Book Review: The Midnight Watch by David Dyer
The Midnight Watch David Dyer Hamish Hamilton 2016 (I own a copy courtesy the publisher) On April the 14th, 1912, at 2.20am, the HMS Titanic sunk in the North Atlantic ocean. 1500 of her passengers and crew perished at sea, including some notable English and Americans of the time. It is a story which has been immortalised for many by James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster film (sensationalised as it was) but the part of the story which is not widely known was that there was another ship nearby that night which could possibly have steamed to the rescue. The Midnight Watch by David Dyer is the story of the Titanic and the Californian. Told from the point of view of John Steadman, a journalist for the Boston American, as well as various members of the crew of the Californian it begins as a quest for the truth and becomes an exercise in empathy. After the death of his infant son, Steadman becomes adept at writing moving journalistic accounts ...