Surviving Savannah
Book Feature - Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan
HBL Note: Many of my favorite authors (including Kristin Hannah, Lisa Wingate, Paula McLain and Fiona Davis) are raving about Patti Callahan’s latest novel, SURVIVING SAVANNAH. Usually I first hear about a book when a publicist emails me to ask if I’d be interested in an advanced copy. But with Surviving Savannah, my favorite authors were chatting about it on social media and singing its praises so rather than waiting for a publicist to contact me…I reached out to them asking to be considered for an advanced copy. I wanted to get my hands on this book!
Have you ever heard of “The Titanic of the South?” It was a luxury steamship that sank off the coast of North Carolina, a story many people had forgotten until the wreck was found a few years ago. And like all of my favorite historical novels, SURVIVING SAVANNAH will help bring this story to the forefront and teach all of its readers about this historical event. Scroll down to read more.
From the publisher:
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.