A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly was a wonderful book about the sinking of the Titanic told from the viewpoint of one of the steerage passengers and the Captain of the Carpathia. The Carpathia was the only ship to heed the distress signals sent by the sinking Titanic, in time to save those poor souls who had spent the night in lifeboats.
Out of almost 2500 passengers and crew, the Carpathia was only able to save 705 people. There has been speculation about the other ships in the vicinity of the sinking, but no one was able to find out why they did not heed the distress signals.
I found this book to be the most interesting novel written about the Titanic that was different from other novels about this tragedy. Because this novel was written from the perspective of the Captain Author Rostron of the Carpathia, and the account of Kate Connolly, a young Irish girl en route to New York, this work lends itself to imagining what transpired immediately after the sinking and of the rescue of the surviving passengers and crew. The obvious reaction of Captain Rostron was one of dismay that more were unable to be saved. The guilt feelings that haunted Kate Connolly were completely understandable and heart-wrenching. I was unable to put this book down and read the whole book in one day.
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