The tale of the Titanic, or rather the sinking of theTitanic, is a story we’re all at least somewhat familiar with (thanks to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet!) And while we know the fate of James Cameron’s cinema characters, wouldn’t you love to discover more about the daring, and seemingly impossible, race to save survivors of the most famed shipwreck in history?
My book club pick for April, “A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice”, by Rebecca Connolly, provides just that!
It’s based upon the true actions of Arthur Rostron, the heroic captain of the Carpathia, the only ship to answer theTitanic’s distress call.
I could not put it down until the final page had been turned!
“Shortly after midnight on April 15, 1912, the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron, wakes to a distress signal from the Titanic, which has struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage. Though information is scarce, Rostron leaps into action, determined to answer the call for help. But the Carpathia is more than four hours away, and there are more questions than answers: Will his ship hold together if pushed to never-before-tested speeds? What if he also strikes an iceberg? And with the freezing temperatures, will there be any survivors by the time the Carpathia arrives?
Kate Connolly is a third-class passenger on Titanic, and she is among the last to receive instruction and help after it hits an iceberg. Despite the chaos of abandoning ship, Kate is able to board a lifeboat, though after seeing the Titanic sink into the abyss and hearing the cries from hundreds of people still in the water, she wonders if any rescue is even possible.
Told in alternating chapters from both Captain Rostron and Kate Connolly, this 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.”
"Captain Rostron's decisive and heroic actions as he prepared his crew for what they were about to encounter was inspirational and heartrending. I've found a new hero in a man who never hesitated in doing the right thing." ―Heather B. Moore, author of The Paper Daughters of Chinatown
