The Wreck of the Titan

Once seen as a prediction of the sinking of the Titanic, this novella was written 14 years before that ill-fated event of 1912--now, on the centenary anniversary of the Titanic'ssinking, the striking similarities can be examined again in this new edition John Rowland, a disgraced former Royal Navy lieutenant, has taken employment as a lowly deck hand aboard the largest ship ever to have sailed, the Titan. One night in deep fog, the ship strikes a gigantic iceberg and sinks almost immediately. Written 14 years before the Titanic'ssinking, this novella has been hailed in equal measures as a prophetic work and the work of pure coincidence. Certainly the similarities are striking: two unsinkable ships steam ahead in treacherous conditions, carrying privileged passengers, with insufficient lifeboats aboard.

Morgan Robertson (1861–1915) was an American author of short stories and novels, the best-known being Wreck of the Titan. Sam Leith is the former literary editor of the Daily Telegraph and the author of Sod's Law.