Madeline Force Astor was the 1912 version of Princess Diana – only marrying into American nobility
A novel of the Titanic
An unlikely romance that met a tragic end in the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
17 Bookers changed their garage sale hats to Bookers’ hats to meet at the home of Ann Ireland who will be undergoing another surgery – this time a total knee replacement – on Monday, October 17th. We all send our thoughts and prayers train to her for a successful outcome and manageable recovery and for her sake hope this is her last gasp of anesthesia.
The historical fiction genre is built around actual events, but most are not as recognizable as this one. Who doesn’t know the demise of the largest and most luxurious passenger liner – more like a floating metropolitan city equipped with watertight compartments making it unsinkable – until it sank. Ms. Abe adeptly developed a storyline that kept readers turning the pages despite the prologue foreshadowing the courtship between seventeen-year-old Madeline Force and John Jacob Astor, IV, thirty years her senior, their marriage, their extended honeymoon on the Titanic’s maiden voyage, her pregnancy, his death at sea, and the birth of their son, Jakey, soon after she returned to New York as a widow.
The prose launched the reader into the frenzy of the paparazzi style pursuit of the couple and onto the deck of the Titanic. We witnessed the horrors of Madeline being forced into a lifeboat without her husband…her desperation was palpable insisting they turn the small craft back to save him – a decision that was near catastrophic…we saw the dead bodies floating after the vessel broke apart and sank while Madeline searched in vain for just one face – her beloved Jack. The descriptions were both gut-wrenching and heartbreaking to read. Maddy commented later how you survive the horror – when you break it apart into smaller little moments it’s possible to reconstruct it in a way that makes it more manageable.
It was a twice daily dose of Dramamine for me to counteract my wobbly sea legs.
The author proficiently narrated Maddy’s story in first person while addressing her son – he would never meet his father, nor would he ever have his own memories of him – it was like the reader was eavesdropping on an intimate conversation between a mother and her only child. It was a powerful formula of storytelling – then she switched to third person in the alternating chapters allowing her to float between multiple characters’ viewpoints. She has written seven stand-along novels including this one – her most popular to date – along with two well received romance series. Abe’s expertise as a romantic novelist was on display throughout the story with passages like “Her heart bloomed like a savage flower inside her chest.” She is skilled with visuals and descriptive settings, and her “wordsmithness” was evident in “…the butler oozed out of the woodwork” and many more examples dotted throughout the novel.
Our discussion:
The overall impression of this novel was positive even among those who didn’t have a chance to start or finish the book – a nod to our selection committee for picking a great one! Many of us wanted to know what happened to Maddy after the book ended. From research we learned like other survivors she arrived home in New York with only the clothes on her back. While she did inherit a $5 million trust fund and a Fifth Avenue mansion among other things, Astor’s will dictated in order to keep the fortune she had to remain a widow. (Pretty demanding for a 19-year-old!) Madeline remarried anyway wedding sugar refinery heir, William Dick, a childhood acquaintance in 1918. The couple had two sons and a 15-year marriage until she met a 26-year-old Italian boxer on a cruise and divorced Dick in 1933. Their relationship was rocky at best – they fought constantly, and he became violent at times resulting in some broken bones. She divorced him but he sold an account of their time together to a tabloid which became a serialized collection of articles. That exposure and her mother’s death resulted in the abuse of prescription drugs which may have led to her death in 1940.
Jack’s son, Vincent, didn’t fair a whole lot better. He married in 1914 and at the ceremony he was stricken with the mumps making him sterile. They divorced in 1940 and shortly thereafter he married again, divorcing in 1953 marrying again after several weeks – rumor had it he agreed to divorce number two only after she agreed to find him a replacement spouse – the first choice was the newly divorced wife of James Bush II – brother of Prescott Bush (father of George H.W. Bush). She turned him down saying, “I don’t even like you.” Vincent told her he was gravely ill, and she would inherit millions to which she said, “What if you do live?” He finally found someone to marry, and she lived to a ripe old age of 105. Vincent died of a heart attack leaving all his money to his philanthropic foundation. So, what about half-brother Jakey? He was convinced Vincent was mentally incompetent when signing his last will from frequent smoking and alcoholism – his wife bringing him liquor in the hospital. He ended up settling for $250,000. As the world turns for the rich and famous!
We talked about why we’ve always been fascinated by the Titanic and the stories of despair and hope. Was Madeline different from when she left and when she returned? We discussed the age difference between the two and was it really love or a conquest of a younger woman…the courtship with flowers was special. Their wedding was an intimate affair partly to avoid the press but mostly because all of “society” had turned their back on the couple. We talked about Madeline giving her shawl and fur coat to the steerage survivors as no surprise – they were all in the same boat! Several Bookers were familiar with both Newport and Bar Harbor and offered a glimpse of the prestige of the areas both touted as “seasonal homes.”
