The Midnight Watch: A gripping novel of the SS Californian, the ship that failed to aid the sinking Titanic

by David Dyer

A fascinating, revelatory novel based on the true story of the ship, and its crew, that failed to come to the sinking Titanic's aid. Set on board the Californian during those terrible hours, and in Boston in the aftermath of the disaster, Antonia Senior has called 'historical fiction at its best'. A perfect read for fans of Robert Harris and CJ Sansom, which gives a whole new side to A Night To Remember.

On a black night in April 1912, fifteen hundred passengers and crew perish as the Titanic slowly sinks beneath the freezing waters of the North Atlantic. Charting the same perilous course through the icebergs is the SS Californian, close enough for her crew to see the eight white distress rockets fired by the Titanic. Yet the Californian fails to act, and later her crew insist that they saw nothing.

As news of the disaster spreads throughout America, journalists begin a feeding frenzy, desperate for stories. John Steadman is one such reporter, a man broken by alcoholism, grief and a failed marriage. Steadman senses blood as he fixates on the Californian and his investigation reveals a tense and perplexing relationship between the ship's captain and second officer, who hold the secrets of what occurred that night. Slowly he peels back the layers of deception, and his final, stunning revelation of what happened while the Titanic sank will either redeem the men of the Californian, or destroy them.

• ISBN10: 1782397795
• ISBN13: 9781782397793
• Publish Date: 7 April 2016 (first published 5 April 2016)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 19 July 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Atlantic Books
• Edition: Main
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Beth C.]

The Titanic. Her name, and the tragedy that eclipsed her, are unmistakable. Hundreds of people - mostly third class passengers - died when she sank after hitting an iceberg on her maiden voyage. But what if many of those passengers could have been saved? "The Midnight Watch" discusses the lesser-known fact that there WAS ship in the vicinity, and it is thought that she could not only see the Titanic on the horizon, but could have possibly changed the outcome of the tragedy. That ship was the Californian.

David Dyer takes us through the fictionalized account of the two ships through two main people - Officer Stone, the second officer on the Californian, and John Steadman, an alcoholic reporter for the Boston American. With alternating chapters, Dyer shows the reader not only the facts behind the story, but attempts to show the whys and hows.

The story itself was quite well written. Knowing the ending of the Titanic did nothing to take away from the looming tragedy. Learning about the Californian helped me to see the tragedy with new eyes. It would have been nice to have a brief afterward to explain what was fact, what was fiction (I can't seem to figure out if that particular reporter actually existed, though I'm guessing not.), and some of the sources Dyer used in his research. For inquiring minds, it would have been interesting as follow up. Overall, however, the story was interesting to read and well worth the time invested. It's a new look at an old, though never forgotten, unnecessary tragedy.