No Greater Love by Danielle Steel

[Ksenia Grigorieva]

I've searched the archive of the ET forum - there're mention of the film that was made on this book, but I'd like to notice some interesting episodes from the book connected with the sinking of the Titanic. Unfortunately, I've read only the Russian translation - so I cannot be sure if I make a correct "retranslation", but there's a phrase like this in the book: "There were mostly women among the survivors, but a few men as well - those who had a possibility to hide from Lightoller"

Something similar with Cameron's movie.

In general, there's an impression after this book that it was Lightoller only who saved the passengers, and where had all other officers been during the sinking, Captain included - there's no sign of it...

 

[Michael H. Standart]

I wouldn't put to much stock in this book, even as a work of fiction. It's really a romance more then anything else, with the Titanic being little more then a prop. The ship sets the stage for the events that follow and is quickly forgotten.

 

[Ksenia Grigorieva]

Michael -

I agree with you. Just interesting to notice that the Titanic can be a good stage not for Jack and Rose only.
OFF Danielle Steel has one romance story about Russia and the revolution of 1917. From the historical point of view, it made me laugh.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>OFF Danielle Steel has one romance story about Russia and the revolution of 1917. From the historical point of view, it made me laugh.<<

LOL!!!! I'll just bet it did.

Did she get anything right?

 

[Tracy Smith]

Danielle Steel is well known for royally botching the history in her historical romance novels.

However, there ARE good historical romance writers out there, Susan Johnson being one them. Most of her historicals provide footnotes at the end of each novel, which outline the historical research that went into the novel.

 

[Fiona Nitschke]

I've always regarded the book as being as much about early cinema as Titanic. After all, despite the sinking's effect on the Winfield family the Titanic content is pretty much over a quarter in to the book, but there's a lot about the Winfields' newspaper and their adventures in the motion picture industry.

Ksenia, I looked up that passage and agree with you about it being similar. The English version doesn't mention the men 'hiding' from Lightoller, but 'avoidance' can be inferred:

quote:

The scene in the dining saloon was both touching and chaotic. Women sat together in small clusters, crying softly for their men, being questioned by the stewardesses, the nurses, and the doctors, and a handful of men were there too, but pitifully few, thanks to Second Officer Lightoller, who would not let most of them into the lifeboats. Still, several had survived in spite of it, due to less stringent rules on the starboard side, and ingenuity in some events...

(Good golly, she uses as many commas as me!) First time I'd touched the book in years.

 

[Ksenia Grigorieva]

Michael,

>>Did she get anything right?<<

Certainly she did - she wrote the name of the last Russian tzar correctly

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>Certainly she did - she wrote the name of the last Russian tzar correctly <<

Oh...well...that's a good start.

 

[Mark Robert Hopkins]

So, you're saying that the information provided in Fiona's excerpt above is all wrong, the fictional story aside?...

 

[Dave Moran]

Actually to be a pedantically historical rotter... what, Grand Duke and last Tsar of all the Russias ( for all of one day ) Mikhail Alexandrovitch ?

Yours in a showing off in order to take the rip out of Danielle Steele sort of way

dave

 

[Ksenia Grigorieva]

Hello Dave -

I'm not sure that Danielle Steele mentioned all the titles of Mikhail Alexandrovitch correctly, but - she mentioned about this "one-day" being a tzar, at least as I read in the Russian translation of this book (BTW its name is "Granny Dan", in Russian translation - "Old Letters").

Dave, are you interested in Russian history?

 

[Dave Moran]

Yup - very much so.

But not Danielle Steele I swear - oh, alright, maybe I flick through them at the airport trying to find the dirty bits.


It's a hobby.

warmest regards

dave

 

[suzanne bessent]

This was where I first found out about Hugh Woolner.

 

[Evgueni Mlodik]

Aren't most of Danielle Steele's "historical romance" novels interchangeable?

They all follow the same formula...

A rich girl is all content and happy with her joyful upper class family.

Then... Titanic sinks/WWI/Russian Revolution/WWII and her parents and/or fiancé perish, so she's stuck raising a mob of ungrateful little brats and put her own future on hold.

The youngest girl she raises usually ends up being a sl~~. In the end she either finds redemption.... Or dies.

So, our plucky heroine raises the kids and while she has a billion lovers, by the time she becomes menopausal, she realises true love is family. THE END.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>They all follow the same formula... <<

I suppose with that, I can now say that I've read every Danielle Steel novel ever written...in thirty seconds.