The book that Jack wrote – A Journey in Other Worlds – was published 1894, as a science fiction – a romance of the future…. life in year 2000 which featured abundant speculation about technology inventions including a description of a worldwide telephone network, solar power, air travel, space travel to other planets, and terraforming engineering projects like damming the Arctic Ocean and an adjustment of the axial tilt of the Earth…ya’ think he had some insight into the” other worlds!” He commented she was the only one who ever asked to read it. We discussed the appropriateness of a first wife attending the funeral of her husband even if he had remarried.
We shared personal stories of second marriages and the children of the first having similar reactions toward the “new” wife especially with the “newbie” close to the age of the sibling. A couple of paragraphs ticked my funny bone – one being Madeline addressing Jakey on the topic of “all men are created equal” to which she said “this is one topic old money girls and new money girls could agree – of course we’re not all equal. And to her newborn son she says, “There’s equal in the sense of human potential and dreams and the rule of law…and there’s equal as in – who are your people my dear?” The other was a discussion of the “debut” or coming out reception as a ritual with girls – their mothers and grandmothers issuing warnings…” once and for all your childhood is over. Womanhood means you must not ever laugh, or burp, or break wind again…this is how you marry well.”
Maddy’s father worried about the “quality of happiness” that she will realize going forward with Astor. “Love is a tremendous gift – a gift and a burden – marriage is work because it is a living entity that needs everlasting attention.” – it will push you, bend you and test you and shatter you if you’re not prepared – love makes all that work easier. He was a very intuitive man whose insights into the important things was right on target.
On the business side:
Bookers’ ducks did not win, show, place, or float into the top 20 in the Race for the Rainbow Duck Race. Rumor has it they were reading The Adventures of Poor Mrs. Quack for book club and missed the start gate. Maybe next year! Glad we supported this worthwhile cause.
Also, PWC’s next service project is in partnership with Courtney Dickens/Johnson. Bee Kind Bags will be filled with hand-picked items to make going through chemotherapy a little easier for women enduring these treatments. Cindy Kellum is coordinating the project. Full bag sponsorship is $75.00, but partial sponsorships are also welcome – the goal to fill someone else’s heart with hope and love. Checks should be payable to Abundant Grace and should be dropped off on Cindy’s porch or mailed. I purchased one in memory of PWC Bookers who continue to sprinkle us with love from above.
BookTrib is considering sending eBooks instead of physical copies to their book clubs and are asking for opinions on this. We were a mixed bag – maybe both options?
COLOR CODING SYSTEM
WHITE: LIGHT READ
PINK: MODERATELY CHALLENGING
RED: CHALLENGING
NOVEMBER 8
The World Played Chess, Robert Dugoni
A story of boys becoming men and the risks they take along the way from a master storyteller. It’s 1979 and the protagonist just graduated from high school, taking a job as a laborer on a construction crew working alongside two Vietnam vets where he gets the education of a lifetime.
RED
Home of: Jean McSpadden
Discussion Leader:
DECEMBER 13
Once Upon a Wardrobe, Patti Callahan
A love letter to the magic of stories and the myriad of ways a tale can both break and heal our hearts. A powerful tribute to C.S. Lewis and his Narnia.
PINK
Home of: Bonnie Magee
Discussion Leader:
JANUARY 10
We Are All the Same in the Dark, Julia Heaberlin
The discovery of a mute girl abandoned on the side of the road threatens to unearth secrets buried in a Texas town’s legendary cold case.
RED
Home of: Jane Shaw
Discussion Leader:
*FEBRUARY 7 (Date change)
The Incredible Winston Browne, Sean Dietric
A rich nostalgic tale set in Florida featuring a small-town sheriff, a mysterious little girl, and a good-hearted community pulling together to help her.
PINK
Home of:
Discussion Leader: Jean Alexander
MARCH 14
Flight Patterns, Karen White
A woman returns home to an estranged family and the secrets that bind them.
PINK
Home of: Jean Alexander
Discussion Leader:
APRIL 11
Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
The remarkable story of J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian, a black woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white.
RED
Home of: Debbie Yarger
Discussion Leader: Debbie Yarger
MAY 9
Horse, Geraldine Brooks
The untold story of a 19th century racehorse and his caretaker, partially set in antebellum Kentucky.
PINK
Bookers evening “wine & cheese” meeting
Home of:
Discussion Leader:
SUMMER READ:
Cloud Cuckoo Land, Anthony Doerr
A soaring story about children on the cusp of adulthood in a world of peril who find resilience, hope, and a book.
RED
Home of:
Discussion Leader:
SEPTEMBER 12, 2023: Beginning Bookers 20th year.
Happy Reading,
JoDee
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