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Second Mrs. Astor: A Novel of the Titanic
Second Mrs. Astor: A Novel of the Titanic | Shana Abe
18 posts | 21 read | 20 to read
Ab is an exquisite storyteller....deeply moving. --Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue Inspired by the scandalous real-life love story between America's richest man and teenage beauty Madeleine Force -- and the aftermath of their tragic honeymoon aboard the Titanic. Jack Astor was American royalty, the richest man in the world, and Fifth Avenue scion of the Gilded Age. Madeleine Force was a beautiful teenaged debutante suddenly and unexpectedly thrust into fame simply for falling in love with a famous man nearly three decades her senior. From their scandalous courtship to their catastrophic honeymoon aboard the Titanic--a tragedy that made them the most famous couple of their time--their love story is brought to life in this sweeping work of historical fiction by New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Shana Ab. Perfect for fans of Fiona Davis and Melanie Benjamin. Madeleine Talmage Force is just seventeen when she attracts the attention of John Jacob "Jack" Astor. Madeleine is beautiful, intelligent, and solidly upper-class, but the Astors are in a league apart. Jack's mother was the Mrs. Astor, American royalty and New York's most formidable socialite. Jack is dashing and industrious--a hero of the Spanish-American war, an inventor, and a canny businessman. Despite their twenty-nine-year age difference and the scandal of Jack's recent divorce, Madeleine falls headlong into love--and becomes the press's favorite target. On their extended honeymoon in Egypt, the newlyweds finally find a measure of peace away from photographers and journalists. Madeleine feels truly alive for the first time--and is happily pregnant. The couple plans to return home in the spring of 1912, aboard an opulent new ocean liner. When the ship hits an iceberg close to midnight on April 14th, there is no immediate panic. The swift, state-of-the-art RMS Titanic seems unsinkable. As Jack helps Madeleine into a lifeboat, he assures her that he'll see her soon in New York... Four months later, at the Astors' Fifth Avenue mansion, a widowed Madeleine gives birth to their son. In the wake of the disaster, the press has elevated her to the status of virtuous, tragic heroine. But Madeleine's most important decision still lies ahead: whether to accept the role assigned to her or carve out her own remarkable path...
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Bzosche
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“I would not attempt to guess at the nature of true love, except to say that when I was immersed in it—swimming through it, breathing it in, holding that breath, exhaling—in those short, extraordinary days and nights I shared with your father, true love was absolutely clear to me. Jack was clear to me. Jack was me, and I was him, and you, sweet child, are now us both.”

3 likes1 stack add
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Princess-Kingofkings
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This is why reading via the Kindle app is dangerous for me … free books!

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Born.A.Reader
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Eggs Perfect 🧤 9mo
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love this cover! 9mo
23 likes2 comments
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SayersLover
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Pickpick

Picked this up randomly to see if it would be good for one of my book discussion groups and was pleasantly surprised. Although I struggled to identify with Madeline, the love story was really sweet and of course the ending was tragic. I think it‘s a good depiction of how one can become closed off emotionally after a traumatic experience. While historical fiction is still not my thing but I enjoyed this one.

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Eggs
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Kerrbearlib I really enjoyed this one. 1y
Eggs @Kerrbearlib on the endless TBR… 1y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks I was thinking of this one too!! ❤️ 1y
69 likes3 comments
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Jaimelire
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Pickpick

Historical fiction about Madeleine Astor, second wife of Jack Astor. The story covers their courtship, marriage and what happened on the Titanic. She was much younger than he was and still basically a child when they started their short-lived romance and marriage. I wonder if this marriage would have lasted had the events on the Titanic not happened?

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Kerrbearlib
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The nature of hope is curious to me. It can sustain us through the darkest of times. It can buoy us above every reasonable expectation of despair. Yet hope can shatter us just as readily as the darkness can. People refer to it as false hope, but I think that‘s misleading, because the feeling itself is painfully true. It is a treacherous hope, more precisely.”

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fictionaddictbooks
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https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cd_dD9mjly9/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

The creators of the Litsy app have got to step up. Imagine being able to add sounds/music to your books. Now wouldn't that be awesome?

While we wait for Litsy to step up its game, check out the link I put up there for something interesting to do on the gram😘😘😘.

@eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Librarybelle
@Jllo @Klou @rather_be_reading

Librarybelle Thanks for sharing! And this book looks interesting! 2y
Eggs Oh thanks! Must have this book 📖 💙 bc I‘m Titanic-obsessed 🚢 2y
fictionaddictbooks @Eggs you are most welcome 2y
fictionaddictbooks @Librarybelle you're welcome dear 2y
12 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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fictionaddictbooks
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The nature of hope is curious to me. It can sustain us through the darkest of times. It can buoy us above every reasonable expectation of despair. Yet hope can shatter us just as readily as the darkness can. People refer to it as false hope, but I think that‘s misleading, because the feeling itself is painfully true

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fictionaddictbooks
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One of my favorite things to do besides reading, is baking cakes... Find me on Instagram @fabriziabakes😘😘😋😋

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AlisBookNookCorner
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Ahw06
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This book is a beautifully written story about love and loss. The heart wrenching story of the Titanic has always fascinated me but this book added a new depth to what I knew about it. Fiction or not, I can‘t help but feel that I have a deeper understanding of what happened and how it affected so many. If you‘re interested in the history of the Titanic, then this is a must read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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KristiAhlers
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I‘ve been a long time fan of this author and this newest offering further solidified my opinion. This is the story of Madeline Force Astor telling the story to her infant son of the courtship, marriage and than loss of his father John Jacob Astor IV. I admit I needed Kleenex for this one. The ultimate love story to be honest. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Crazeedi
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Madeleine is only 18 when she marries the richest man in the world, John Jacob Astor. This is the story of their romance, which was scandalous for the time, since he was divorced and almost 30 years older than her. Follow their short marriage and the disaster of the Titanic in this tale.

Ahw06 I‘m glad to hear it was a pick! It‘s on my TBR 3y
CoverToCoverGirl I‘ve been wanting to read this one! 3y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Sounds good! 3y
63 likes3 comments
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ferskner
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TBH I wasn't expecting a lot from this - I love history but historical fiction can be really hit or miss for me. The writing and characterization were surprisingly good and I was swept up as always in the tragedy of the Titanic. (But what is this boat on the cover????)

@TheAromaofBooks this was my #bookspin for September!

#scarathlon2021 #teamhendrix @StayCurious #litsyatoz @BookishMarginalia

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 3y
56 likes5 stack adds1 comment
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FelinesAndFelonies
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I'm so excited for this one! 😍

CoverToCoverGirl Ohhh! I just finished reading a few in her dragon series which I enjoyed.. but this one 🤩 is definitely in my lane. 3y
FelinesAndFelonies @CoverToCoverGirl I've looked forward to this one for months. ❤️ 3y
54 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Mammaletterario
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My ARC finally came!!! I‘m so excited about this and I just finished “Emma” so this is perfect timing (I say that like I‘m not in the middle of a ton of books 😬🤦🏽‍♀️🤷🏽‍♀️ LOL). Anyway, adventure and history await!