(Book for review courtesy of NetGalley)
Kensington ~ 2 / 20
When you read a book about the Titanic you expect to see the hits, kind of like listening to the oldies station. You expect to hear Stairway to Heaven, Hotel California, etc. In a novel about the Titanic you expect to see Margaret Brown, J. J. and Madeline Astor, Bruce Ismay, and Thomas Anderson. Sisters of Fortune has all those names as well as three sisters, their parents and younger brother, sailing back to Winnipeg after a grand tour. The Fortunes, a real life wealthy Canadian family met their fate aboard the doomed vessel.
The Sisters of Fortune are : Alice, Flora, and Mabel. Mabel wants to go to college, a shocking act of rebellion for the time. On board she meets two educated women - a doctor and a lawyer, who inspire Mabel to take charge of her life. Alice mentions her Worth wedding dress packed in a trunk in the ship's hold - so she is serious about marrying her fiance, or is she? Alice meets with Molly Brown and confesses she may not want the everyday tedium her life will take on after marriage. Flora, also engaged, meets a handsome playboy tennis champ who turns her head and heart away from her future plans. What does Fortune have in store for these sisters?
The novel is paced slowly at first, but that makes sense, given that sailing aboard the Titanic was meant to be a luxurious, languid experience. Huber mentions real people who sailed, and survived (and didn't,) the sinking. Writing about Titanic must be a daunting task. Yes, a plethora of information exists, but no one who was actually a board remains alive. Huber's use of a real family hits home more than a fictionalized account - these people actually lived this unique and terrifying experience. Huber says in her author notes the sisters rarely spoke of their experience in later life. The heart of the story are the sisters themselves, and their responses to being women in a restrictive age. Life can change your trajectory suddenly and sometimes the only response is to survive, which is what the Fortune Sisters did.
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