Call of the Titanic by Lindsay Galvin

Title: Call of the Titanic

Author: Lindsay Galvin

Genre: Historical Fiction

Publisher: Chicken House

Published: 8^th June 2023

Format: Paperback

Pages: 320

Price: $19.99

Synopsis: From the bestselling author of Darwin’s Dragons and My Friend the Octopus comes an exciting historical adventure – with a touch of magic – set aboard the Titanic …

Young cabin steward, Sid, is proud to be working on the Titanic, the greatest stream liner ever built. Clara dreams of adventure at sea, and discovers it the hard way as a stowaway on a much smaller ship, the Carpathia. Here, she meets a giant bear of a dog: Rigel, who has a reputation for mischief. What none of them can foresee is how they’ll need each other on the night Titanic collides with an iceberg. Or that an even more extraordinary creature might also answer their call … The third middle-grade historical adventure from the author of Darwin’s Dragons and My Friend the Octopus

A new spin on the sinking of the Titanic, offering an uplifting alternate history of real-life survivor, Sid Daniels A touching animal friendship lies at the heart of the story, as well as hints of mythology Showcases Lindsay Galvin’s trademark combination of exciting adventure, real-life history and a magical twist.

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The tragedy of the RMS Titanic, that sunk on the 15^th of April 1912 on the way from Southampton, England, to New York has been the subject of fascination, books and movies for many years. 2024 marks the 112^th anniversary of its sinking, and the deaths of almost 1500 passengers and crew – around 700 survived, and were saved by the Carpathia, the ship that picked up the survivors. And that’s where Lindsay Galvin’s story takes place – aboard the Carpathia and through testimony following the event from Sid during an investigation into what had happened. Sid Daniels – a fictionalised version of Sidney Edward Daniels, a third-class steward who was the last crew member to leave the ship and survive. And the story of the rescue of the survivors and voyage of the Carpentaria is told by a stowaway – Clara Scott. The Titanic was said to be unsinkable – and this idea runs through the book, even as the Titanic is sinking and sending out distress calls.

When Clara Scott stows away in her cousin’s trunk, she has no idea what is ahead of – just that she wanted to have an adventure away from her family. Clara meets a Newfoundland called Rigel, and together, they explore the Carpathia, and witness the sinking of the Titanic, Sid’s testimony to the enquiry is peppered throughout, so the story goes back and forth between Sid’s recollection of the sinking – a fictionalised testimony that Lindsay says she created based on real testimony for the story, and Clara’s experiences aboard the Carpathia, what she saw, who she met, and her connection with Captain Rostron after a bit of a rocky start when she is discovered. The book follows Clara, Sid, and Rigel’s story of survival on that fateful night. Clara has dreamed of an adventure on the seas – but nothing like what she is facing now in the North Atlantic sea, filled with icebergs and danger.

This middle grade historical adventure continues the tradition of the fascination of the Titanic in popular culture, a tradition that has been going since 1912. Putting young people – one of whom witnessed the sinking and the other who survived against all odds at the centre of the story that seeks to commemorate the disaster and those who survived and perished, and showing that the disaster affected people on the ship and who were part of the rescue mission in many ways in a sensitive and respectful way, I felt. Using the Carpathia and her crew and passengers as witnesses gave it a different perspective – what those who were nearby and able to do what they could did to help, and how they were affected. The disbelief that the ship was sinking was palpable throughout, even as the Marconi machine and Morse code messages showed the desperation. As a reader, I could sense and feel the fear and uncertainty for everyone involved.

History seen through the eyes of young people – children, who were there at the time, can bring it to life, and show how history has affected people of all ages, genders, and classes, as is represented in Call of the Titanic. It is a novel that explores the tragedy from a different perspective – most books or movies are set on the ship and we see what happened that way, yet in this instance, experiencing the rescue as well as the sinking through testimony after the event and the S.O.S calls gives the story a different sense of immediacy and impact as humanity’s ability to survive, the lengths people like Sid go to just to survive, and our reaction to disasters, trauma, and grief in the shadow of an event like the sinking of the Titanic. The sinking made headlines – as does any tragic event with a large loss of life or huge impact on the world or a community, and I felt that this novel did a good job of telling the story for Sid and Clara, and what surviving that night meant for them. A fascinating insight into the sinking of the Titanic for younger readers and Titanic enthusiasts.