"Luxury Liners: Life on Board" (used book)

Luxury Liners: Life on Board

by Catherine Donzel

About the book

Used book. Hardcover. Dust jacket included. Good condition. Library copy.

Opulence, haute cuisine, and sophisticated elegance: this is the irresistible world that unfolds in the pages of Luxury Liners, where author Catherine Donzel steers us on a fascinating voyage through the heyday of the great ocean liners. For over a century, from the 1850s to the launch of the Queen Elizabeth 2 in 1969, when the transatlantic crossing was still the most accessible route between Europe and America, floating palaces like the Queen Mary, Great Eastern, Normandie, Ile de France, Rex, the Titanic, and Conte di Savoia, were undisputed monarchs of the seas. Slicing through mountainous waves in the teeth of a ferocious Atlantic gales, these colossal vessels pushed their massive engines to the limits of their endurance in their ceaseless pursuit of the coveted Blue riband, flow by the holder of the transatlantic speed record. On the longer and more leisurely routes to the South Atlantic and the Far East, these stately vessels were buffeted by monsoons and hurricanes, enduring the notorious typhoons of the South China Sea and the searing heat of the Red Sea.

Yet whatever the conditions, these vast floating cities sailed on, carrying passengers by the thousand – industrialists, emigrants, financiers, colonial officials, cardsharps, and missionaries – to their destinations around the globe. For those traveling in the first class, a sea voyage was the ultimate in luxury, a glamorous and pampered world of gourmet dining amid opulent salons embellished with precious woods and marbles, gilded stucco and shimmering silks. Between afternoon dips in the pool and dressing for glamorous evening entertainment, travelers found time for a languid stroll on the promenade deck, while others relaxed on deck chairs, tucked in under snug tartan rugs, discussing the latest gossip of Paris or New York over a cup of hot bouillon. All of these moments, and more, are captured in fascinating period photography.