Titanic Survivor

The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop who Survived Both the Titanic and Britannic Disasters

Violet Jessop - Edited by John Maxtone-Graham

Violet Jessop's life is an inspiring story of survival. Born in 1887 in Argentina, the eldest child of Irish immigrants, at the age of 21 she became the breadwinner for her widowed mother and five siblings when she commenced a career as a stewardess and nurse on some of the most famous ocean going vessels of the day. Throughout her 40 year time at sea she survived an unbelievable series of events including the sinking of the TITANIC.

“One awful moment of empty, misty blackness enveloped us in its loneliness, then an unforgettable, agonizing cry went up from 1500 despairing throats, a long wail and then silence and our tiny craft tossing about at the mercy of the ice field.”
For most people one sinking would be enough. But four years later Violet, now a nurse with the British Red Cross, was on board the World War I hospital ship BRITANNIC when it struck a mine and sank to the bottom of the Aegean. To her, this disaster was even more horrifying-- “Just as life seeming nothing but a whirling, choking ache, I rose to the light of day, my nose barely above the little lapping waves. I opened my eyes on an indescribable scene of slaughter, which made me shut them again to keep it out."

By the end of her story we have a met a woman who could handle whatever life threw at her with determination and good humor. She knew that only by her own strength of character would she survive. But Titanic Survivor is much more. A unique autobiography for those who want to know how it really felt, a story that could be told only by a Titanic Survivor.

Globe Pequot / Sheridan House

Pages: 272 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-57409-184-7 • Paperback • September 2004 • $16.95 • (£12.99)

Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Historical, Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs, Biography & Autobiography / Women

Titanic Survivor

The Newly Discovered Memoirs of Violet Jessop who Survived Both the Titanic and Britannic Disasters

Paperback

Summary

Violet Jessop's life is an inspiring story of survival. Born in 1887 in Argentina, the eldest child of Irish immigrants, at the age of 21 she became the breadwinner for her widowed mother and five siblings when she commenced a career as a stewardess and nurse on some of the most famous ocean going vessels of the day. Throughout her 40 year time at sea she survived an unbelievable series of events including the sinking of the TITANIC.

“One awful moment of empty, misty blackness enveloped us in its loneliness, then an unforgettable, agonizing cry went up from 1500 despairing throats, a long wail and then silence and our tiny craft tossing about at the mercy of the ice field.”
For most people one sinking would be enough. But four years later Violet, now a nurse with the British Red Cross, was on board the World War I hospital ship BRITANNIC when it struck a mine and sank to the bottom of the Aegean. To her, this disaster was even more horrifying-- “Just as life seeming nothing but a whirling, choking ache, I rose to the light of day, my nose barely above the little lapping waves. I opened my eyes on an indescribable scene of slaughter, which made me shut them again to keep it out."

By the end of her story we have a met a woman who could handle whatever life threw at her with determination and good humor. She knew that only by her own strength of character would she survive. But Titanic Survivor is much more. A unique autobiography for those who want to know how it really felt, a story that could be told only by a Titanic Survivor.

Details

Globe Pequot / Sheridan House

Pages: 272 • Trim: 6 x 9

978-1-57409-184-7 • Paperback • September 2004 • $16.95 • (£12.99)

Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Historical, Biography & Autobiography / Personal Memoirs, Biography & Autobiography / Women

Author

Violet Jessop (1887-1971) was a maritime stewardess and nurse who survived the sinking of both the Titanic and Britannic. She worked aboard ships into her sixties, traveling all over the world. After her last voyage, she lived the rest of her life in Suffolk, England.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Early Years
Chapter 2: The Railway Interval
Chapter 3: Buenos Aires
Chapter 4: In the Mountains
Chapter 5: Illness and Death
Chapter 6: Repatriation
Chapter 7: In Charge
Chapter 8: Convent Days
Chapter 9: Choosing a Career
Chapter 10: To Sea at Last
Chapter 11: Enter Ned
Chapter 12: Insufferable Passengers
Chapter 13: Troubled Voyage
Chapter 14: The South American Run
Chapter 15: The White Star Line
Chapter 16: Cabin Drama
Chapter 17: Olympic
Chapter 18: (This chapter is missing)
Chapter 19: Polemic and Lament
Chapter 20: Titanic
Chapter 21: Into the Lifeboat
Chapter 22: Rescue
Chapter 23: Australia and Ned
Chapter 24: Shipboard Romance
Chapter 25: A Nurse in the Great War
Chapter 26: Britannic
Chapter 27: Aftermath
Chapter 28: Peace and Prohibition
Chapter 29: Tim Goes Missing
Chapter 30: World Cruise
Chapter 31: At Sea
Chapter 32: The Jinrikisha Man
Chapter 33: The Baroness
Chapter 34: Tom's Downfall
Epilogue
Appendix I
Appendix II
Bibliography
Index

Reviews

Readers of this absorbing account of her untrammeled life will agree that 'ostensibly unsinkable in life, she has proved positively unsinkable posthumously.' An important contribution to the growing body of Titanic literature.
— Booklist

Aside from the disasters, there is much in her memoirs to enjoy; from her tales of travel, to the ships themselves, and to the many characters she met in a fascinating lifetime at sea.
— Sailing

Compelling...a fresh, indispensable chapter to the legend...invaluable.
— Publishers Weekly

This is a true first-hand account of the sinking of the Titanic, written by a stewardess for the first-class passengers. As if that wasn't enough, four years later she was working aboard the Britannic when it struck a mine and sank. These memoirs cover both disasters, along with many tales about passengers and shipmates.
— Latitudes & Attitudes