Were you excited when they found the Titanic? What story did the artifacts reveal about the passengers? Surviving Savannah is about the retrieving clues from a sunken steamship and research into the passengers that were on it. This story has two layers, past and present.

Here’s a Description of Surviving Savannah

When Savannah history professor Everly Winthrop is asked to guest-curate a new museum collection focusing on artifacts recovered from the steamship Pulaski, she’s shocked. The ship sank after a boiler explosion in 1838, and the wreckage was just discovered, 180 years later. Everly can’t resist the opportunity to try to solve some of the mysteries and myths surrounding the devastating night of its sinking.

Everly’s research leads her to the astounding history of a family of eleven who boarded the Pulaski together, and the extraordinary stories of two women from this family: a known survivor, Augusta Longstreet, and her niece, Lilly Forsyth, who was never found, along with her child. These aristocratic women were part of Savannah’s society, but when the ship exploded, each was faced with difficult and heartbreaking decisions. This is a moving and powerful exploration of what women will do to endure in the face of tragedy, the role fate plays, and the myriad ways we survive the surviving.

My Review:

Everly Winthrop is asked to curate a collection from the lost steamship Pulaski, which went down in 1838 after the boiler exploded. Much like the Titanic, they are excited by the artifacts 180 years later. Everly especially relates because of the loss of her friend Mora and the fact that she’s working with Oliver who was engaged to her when she died in an accident. The story is twofold as we travel back in time to the final voyage of the Pulaski and learn about two women- Lily an aristocrat with an abusive husband and Priscilla a woman in slavery. This is a story of survival whether it be an accident or suffering abuse in 1838. The author paints a beautiful picture of Savannah helping the reader to travel there without a plane ticket! I think I loved the story of the women on the Pulaski most and then the present-day story.

Other Reviews:

“An atmospheric, compelling story of survival, tragedy, the enduring power of myth and memory, and the moments that change one’s life.” 
–Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Four Winds

“[An] enthralling and emotional tale…A story about strength and fate.”–Woman’s World

“An epic novel that explores the metal of human spirit in crisis. It is an expertly told, fascinating story that runs fathoms deep on multiple levels.”—New York Journal of Books 

It was called “The Titanic of the South.” The luxury steamship sank in 1838 with Savannah’s elite on board; through time, their fates were forgotten–until the wreck was found, and now their story is finally being told in this breathtaking novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Becoming Mrs. Lewis.