Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan

''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 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.

Plot

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 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 in April in the North Atlantic, and there were not enough lifeboats for all the passengers. There are also similarities in size ( long for the ''Titan'' versus long for the ''Titanic''), speed, and life-saving equipment. After the ''Titanic'' 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.

In popular culture

*Walter Lord's book '' A Night to Remember'' (1955), relating the ''Titanic'' 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 ''À la recherche de Sir Malcolm'' (1984), by François Rivière 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'' 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

*List 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 capacity

References

Further reading

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External links

*
The Wreck of the Titan by Morgan RobertsonOnline edition
(250-page novel, 1912, facsimile edition)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wreck of the Titan: Or, Futility, The
1898 American novels
American novellas
Coincidence
Novels set on ships
RMS Titanic