The Second Mrs. Astor: A Heartbreaking Historical Novel of the Titanic

The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott (2012)

In this popular literary novel, the protagonist, a dressmaker named Tess, accompanies Lady Duff Gordon aboard the Titanic and escapes with her when the ships sinks. Once in New York, Tess and Lady Duff Gordon are embroiled in the hearings that follow the disaster. The novel captures the lives of the rich during this period and the obsession with the Titanic even at the time.

The Girl Who Came Home by Hazel Gaynor (2012)

This dual-timeline historical novel follows the life of Maggie, who left her home and her sweetheart in Ireland to board the Titanic, only to become one of the few passengers in steerage to survive. In 1982, Maggie finally shares her story with her great-granddaughter, Grace, exploring the enduring impact the tragedy had on her life.

When the Astors Owned New York: Blue Bloods and Grand Hotels in a Gilded Age by Justin Kaplan (2007)

Covering the last days of the Gilded Age in the 1890s through the Roaring 20s, Kaplan’s anecdotal biography covers the rivalry between William Waldorf and John Jacob Astor and how the hotels they built and made famous changed social life in New York, moving glittering events from private balls in high-class houses to the more public venue of the hotel.