Blog Archives
Titanic and Teddy Bears… Ava O’Reilly and Father Browne
Meet the famous teddy bear from the Titanic…
Teddy Bears, Polar Bears and Titanic, oh my.
What do teddy bears have in common with the Titanic? Let’s start with polar bears.
And a little boy who was a passenger on the Titanic.
In my novel, The Runaway Girl, my hero, Captain Lord James ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, is watching Irish girl, Ava O’Reilly, from the Promenade deck arriving on the tender, Ireland, to board the Titanic.
He’s fascinated when he sees her save the travel bag of a Jesuit novitiate from going overboard when the man of the cloth slips on the wet wooden slats and drops his bag.
Risking her own safety, Ava races after it and grabs the bag before it goes overboard.
What Ava didn’t know was that bag contained the last photos of the Titanic taken by Father Browne. One of those photos showed a picture of a little boy playing on deck. He loved playing with his polar bear.
The boy survived the Titanic, but unfortunately three years later he was killed in an auto accident. In 1913 his mother wrote a story about the boy’s favorite polar bear’s adventures, but after the tragedy it was put away and forgotten.
Until years later in 1982.
The book was published in 1994 as ‘Polar: The Titanic Bear.’
But that’s not the end of our bear story.
Teddy bears are as beloved to children as lollipops and spinning tops. They’re a comfort to a child and a fond memory long after a child grows up. In many an attic you’ll find dusty teddy bears just waiting for a child’s loving arms to hold them.
They warm the heart and comfort the soul.
Especially those who lost a loved one on the Titanic.
After the Titanic sinking in 1912, the Steiff Company in Germany manufactured six hundred black mohair teddy bears in five different sizes.
The ‘mourning bears,’ as they were called, were commissioned as a sign of respect and were sold at Harrods in London to comfort many a widow or family member who lost someone on the Titanic.
I’m sure many heartfelt prayers were said while holding one of these teddy bears.
As my heroine Ava O’Reilly says before reciting a prayer: ‘…knowing it don’t matter to Him what words a body said, only that they were true and pure.’
Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…
When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from the grand house where she is in service she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.
Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by the Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.
As the fateful night when the Titanic hits an iceberg approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…
A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Christmas Once Again.’
THE RUNAWAY GIRL
Kobo.
Titanic Tuesdays: Titanic and Teddy Bears
Meet the famous teddy bear from the Titanic…
Teddy Bears, Polar Bears and Titanic, oh my.
What do teddy bears have in common with the Titanic? Let’s start with polar bears.
And a little boy who was a passenger on the Titanic.
In my novel, The Runaway Girl, my hero, Captain Lord James ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, is watching Irish girl, Ava O’Reilly, from the Promenade deck arriving on the tender, Ireland, to board the Titanic.
He’s fascinated when he sees her save the travel bag of a Jesuit novitiate from going overboard when the man of the cloth slips on the wet wooden slats and drops his bag.
Risking her own safety, Ava races after it and grabs the bag before it goes overboard.
What Ava didn’t know was that bag contained the last photos of the Titanic taken by Father Browne. One of those photos showed a picture of a little boy playing on deck. He loved playing with his polar bear.
The boy survived the Titanic, but unfortunately three years later he was killed in an auto accident. In 1913 his mother wrote a story about the boy’s favorite polar bear’s adventures, but after the tragedy it was put away and forgotten.
Until years later in 1982.
The book was published in 1994 as ‘Polar: The Titanic Bear.’
But that’s not the end of our bear story.
Teddy bears are as beloved to children as lollipops and spinning tops. They’re a comfort to a child and a fond memory long after a child grows up. In many an attic you’ll find dusty teddy bears just waiting for a child’s loving arms to hold them.
They warm the heart and comfort the soul.
Especially those who lost a loved one on the Titanic.
After the Titanic sinking in 1912, the Steiff Company in Germany manufactured six hundred black mohair teddy bears in five different sizes.
