Surviving Savannah

 Patti Callahan has done a good job in her novel Surviving Savannah (#994) in reviving the story of one of the South's forgotten tragedies - the sinking of the steamship Pulaski off the coast of North Carolina in 1838 .  With its loss of the cream of Savannah and Charleston society onboard the wreck has been likened to "the Titanic of the South".

Ms. Callahan has chosen to tell her story through dual timelines: Everly Winthrop, a modern day Savannah native who teaches history, and through the women of the fictional Longstreet family who board the doomed ship along with many other family members that long ago day.

Everly has suffered her own tragic loss and is stuck emotionally until she is offered a chance to curate an exhibit on the newly-discovered remains of the Pulaski.  It takes some persuading, but soon she is deeply immersed in concentrating the focus of the exhibit on the Longstreet family, making the loss of life personal to museum visitors.  The chapters alternate between Augusta Longstreet, sister of the financial backer of the steamship, Lilly Forsythe, her niece who is aboard with her husband, infant and slave nurse, and Everly herself.

The chapters describing the events which led to the sinking of the Pulaski and the fate of the passengers - who survived; who did not - are harrowing and the best part of the book, as are the extensive resources Patti Callahan has included at the end for those who wish to know more.

With that said, I did not find the fictional romances here convincing, but that's probably just me, because I know others who have raved about this book.  One other nit: I hated the cover of this book.  Why couldn't the illustrator/photographer have found a model with clothing of the proper era?  It isn't that hard to find online these days.  And why use sailing vessels when the whole tragedy occurred because of the boiler explosion of the latest available ship technology - the steamship?  I know it's just me, but it does irritate me.  I can't take the contents as seriously when the cover isn't even minimally researched.  You can decide for yourself.