In this episode I venture into Astor-land for the first time, beginning with a bit of a primer on JJ Astor and his family, leading into his courtship with 17-year-old Madeleine Force, who would go on to become his second wife and board Titanic alongside him. Then I'm joined by author Shana Abe, whose novel The Second Mrs. Astor is a stunning piece of historical fiction that attempts to fill in the gaps of what we know and illuminate their love story. It's a great chat, and we fell into a wonderful rapport immediately.  (*I apologize if the audio is a bit shaky, I've had some sick family members and my recording space was a bit displaced!)

We speak in the interview about one of JJ and Madeleine's descendants appearing in James Cameron's documentary Titanic 20 Years Later. That was Jacqueline Astor Drexel, who is the daughter of Jakey, their son. So she's JJ and Madeleine's granddaughter! Here's a link to the entire documentary free to stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fijSuO_oUIM

You can find Shana's website here, and make sure to check out her many other works!
https://www.shanaabe.com

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