The ‘mourning bears,’ as they were called, were commissioned as a sign of respect and were sold at Harrods in London to comfort many a widow or family member who lost someone on the Titanic.
I’m sure many heartfelt prayers were said while holding one of these teddy bears.
As my heroine Ava O’Reilly says before reciting a prayer: ‘…knowing it don’t matter to Him what words a body said, only that they were true and pure.’
Next time on Titanic Tuesdays: The Titanic passenger list that never was…
THE RUNAWAY GIRL, is on schedule for a March 17 pub date.
Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…
When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from the grand house where she is in service she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.
Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by the Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.
As the fateful night when the Titanic hits an iceberg approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…
A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Christmas Once Again.’
THE RUNAWAY GIRL is now up for pre-order:
Kobo.
Titanic Tuesdays: Titanic and the Loo and a lord in a tub
Captain Lord Blackthorn, a lord in a tub
A funny thing happened to my heroine, Ava O’Reilly, on the way to the loo when she boarded the ship of dreams. She gets a peek at first class accommodations when she runs into the dashing gentleman gambler, Captain Lord James ‘Buck’ Blackthorn.
She can’t believe his private bathroom with its double sink and commode.
Ava also discovers Titanic’s first class passengers enjoyed such luxuries as an electric heater in their bathroom, linoleum tiles, and pure Vinolia Otto toilet soap smelling of lemon and spice.
The captain of the ship enjoyed his bath with a choice of fresh or seawater, hot or cold.
First class ladies could spend ‘female only’ time at the luxuriously appointed Turkish Baths every day from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The baths provided pampering such as early tanning beds called ‘electric baths.’ There was also a drinking fountain. I imagine the ladies enjoyed their privacy since there was a weighing chair in the cooling room which recorded their weight and the date so they could see if they ‘sweat’ off any pounds in the baths.
Second class cabins had problems with the faucets not functioning.
Third class or steerage had plenty of lavatories, but they didn’t wash much if the number of tubs on board is any indication.
‘I hear there are only two tubs in steerage for seven hundred passengers,’ Captain Lord Blackthorn tells her.
Ava can’t believe her ears. ‘Two tubs for all them people?’
‘Rather cozy, if you ask me.’
Captain Lord Blackthorn is quite a rogue, but he’s met his match in Ava. He soon discovers she’s quite a handful and challenges him at every turn…
Can this plucky Irish lass win the heart of a titled British gentleman?
The Titanic was called ‘the ship of dreams.’
Or is it just a shipboard romance he’s after? He’s used to a life of privilege and entertaining the most beautiful aristocratic ladies… yet he can’t forget the beautiful red-headed Irish girl.
Wealth comes with its own set of rules aboard the Titanic and the first class passengers play it for all it’s worth…will Captain Lord Blackthorn see that his world is coming to an end before it’s too late?
Before he loses Ava?
Next time on Titanic Tuesdays: The Titanic and Teddy Bears.
THE RUNAWAY GIRL, is on schedule for a March 17 pub date.
Two women hold the keys to his heart. Only one will survive that fateful night…
When Ava O’Reilly is wrongly accused of stealing from the grand house where she is in service she has no option but to flee Ireland. The law is after her, and she has only one chance at escape – the Titanic.
Aboard the ship of dreams, she runs straight into the arms of Captain ‘Buck’ Blackthorn, a dashing gentleman gambler who promises to be her protector. He is intrigued by the Irish beauty and manages to disguise her as the maid of his good friend, the lovely Countess of Marbury. Little does he realise, that the Countess is also in love with him.
As the fateful night when the Titanic hits an iceberg approaches, tragedy strikes further when Ava is separated from Buck, and must make a daring choice that will change her life forever…
A sweeping historical romance set aboard the Titanic, from the author of Christmas Once Again.’
THE RUNAWAY GIRL is now up for pre-order:
Kobo.
