Reviewer: Amy Lignor
Title: Hearts That Survive
Author: Yvonne Lehman
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN-13: 978-1-4267-4488-4
Release Date: March 2012
Genre/Sub-genre: Inspirational Fiction
Year/Setting: 1912/Aboard Titanic & U.S.A.
Overall Rating: 3.5
Sexual Content Rating: None/Subtle
Language (Profanity/Slang) Content Rating: None/Mild
Violent Content Rating: Minimal/Moderate
Yvonne's Website/Blog: www.yvonnlehman.com
Dear Readers:
I know what you’re going to say. Titanic was one of the biggest blockbusters of all time, and "The Heart Will Go On," was the biggest song during that time period, so this automatically seems as if it is a ‘rehashing’ of the subject matter. But, you are slightly incorrect about that, and I’ll tell you why.
We all know that people got on that ‘Ship of Dreams,’ and our main character - Lydia Beaumont - had a dream, herself. As she walked on the ship and looked at her cabin with the Chippendale furniture and all the other high-priced amenities, she was in awe just like everyone else. The surroundings were truly stunning. She also walked on the ship with a man named, John Ancell - a man that she was truly in love with. John was a poet, but he made his real money by deigning toy trains. Lydia is the heiress of a railroad company fortune, and her father wants to recruit John to help him with designs and ideas, so they are traveling back to the U.S. so Dad can meet John. They are also traveling with Craven, who is the president of her father’s company. This man is all business, and he wants nothing more than to prove to Lydia that he is the better man for her.
Craven doesn’t convince her, of course, and Lydia and John decide to get married on board the illustrious ship. Talk about a wedding they will never forget. They get married on The Grand Staircase, they have a ten-course menu, and a huge ball inviting all of the ‘stars’ on board. Of course, we all know the horrific tragedy that happened next. John dies, Lydia is put into a boat, and Craven reaches for a kid on board pretending that it’s his, so he can get in a lifeboat and survive (which is what happened in the movie).
Where this story differs, is when readers get to Halifax. In Canada, ships were sent with the dead bodies of the victims of Titanic, and a man by the name of Armand is up in Halifax dealing with the remains.
Back in the City, Craven has made John Ancell a non-entity. Lydia was never a ‘Mrs.’ and the records of their union have been erased. Lydia heads to Halifax with the need to identify John and prove to her heart and herself that her dream really did happen - meeting up and falling for Armand. Back and forth the story goes, when decades later another story comes about where a young man comes across the fact that he is a descendant of a writer who went down with Titanic and tries to identify with his past
The story set in Halifax is extremely interesting. The history of this particular point of Titanic’s story, as well as the explosion that happened in Halifax Harbor in 1917 has, to my knowledge, never been spoken about before in this context. The only wish I had was that the story could have concentrated completely on the Canadian history.
Until next time,
Amy
Question or comment regarding the review or the book? Click here and let Amy know.
Top
Reviews
Featured Reviews
Archived Reviews