I really enjoyed this heartwarming and humorous memoir of Violet Jessop---the woman who outwitted multiple childhood illnesses, two ship sinkings, several other at-sea tragedies, and many suitors, to die a happy elderly woman in Suffolk at the end of her amazing life.

Jessop was a great storyteller and the addition of the editor's annotations made for a clear, easy read that kept me interested and entertained.

I was surprised at how easily Jessop resumed normal life after the sinkings of the Titanic and Britannic ships. I wonder how much healing time had passed before she actually penned these memoirs as her hindsight is unnaturally calm. She exhibited a great attitude about getting right back to her work and not allowing fear to keep her from pursuing the sea life she loved.

A couple years ago, I put on a Titanic Tea Party for my kids for one of our homeschool lessons. My now 5-year-old daughter played Violet Jessop. You can see that here: http://www.hopeineveryseason.com/2013/02/lessons-from-titanic-homemaking-linkup.... ( )

I found this to be a fascinating history of one woman's amazing journey through life, from enduring a severe illness in childhood to her tireless work on ocean liners. Her account of the sinking of the Titanic is riveting. The sinking of the Britannic is harrowing. This is really worth reading. ( )

The four stars are for Violet Jessop, an incredible and inspiring woman who went to sea to support her widowed mother and younger siblings, and survived the sinking of two doomed liners (Titanic and Britannic) and the collision of another (all White Star Line ships). She was either really, really lucky or a jinx, I can't tell! If I was rating John Maxtone-Graham's editing alone, however, I would have docked a star - stop interrupting! And also it's not hard to find out who Violet married in the 1920s - John J Lewis, 1923, in Brentford.

I love Violet's brisk, no-nonsense tone, which gets progressively more cynical when sharing anecdotes about her forty-plus years at sea - and no wonder! She was born to Irish emigrant parents in Argentina, suffered ill health, almost dying from tuberculosis, and sexual abuse from neighbours and employers, and lost her father at a young age. Violet then became a second mother to her brothers and sisters - her mother just kept popping 'em out until her husband died, and even then she was pregnant but lost the child! - and eventually took over her mother's employment as a stewardess for the Royal Mail Line in 1908. She married only once, briefly, but was smitten with an Australian engineer called Ned, and never had children.

A beautiful and extremely capable working woman, Violet's memoirs are witty, honest and of course poignant. There is more detail about her horrific experience with the Britannic than the Titanic but just the fact that she survived both, and went onto serve another three decades at sea is impressive enough!

The accompanying selection of photographs, including family snapshots and the various ships she served on, are interesting and well presented, including copies of her certificates of discharge (marked 'at sea' for the Titanic). ( )

Violet's autobiographical story is amazing... having survived two ship disasters, even after a near-deadly childhood illness. Her memoirs not only describe her harrowing ship experiences, but also enlightens readers with "behind-the-scenes" stories of crews on ships. This is a great read. ( )

Great memoir of Violet's career as a stewardess with various ships. She grew up in Argentina. The Titanic part was short but interesting. ( )