Titanic: The Last Night of a Small Town

In his newest work, Welshman (Churchill’s Children: The Evacuee Experience in Wartime Britain) “seeks to re-balance the narrative, away from First Class passengers towards the experiences of those in Second and Third.” He does so by focusing on 11 passengers and crew members plus the captain of the Carpathia, the ship that rescued the Titanic’s survivors. Using these people’s own recollections as well as their published and unpublished accounts, Welshman paints a detailed picture of the ill-fated ship’s auspicious launching, comfortable voyage, middle-of-the-night sinking, and the subsequent lives of its survivors. While his penchant for explaining each event from various perspectives often leads to repetition, Welshman writes with sensitivity that forgoes melodrama in favor of honest emotions. His prose is especially poignant when describing the quiet dignity displayed by most survivors and victims. By peppering the personal tales with historical asides about the boat’s construction and trials, the wireless telegraph, lifeboats, immigration, and the true cause of the sinking, Welshman has created an important account that humanizes one of the most oft-dramatized disasters of the 20th century. 25 b&w photos not seen by PW. (May)