Orphans of the Storm

An enjoyable read, a bit slow to begin with. A young girl with her head in the clouds being swept off her feet by the cruel and manipulative Michel. Difficult age for women to obtain a divorce as they had very few rights and were under the control of their husbands. Hadn't realised this was based on true events. The titanic account was the most descriptive. I didn't like Margaret; all she seemed interested in was to be recognised for her rescuing the children. Not sure who the credit for the book should go to as the research was undertaken by someone other than Celia Imrie.

This book is very well researched (I think with her friend but she doesn't get a credit on the cover so not really sure who did most of the 'donkey work'. I found the way the story relates and intertwines events from the Titanic to be very clever, and it made me go and do a bit of research (via Wikipedia lol) on the events of the Titanic, but can't help feeling that the first half of the book is too long and the second half (where the link with the Titanic is revealed) too short. None of the characters are particularly likeable either.

I really enjoyed this book. I always approach books (and films/TV series) that are based on fact with some trepidation as I never think they are going to be as exciting as fiction. However, despite its length this book was both interesting and compelling and I would not hesitate to recommend it. The characters seem both real and personable and it is a good story, well told. The facts have obviously been comprehensively researched and incorporated into a narrative which kept my attention throughout. I had not read any Celia Imrie before but if this book is anything to go by, she is an excellent storyteller and I will be looking out for more of her work.

I read this book through my Book Club, and it wasn’t my type of book at all.

However, I really enjoyed it, and the fact that it was based on a true story enhanced my enjoyment. It was a very long book and I thought I might struggle with it, but I read it in two sittings - I didn’t want to put it down. It is amazing the stories that are still emerging from the Titanic disaster, and this was certainly one of the best.

Overall, it is worth reading especially since it’s factually based and so well researched. I found it to be quite a slow burner but you do have to stick with it to get to the best bits!
This is the first book I have read by this author. If you enjoy historical fiction then you should definitely give this novel a try.

This was a good read and better than I was expecting. Celia Imrie and her friend (who did the historical research for the book) seem to have stumbled across a true story relating to the Titanic disaster which also links to Nice (where Imrie lives). They have built a fast-paced and well-constructed work of fiction around it, quite light but engaging. The plot brings together the experiences of 3 main characters. The first, Marcella, is a 21 year old mother of 2 boys, based in Nice, who has commenced divorce proceedings against her increasingly abusive and erratic husband, Michael. He has a dubious past and when he hears about his impending divorce and bankruptcy he takes the 2 young boys away, to London and then Southampton, to sail to New York aboard the Titanic. The third main character is Margaret, another 21 year old, single and flighty, an American travelling around Europe and bored. Looking for excitement, she books on to the Titanic's maiden voyage. Michael perished when the Titanic sank, and the boys were perceived to be orphans. The rest of the book recounts the international press coverage the case attracted and the outcomes for Margaret and Marcella – to recount more would be a spoiler!

The year is 1911 and Marcella and Michael have been married for three years. They have two young children and live in Nice, France but their marriage has been far from happy as Michael has proved himself to be both abusive and controlling. Marcella decides to take matters into her own hands and takes the unusual step of filing for a divorce. But then Michael disappears one night, as do the two young children and Marcella embarks on a desperate mission to find them. The third main character in the book is Margaret Hays who has been on a European tour and is returning to New York on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. The way in which their lives all become entwined is told in this book, but the rudimentary facts are documented in history.

This is a departure from the previous book that I have read by Celia Imrie, and which I imagine is more typical of her style of writing. I suspect that this was an inkling of an idea, or a story she had heard (she is the descendant of a Titanic survivor so it may have been a family tale) which captured her imagination – the more she looked into it the more fascinated she became until it just had to be written. On the whole I think it was a successful project and was clearly very comprehensively researched. The bare bones of the story are available from the history books and newspaper reports and Celia has padded these out in order to turn them into a very plausible “novel”.
I am quite surprised that my interest was held throughout as the story does not appear to contain enough substance to fill a fairly lengthy book. It is to the author’s credit that she has managed to produce just that. The storyline itself was good but not great, and the characters themselves were well developed, presumably in line with the information that was available about them from 1912 when their story hit the headlines.

The only downside is that it was a little long-winded and could have been condensed somewhat. As a result the story moves on too slowly at times.

I would particularly recommended this book to anybody who has an interest in the Titanic, but it would also appeal to a much wider audience. It is easy to read, more of a holiday read than an intellectual challenge. I will definitely read more by Celia Imrie although on balance, I probably prefer her highly entertaining works of fiction.

When I started reading this book by Celia Imrie I had no idea that it was written by the great actress Celia Imrie but was enjoying the story and her writing style. She is certainly a very talented lady. I did not remember that the the "Orphans of the Storm" had a link to the Titanic, even though there is a picture of the shiip on the cover. I kept wondering about the significance of the the title (a game I play with myself with each book I read). It was about three quarters through that it became very clear that the story took us through the sailing and sinking of the Titanic and the rescue of some of the people on her.
We begin with the love story of two young people, Marcella and Michael. They have a whirlwind relationship and quick surprise marriage then settling down into a life as successful tailors. Children rapidly arrive and things begin falling apart. Marcella becomes isolated from her friends and family while Michael begins living a secret life and berating and abusing her. After several years of this Marcella begins the process of getting a divorce. Keep in mind that this is in the early 1900's in France at a time when women had no rights and little support. Michael kidnaps the two children to punish her and heads to America ahead of bankruptcy and jail. He and the boys end up on the Titanic on it's maiden voyage. The rest, as they say, is history.
However it wasn't until the end of the book while reading the epilogue that I learned that this book is factual history. Each person and their story in the book is a documentation of actual people found through meticulous research. I was dumbfounded and even more impressed with the author's ability to write wonderful flowing dialogue and remarkable descriptions of the world that was of that time.
Celia Imrie is a priceless talent both as an actor and a writer and I highly recommend this book both for entertainment and education.

A gripping tale (though mostly true). I could not put this book down until I learnt the fate of the two boys on the Titanic. Michael the husband of Marcela was not happy about a divorce and had convinced a male legal system that Marcela was a unfit mother. While waiting for the court decision he stole the boys away. Would their mother ever be able to trace them, and if they lived or died would she be able to claim them as hers as the male dominant society was unwilling to identify her as an acceptable mother.
Brilliant book with well written characters and a heart wrenching story told well