Surviving Savannah

Author: Patti Callahan
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Berkley, 2021
Pages: 432
Rating: Highly Recommend

Synopsis: 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.

Review: I could have done without the past/present gimmick again. I did prefer the "past" storyline, but the present could have worked as a stand-alone too. That said, I still gave it 5 stars on goodreads. The attention to historical detail/fact bumped this novel up to the highest rating. Be sure to read the author's note at the end.

One line or phrase that resonated while reading this book, was "surviving the surviving." How many times in our lives do we do this? It gave me a lot to think about it. 

This book also made me want to return to visit Savannah - somewhere I revisited last summer for the first time in 35 years, and certainly one of the prettiest cities in this country.

Also by Patti Callahan Henry:
The Secret Book of Flora Lea, published 2023