You like books? So do I. My interest in Titanic began from around the age of 13, originally from watching the 1958 movie A Night To Remember and, once I knew it was a true story, I wanted to read more. Many years later, certain books in particular were referred to while writing The Titanic Document.
My number one source came during a spell writing reviews for a provincial newspaper in 1986, when a copy of Titanic—Triumph and Tragedy landed on my desk. This comprehensive volume, full of facts, figures and illustrations, was written by John P. Eaton and Charles A. Haas, and was published by Patrick Stephens Limited in the same year.
Peace in Northern Ireland was a huge topic of the mid 80’s, when Martin Dillon wrote his book The Dirty War to describe what it was really like to live through The Troubles. Published in 1999 by Routledge, I drew heavily on his detailed account to try and reflect the situation described in Part One of The Titanic Document.
Going forward into the 21st Century, a title caught my eye during a visit to a local library, and I was immediately curious. Robin Gardiner’s Titanic—The Ship That Never Sank? presented a controversial theory that it was the sister ship Olympic at the bottom of the Atlantic, and the near identical ships had been swapped to enable White Star to make a valid insurance claim. It seemed an outrageous idea, but I found his argument persuasive at the time. The book had been published in 1998 by Ian Allan, and while many Titanic enthusiasts believe this theory is now discredited, you’ll still see plenty of videos on YouTube supporting the idea!
Who Sank the Titanic? was written by Robert J. Strange and published by Pen & Sword Maritime in 2012. Strange presents a strong case in claiming that politicians were largely to blame for the tragedy, and I have carried forward several of his arguments within the pages of Emma’s T Doc. It was Strange who alerted me to The Marconi Scandal, for example.
You’ll find a journal-like approach to the 1912 disaster in Jonathan Mayo’s Titanic—Minute by Minute. The book’s title says it all, and I borrowed his description of Ismay meeting the lady with the pig, that being my only scene set on board Titanic. This one was published by Short Books in 2016.
There is a wealth of material available online, including the excellent Encyclopaedia Titanica. I couldn’t possibly list every webpage I’ve looked at for either information or inspiration. There’s also plenty to find on YouTube—including the clip Ed shows to Billie in Chapter 10 of The Titanic Document. The simulation exercise described there can be viewed within a short film made by Blink Films in 2010: Titanic—The True Story.
To all those who contributed in any way to my own effort, my respect and huge appreciation.
Alan Veale, September 2020