Why I dedicate my novel about the Titanic to everyone who has lost a loved one
When I first started writing A Million to One, a novel set on the Titanic, I knew very little about the ship’s history. I’ve never had a time when I was obsessed with Titanic. As a kid, I only watched the 1997 James Cameron film once and never watched it again.
know the basics that anyone would know, and know a little more as an Irishman. I had been to the Titanic Museum in Belfast and had passed by with a fleeting curiosity about the ship’s history. Never before had I known that Ireland had such an important shipbuilding history. I’ve even been to Cobh, Co Cork, though I’m more interested in its colorful houses and picturesque views than its relationship to the Titanic.
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Cobh’s ‘Decks’. Photo: Jason Murphy
But then, in 2019, I started writing my novel – a heist with four girls on the Titanic. I had to fasten my seat belt and figure out the true history of this ship, and at the same time figure out what would make the story shine. What my research did surprised me.
First, I’ve never stopped thinking that the sinking of the Titanic could lead to the loss of priceless treasures and artifacts, many of which have never been recovered. One of all, Rubaiyat, which forms the crux of my novel. A rare jewel-encrusted book, this edition of Rubaiyat arguably one of the most ambitious bookbinding projects ever undertaken. It is encrusted with more than 1,000 precious gems and sold at auction for £405 in 1912. It was in the process of being shipped to a buyer on the Titanic, but now it is probably lying somewhere in the wreckage. wreckage of the ship.
The Rubaiyat Not the only treasure lost on the Titanic, nor the rarest or most expensive. The 1912 Renault Type CB Coupé de Ville was the only car on board. It was owned by William Carter, a wealthy American who inherited a coal and iron fortune. The car sank alongside the Titanic, although Carter and his family survived. After the disaster, Carter filed a claim for a refund of the value of the Renault, which was worth $5,000.
There are other artefacts that have sunk with the Renault and Rubaiyat more: a handwritten manuscript by Joseph Conrad Karain: A memory was in the Titanic’s mailroom, along with another 7,000,000 pieces of mail that had gone missing. A painting called ‘La Circassienne au Bain’ by Merry-Joseph Blondel was brought on board by a Swedish businessman who survived the sinking and claimed $100,000 for the lost painting. The porcelain used on the ship is estimated to be worth more than $1 million. While some of them have been recovered from the wreckage and sold for great prices, most are still lost.
After completing my research on the treasure on the Titanic, I sat down to think about the characters that would appear in my novel. Although my main characters are creations of my own imagination, I feel it appropriate to include at least a few real-life people who were on board the ship during its maiden voyage. . Researching some of these people is easy enough. There have been many articles about some of the famous individuals aboard the Titanic, many of whom survived the sinking, such as millionaire John Jacob Astor and fashion designer Lucy Duff-Gordon.
There are many reasons why the history of the Titanic is still alive in our minds. Firstly, the sheer scale of damage the shipwreck caused
It is even more difficult to study individuals like Catherine Wallis, who was employed as a security guard on the ship. While my research led to learning about her hometown, her surviving family, and her quest to find her remains, very little else has been found about her. . So in the end, even some of the historical figures who played a part in my novels ended up being heavily influenced by my own imagination.
When I think about the end of the book and the eventual fate that will befall each of my characters, I find myself thinking about the Titanic in general. Before I wrote this book, Titanic seemed like a great disaster that only existed in people’s hearts. But there are reasons why the history of the Titanic still lingers in our minds. First, the sheer scale of loss that the sinking caused. Only a fifth of the victims were found and more than 100 were buried at sea. Families like Wallis never found the bodies of their loved ones.
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Adiba Jaigirdar’s theft novel set aboard the Titanic, A Million to One
Immediately after the sinking of the ship, many people expressed their condolences by supporting the families of the victims. Bruce Ismay, chairman and chief executive officer of White Star Line, and his family have donated £55,000 to raise funds for the widows of sailors lost at sea. Ismay also raised money for a memorial in Liverpool. Many memorials have been built around the world to remember those who died in the sinking of the Titanic, including one in Belfast and one in Victoria, Australia.
Another reason the Titanic had such an impact was that the aftermath of the disaster led to changes in the law to ensure that a similar disaster doesn’t happen again. Both the US and UK launched investigations into the disaster and why it happened. Surviving crew members and officials were called to testify, although the only passengers to testify were husband and wife Cosmo Gordon and Lucy Duff-Gordon. While the UK and US requirements led to different reports, both resulted in changes in safety practices, such as requiring every ship to have lifeboat space for each passenger. and required lifeboat maneuvers for each trip.
When my research is done, I can sit down and write my story. I felt that all the elements I needed to perfect my idea were finally within reach. But, of course, I didn’t even use most of the research. For one, other than Rubaiyat, and with my characters trying to steal it from the Sotheby’s auctioneer on board, not a single other priceless artifact on the ship shows up much. Likewise, while I was excited to learn about the aftermath of the disaster and its major impact on ocean travel after the Titanic’s maiden voyage, this was never really the case. decisive factor in the end of my characters’ journey.
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Titanic Bells, by Mick Hodge via Unsplash
However, I started writing my book with very little knowledge of the history of the Titanic, and I left it with enough knowledge to write a book – and more. In a way, as I wrote and revised the story, I felt like its history came alive for me, in a way that I couldn’t have before I dug into all the research. mine.
After my manuscript and revision were completed, all history was in its place, whether on the pages of the book or still hanging around in my mind, I was done. One million to one. Except, I still feel like I’m missing a piece of the puzzle that ties everything together – to connect the writing of this book to the history it has unearthed.
I found the missing connection when I started writing my dedication. I tried several variations, thinking of all the people I could dedicate the book to. I wrote and revised most of the book during the Covid shutdown, through which I lost a lot of people. Somehow, I also included my loss in the Titanic’s loss. It would feel appropriate to dedicate the book to any of those people, but the loss is greater than for any of them. It feels heavier.
In a way, I wonder if my loss is the same as the loss suffered on the Titanic. Something catastrophic, tragic, unprecedented. Something that has made its mark in history and will stay in people’s minds for a long time. And so I ended up writing the only dedication to the book that I felt was right. What links this book and the circumstances in which it was written to the history of the Titanic: “To all those who have lost loved ones in this pandemic and to all the loved ones we have lost lost.”
‘ Million to One’ by Adiba Jaigirdarpublished by Hodder Children’s Books, now out of stock
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/books/why-i-dedicated-my-novel-about-the-titanic-to-everyone-who-ever-lost-someone-close-to-their-heart-42334419.html Why I dedicate my novel about the Titanic to everyone who has lost a loved one