It's been a few years since I read Gill Hoffs' previous books, The Sinking of RMS Tayleur: The Lost Story of the Victorian Titanic (2015) and The Lost Story of the William & Mary: The Cowardice of Captain Stinson (2016). In 2020, when I read and reviewed them, I felt quite sated with tales of shipwrecks, so I shelved her third (and, to my knowledge, final) book on the subject, The Lost Story of the Ocean Monarch: Fire, Family & Fidelity. Recently, scanning the shelves for something new to read, my eye fell on this one and thought: It's time.

The first few chapters are slow reading, as Hoffs sets the stage and explains the social and economic reasons why so many people, a lot of them suffering the effects of famine and poverty, crammed into ships such as the Ocean Monarch to seek a fresh start across the ocean. She introduces us to key figures among the crew, as well as some of the passengers -- such as a man and woman fleeing their respective spouses to begin a new life together, an artist, a man who tried to hide his brother from the police in the bowels of the ship, an American jeweller returning home, people seeking new occupations or joining family members who crossed over before them. Hoffs also tells us a bit about the ship itself -- only a year old, American built, and quite large and glamorous for the time.

But it doesn't take long before the sails are set and the tragedy begins.

The Ocean Monarch departed from Liverpool on Aug. 24, 1848, bound for Boston, but it was only a few hours later, off the coast of Wales, that fire engulfed the ship. In terms of the book, she sets sail on page 29, and by page 33 the start of the fire is hinted at, if not expressly revealed. The first signs of smoke are noticed by a passenger on page 41. And then things get serious very quickly indeed.

Drawing heavily on official statements, testimonies, contemporary news reports and memoirs from survivors and witnesses of the catastrophe, Hoffs pieces together the events of the next several hours. She explains how quickly the fire spread and details the response by the captain, crew and passengers as they first try to extinguish the blaze, then act to save themselves and others as it rages out of control.

Using the available sources, Hoffs meticulously describes how some people saved themselves or were rescued by nearby vessels, how some ships put themselves in peril as they raced to offer aid while others fled the scene without providing assistance and, sadly, she describes how many of the people died, trapped between blazing fire and cold, turbulent water. Ironically, some of the passengers were driven into the dangerous sea by the flames, while others were so terrified of the water that they braved the fire, which quickly stripped the ship to its bare bones. A few had the choice taken from them, as falling masts and spars crushed some and swept others overboard.

It is at times tragic reading, but it puts the reader right at the heart of the calamity.

There is heroism, too. Prime examples include Jotham Bragdon, first officer of the Monarch, who worked tirelessly to save as many people as possible (despite being labeled a coward in early reports). Frederick Jerome, a British-born sailor on the American ship New World, who stripped down and swam into the inferno to rescue passengers, many of them women, who were too afraid to leave the ship. There was also a stewardess, a black woman whose name has been lost to history, who died while shifting kegs of gunpowder from storage where, if they had exploded there, would likely have cost many more lives.

Still, of the approximately 398 people aboard the Monarch, including 322 steerage passengers, 32 first- and second-class passengers, and 42 officers and crew, 178 are listed as having died that day.

And then Hoffs digs into the aftermath of the tragedy. There are investigations, inquests, postmortems and burials, medical care, reunions and, of course, mourning. There are frantic news accounts and court enquiries. Reputations are made or ruined based on actions taken during the event. Even the police are involved, as the crew of a pilot boat is suspected of theft and possibly murder. And, finally, she reveals the ultimate fates of the survivors -- where they went, what they did, who they married, how they died.

Hoffs has done a great deal of research to give the Ocean Monarch and the people aboard her their due. The story is sad, but sprinkled with uplifting moments of selfless bravery. It's good that they'll be remembered.