TWO TITLES IN ONE! The Story of the Wreck of the Titanic by Marshall Everett AND The Sinking of the Titanic by Thomas H. Russell. Forget the films; forget the documentaries; forget the accusations against the captain of a nearby ship: this is how you would have read about the sinking of the Titanic when it happened – 100 years ago.
In America, a number of books were rushed into print following the sinking of the R. M. S. Titanic. 'Sinking of the Titanic' by Jay Henry Mowbray, 'The Story of the Wreck of the Titanic' by Marshall Everett, 'The Sinking of the Titanic' by Thomas H. Russell, 'The Tragic Story of the Titanic' by Henry Fredricks, and 'The Sinking of the Titanic' by Logan Marshall all followed the same general pattern: newspaper-style articles about the liner, its luxuriousness, and the famously rich passengers; stories of the collision with the iceberg, and tales of heroism and cowardice as told by the survivors, interspersed with photographs, sketches, and cartoons. They were cloth-covered, with a paste-down picture of the Titanic on the cover, and were sold for one dollar by representatives who went door-to-door collecting subscriptions by showing prospective customers a 'sample' comprising the cover and a few pages of typical content.
Some survivors from the Titanic wrote their own books: 'The Titanic Tragedy – God Speaking to the Nations' by Alma White, and from England: 'The Loss of the S. S. Titanic,' by Lawrence Beesley, a scholar from Cambridge University. Also in England Lloyds Weekly News published a 40-page narrative 'The Deathless Story of the Titanic.'
Early in 1913 'The Truth About the Titanic' by another survivor, Colonel Archibald Gracie, was published posthumously.
But the passage of 100 years reveals that some things never change: the newsworthiness of disaster; the fascination with the lifestyles of the elite; the admiration of heroism; and the expectation that a captain should go down with his ship.
It is true that they contain inaccuracies but their historical interest is that they reveal how the details of the tragedy were first disclosed to the incredulous public.
Relive the history for yourself as these electronic copies of the original 1912 books become available over the coming months to suit your Kindle. But be warned; this is a large file as it contains all the original pictures and sketches from both books. But if you think it was the S. S. Californian who could have rescued all on board but didn't; think again! Read Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Mystery on your Kindle.