The Myth of the Titanic

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Overview

The first critical analysis of the Titanic as modern myth, this book focuses on the second of the two Titanics. The first was the physical Titanic, the rusting remains of which can still be found twelve thousand feet below the north Atlantic. The second is the mythical Titanic which emerged just as its tangible predecessor slipped from view on 15 April 1912. It is the second of the two Titanics which remains the more interesting and which continues to carry cultural resonances today. The Myth of the Titanic begins with the launching of the 'unsinkable ship' and ends with the outbreak of the 'war to end all wars'. It provides an insight into the particular culture of late Edwardian Britain and beyond this draws far greater conclusions about the complex relationship between myth, history, popular culture and society as a whole.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312221485
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan UK
Publication date:	07/30/1999
Edition description:	1999
Pages:	213
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

Richard Howells teaches Communications Studies at the University of Leeds, England.

Table of Contents

Introduction
• A Brief History of the Titanic
• Myth and the Titanic
• "Women and Children First!"
• "We Shall Die Like Gentlemen"
• "Be British!"
• "Nearer, my God, to Thee."
• "The Unsinkable Ship"
• Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

"He crafts an easily accessible, well-organized, and logical book..."--Kristi A. Bell, Journal of American Folklore

From the Publisher

In this scholarly and heavily documented study, Howells (communications, Univ. of Leeds) proposes that the sinking of the Titanic was "an event whose mythical significance has eclipsed its historical importance." His work, in typical dissertation style, proceeds with an almost painful thoroughness from historical background to examination of the relationship between myth and history to close analyses of the popular texts, beliefs, and cultural assumptions from which the Titanic myth has evolved. The primary focus of these analyses is on materials generated in British popular culture from 1912 to 1914. Howells concludes that the story of the Titanic disaster, like earlier tales of hubris and nemesis, merges--in the interests of cultural rather than historical truth--actual and imaginary experience as a means of constructing not only "triumph out of tragedy" but also "order out of an arbitrary world." Recommended for larger public and academic libraries.--Robert C. Jones, Central Missouri State Univ., Warrensburg Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

In tracing the myths that proliferated around the Titanic, Howells (communication studies, U. of Leeds) interprets the history of the "unsinkable ship" as a reflection of late Edwardian period popular culture. Includes a dozen plates of memorabilia. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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