prior to airplane travel.

It was interesting to read about women getting better jobs or adventures when they worked on ships instead of the limited jobs available to women between WWI and WWII.

Which is most important to you when you travel – the journey or the destination?

Sian Evans sheds light on the pioneering women who sailed during the Golden Age of travel, either as passengers or as seafarers, and points out that the experience transformed their lives for the better. It’s easy to see that at this time in history, the journey was the luxury and was more important than the destination. How quickly this changed! Once technology and engineering progressed, long-haul flights were possible and passengers were able to traverse the 3000 miles of ocean in much less time in the air than by sea. What did change was the experience. Passengers traded the luxury of ocean liners and fine dining for convenience and affordability. No longer is the journey enjoyable. Now it’s the destination. The seats on planes are cramped, you’re invariably stuck beside someone you’d never choose to spend time with, the food is questionable, the entertainment is spotty at best and you’re forced to cooperate as someone roots through your luggage and pats you down. How far we’ve come in 50 years!

I’m biased towards sea travel. I’m an avid cruiser with over 400 days at sea. In my opinion, the worst day at sea I’ve ever had is still better than the best day I’ve experienced on a plane – apples to apples – a regular cabin on a ship and a regular seat on a plane. Cruising is the best of both worlds; you get to enjoy the journey and the destination.

The delight and appeal of this book is not just the author’s writing skills, but the main era in which it is written. Evans book is a gem which brings to light women of all ages, backgrounds and social classes who chose to travel by sea or work at sea. She touches on the social, technical and historical aspects of ocean liners and sprinkles the information with a generous helping of anecdotes and interesting stories.

Interesting fact: Cunard Chief Officer Stephen Gronow of the Aquitania was the author’s great-great uncle.

The Golden Age of travel is gone, but the spirit of travel lives on. I think we can all agree that after the year we’ve all experienced, we’re more than ready to dust off our suitcases and hop on a plane or a boat.

This non-fiction book is to be published on August 10, 2021.

I was gifted this advance copy by Sian Evans, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This was a DNF for me. I initially accepted the invitation to read this book because I love learning about women in history and how they have done much to begin to pave the way for my generation and my daughters' generations and beyond. There are so many limitations that generations past faced that we don't face today, and the stories of great courage are inspiring.

That being said, I thought that was what this book was about - stories of various women and what they did on ships and the barriers they broke. However, if it was, I couldn't get to that point because I just lost interest quickly.... The first couple chapters were so very repetitive, using the same phrases multiple times, the same scenarios, the same experiences or points of view multiple times, paragraphs repeating over and over the responsibilities of the women, etc. It just was not necessary and was as if the author was trying to convince you of what they were explaining.

The other reason I did not finish it was the enormous detail. Some detail obviously is good and needed, but this detail did not make or break the story. It was about the ships, the crew, how the male crew treated or responded to women (which was again very repetitive), the loss with the Titanic, the scandal of the day, the details of various ship occupations, the number of passengers in each class, etc. So. Much. Detail. While a bit paints the story, too much drowns it. I didn't need to know all that to such a finite point and completely lost interest in the mountains of detail.

Ultimately, the advertised reasons for me to agree to read this book - it being for those who loved Downton Abbey or being "riveting" were sadly not my experience in the least. I wish I could have gotten past the above to finish it but it just became work to continue.

Thanks to NetGalley for the invitation and advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Evan delivers an examination of the role women had on big ocean liners from 1900-1950s. She interspersed the facts with individuals memories, diaries, recollections to bolster the story. Much of this I have already read about in other books, but she does capture a time that will never be again. I do have one critique when she talks about the Lusitania. The author supports the supposition the Lusitania was not carrying any arms, when in fact it was. Aside from that Maiden Voyages is a nice introduction for the novice reader about women and big ships during their heyday.