Having emigrated to America from Ireland herself when she was just a young woman the author, Patricia Falvey, writes knowledgeably about the hopes and fears of so many young men and women who have travelled this path over the years. In The Titanic Sisters Nora and Delia, two sisters from Donegal, leave the farm cottage they grew up in for new lives in America. Nora is her mother's favourite and, when a cousin in America dies leaving instructions that one of her cousins should be brought to America as a governess to her young daughter her husband writes to Nora and Delia's mother requesting one of the girls be sent and enclosing enough money for a first class ticket on Titanic, Nora's mother decides Nora should be the one to go. She tells Nora that her cousin's husband is a rich man and she should set out to marry him. Dora is the bookish sister and is bitterly disappointed not to be going. Her father sees this and speaks to the local priest who informs him an Irish family in New York are looking for a maid and suggests the position for Dora. He changes the first class ticket for two tickets in steerage, without telling his wife, to enable both his daughters to travel to new and, hopefully, better lives. Readers are aware from the short description that following the disaster on board Titanic Nora is presumed dead and Delia steps into her role as governess without revealing her identity however Nora is found alive and well. Last century there were many people who emigrated to countries around the world with varying degrees of success. This is a fascinating subject and I'm very much looking forward to reading about how Nora and Delia's lives unfold in New York.