The Wreck of the Titan: Or, Futility is a novella written by Morgan Robertson and published as Futility in 1898, and revised as The Wreck of the Titan in 1912. It features a fictional British ocean linerTitan that sinks in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg. The Titan and its sinking are famous for similarities to the passenger ship RMS Titanic and its sinking 14 years later. After the sinking of the Titanic the novel was reissued with some changes, particularly in the ship's gross tonnage.[1]
The first half of Futility introduces hero John Rowland, a disgraced former US Navy officer. Now an alcoholic denigrated to the lowest ranks of society, he has been dismissed from the Navy and works as a deckhand on the Titan. One April night, the ship hits an iceberg and sinks, somewhat before the mid-point of the novel.
The second half of the story follows Rowland as he saves the young daughter of a former lover by jumping onto the iceberg with her. The pair find a lifeboat washed up on the iceberg and are eventually rescued by a passing ship. But the girl is recovered by her mother and Rowland is arrested for her kidnapping. A sympathetic magistrate discharges him and rebukes the mother for being unsympathetic to her daughter's savior. Rowland disappears from the world.
In a brief final chapter covering several years, Rowland works his way up from homeless and anonymous fisherman to a desk job and finally, two years after passing his civil service exam, to "a lucrative position under the Government".
A later edition[clarification needed] includes a followup: Rowland receives a letter from the mother (who congratulates him and pleads for him to visit her) and from the girl.
Similarities to the Titanic
Although the novel was written before the RMS Titanic was even conceptualized, there are some uncanny similarities between the fictional and real-life versions. Like the Titanic, the fictional ship sank after wrecking on an iceberg in April in the North Atlantic, and there were not enough lifeboats for all the passengers. There are also similarities in size (800 ft [244 m] long for the Titan versus 882 ft 9 in [269 m] long for the Titanic), speed, and life-saving equipment.[2] After the Titanic's sinking, some people credited Robertson with precognition and clairvoyance, which he denied. Scholars attribute the similarities to Robertson's extensive knowledge of shipbuilding and maritime trends.[3]
In popular culture
Walter Lord's book A Night to Remember (1955), relating the Titanic's wreck, begins with a summary of Robertson's novel.
Martin Gardner's book The Wreck of the Titanic Foretold? (1986)
The book was referenced in the television series One Step Beyond, in season 1, episode 2, entitled "Night of April 14th", which aired January 27, 1959.
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The Wreck of the Titan redirects here For the Doctor Who audio drama see The Wreck of the Titan audio drama The Wreck of the Titan Or Futility is a novella written by Morgan Robertson and published as Futility in 1898 and revised as The Wreck of the Titan in 1912 It features a fictional British ocean liner Titan that sinks in the North Atlantic after striking an iceberg The Titan and its sinking are famous for similarities to the passenger ship RMS Titanic and its sinking 14 years later After the sinking of the Titanic the novel was reissued with some changes particularly in the ship s gross tonnage 1 FutilityFirst edition 1898AuthorMorgan RobertsonCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishPublication typeNovellaPublication date1898TextFutility at at Wikisource Contents 1 Plot 2 Similarities to the Titanic 3 In popular culture 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External linksPlot EditThe first half of Futility introduces hero John Rowland a disgraced former US Navy officer Now an alcoholic denigrated to the lowest ranks of society he has been dismissed from the Navy and works as a deckhand on the Titan One April night the ship hits an iceberg and sinks somewhat before the mid point of the novel The second half of the story follows Rowland as he saves the young daughter of a former lover by jumping onto the iceberg with her The pair find a lifeboat washed up on the iceberg and are eventually rescued by a passing ship But the girl is recovered by her mother and Rowland is arrested for her kidnapping A sympathetic magistrate discharges him and rebukes the mother for being unsympathetic to her daughter s savior Rowland disappears from the world In a brief final chapter covering several years Rowland works his way up from homeless and anonymous fisherman to a desk job and finally two years after passing his civil service exam to a lucrative position under the Government A later edition clarification needed includes a followup Rowland receives a letter from the mother who congratulates him and pleads for him to visit her and from the girl Similarities to the Titanic EditAlthough the novel was written before the RMS Titanic was even conceptualized there are some uncanny similarities between the fictional and real life versions Like the Titanic the fictional ship sank after wrecking on an iceberg in April in the North Atlantic and there were not enough lifeboats for all the passengers There are also similarities in size 800 ft 244 m long for the Titan versus 882 ft 9 in 269 m long for the Titanic speed and life saving equipment 2 After the Titanic s sinking some people credited Robertson with precognition and clairvoyance which he denied Scholars attribute the similarities to Robertson s extensive knowledge of shipbuilding and maritime trends 3 In popular culture EditWalter Lord s book A Night to Remember 1955 relating the Titanic s wreck begins with a summary of Robertson s novel The American anthology series Beyond Belief Fact or Fiction used the story in the episode eleven segment entitled Titan The comic A la recherche de Sir Malcolm 1984 by Francois Riviere and Floc h starts with an introduction which opens with a mention of Futility The novel can be found sitting on Carlson s armchair in the 1996 video game Titanic Adventure Out of Time The 2010 Doctor Who audio drama The Wreck of the Titan by Barnaby Edwards connects the writing of Futility to the Titanic story through time travel Martin Gardner s book The Wreck of the Titanic Foretold 1986 The book was referenced in the television series One Step Beyond in season 1 episode 2 entitled Night of April 14th which aired January 27 1959 In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen fictional universe the Titan serves as the Titanic s fictional counterpart Robertson s book is referenced in the 2009 video game Nine Hours Nine Persons Nine Doors in regards to the game s setting See also EditList of fictional ships Synchronicity How the Mail Steamer Went Down in Mid Atlantic by a Survivor 1886 book written to warn about ships which lack lifeboat capacityReferences Edit The Titanic Futility History on the Net 3 June 2014 Retrieved 2019 06 02 Roberts Stephen July 3 2015 Titanic Foretold The annotated version of Futility or The Wreck of the Titan Retrieved 2020 12 09 Hasan Heba April 14 2012 Author Predicts Titanic Sinking 14 Years Earlier Time Retrieved 2019 11 28 Further reading EditCocksey Brian The Titan amp the Titanic Light Eternal Publishing Limited Archived from the original on 2011 08 07 Retrieved 2005 11 23 Rutman Sharon Stevenson Jay 1998 The Complete Idiot s Guide to the Titanic Alpha Books ISBN 0 02 862712 1 Flavio Cenni The Titanic before the Titanic Retrieved 2009 01 13 Morgan Robertson Stephen Roberts 2015 Titanic Foretold The annotated version of Futility or The Wreck of the Titan Retrieved 2020 12 09 External links Edit Wikisource has original text related to this article The Wreck of the Titan Or Futility The Wreck of the Titan public domain audiobook at LibriVox The Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson Online edition 250 page novel 1912 facsimile edition Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Wreck of the Titan Or Futility amp oldid 1133798957, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
