The three novels described above and the movie by James Cameron do not only treat the same topic, but even the way of treating this subject is sometimes similar. Now, I would like to point out the most obvious and important parallels:
The Love Stories
It is quite striking that in two of the three novels and in the film, a love story is told by the author respectively the script-writer, although the outcomes are quite different:
In Bainbridge's novel, the main character is in love with Wallis, a young girl of the upper class. He himself comes from a poorer family, though he is connected to the world of the high society through his uncle, John Pierpont Morgan. In Walker's novel, Morgan Fairfield (the great-nephew of John Pierpont Morgan!) is in love with Margaret Hastings. Again, his real mother is rather poor (she works as a housekeeper), and even the people Morgan has thought of as his parents are not as rich and as well situated as the family of Margaret, whose father is a landed member of the House of Lords. The biggest class difference can be noticed between Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater in James Cameron's film: She is a member of one of the most socially prominent families of Philadelphia, whereas her lover is a quite poor orphan who lives (more or less) from hand to mouth.
In two out of the three mentioned cases, the lover has to fight the fiancé of his beloved. In the third story, Bainbridge's novel, the main character has to fight a rival, too, though it is not the fiancé. Unfortunately, he is beaten, and does not succeed in seducing his sweetheart. In Walker's novel and in the film, however, the main character triumphs in eliminating his opponent: In the novel "Murder on the Titanic," the fiancé, Peter Wilksbury, even understands that Margaret loves Morgan, and is therefore willing to break up the engagement. He even encourages Morgan to tell Margaret that he loves her. In the film, however, Caledon Hockley does not want to accept that his fiancée prefers living with Jack. Therefore, Cal tries to do everything to beat Jack. Nevertheless, Rose chooses Jack Dawson.
The love stories themselves, however, are quite different: In the movie, Jack and Rose spend a very pleasant time on the Titanic, and even the "intrigues" of Rose's fiancé cannot separate them. Still, their luck does not last long: Jack perishes in the disaster, and Rose has to live on without him. Morgan Fairfield in the novel "Murder on the Titanic," however, is more lucky: He proposes to Margaret, and succeeds – at least in the end. The first-person narrator in Bainbridge's novel even has to witness the love-making between his beloved and Scurra, his rival. This breaks his heart.
One can hence conclude that the Titanic seems to be a perfect place for love stories, as her tragic end also renders the love story quite melodramatic.
The Mothers
When one reads the novel "Murder on the Titanic," one can notice that the mother of Margaret, April, is a perfect copy of Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Rose in the film. As the Cameron's film was released in 1997, and the book was published in 1998, one can suppose that Jim Walker got his inspiration from the movie. Both women appreciate the engagement of their daughters, and meet the lovers with Unfriendliness. Especially Ruth is very arrogant, and thinks that she is superior to Jack, but also April believes that Morgan Fairfield is not an appropriate match, as he comes from a less wealthy family. April's attitude, however, finally changes, and she accepts Morgan, whereas Ruth does not change her mind concerning Jack.
Tours through the Ship
All three authors of the novels chose to present the Titanic to their readers with the help of a tour through the ship: In the novel "Every Man for Himself," Morgan and his friends are guided through the Titanic by a seaman who also tells them quite a lot about Titanic's specifications. Later, Morgan makes a tour of inspection through the whole ship together with Andrews. Again, the reader learns something about the Titanic.
William Seil presents the Titanic to his readers with the help of an inspection tour, too, at which Holmes and Dr. Watson accompany the captain. At this occasion, Seil's effort in researching about the Titanic is quite noticeable: He tells us the exact specifications, and he is even familiar with the ship's food stores.
Finally, in Jim Walker's novel, Morgan Fairfield, Hunter Kennedy, and Jack Kelly follow Thomas Andrews on his inspection tour through the ship. Andrews boasts of his knowledge of the ship. So, the reader learns quite a lot about the large vessel. In the film, James Cameron did not need to make a tour through the ship, as he decided to show some scenes which his main characters do not participate in, too, and could hence present the audience several scenes taking place in various parts of the vessel. So, the spectators become familiar with the Titanic.
Dying Strangers
Two of the novels start with the death of a stranger in the arm of the main character:
In Bainbridge's book, the lover of Adele Baines dies in Morgan's arms, and gives a picture showing a Japanese woman to Morgan. At that moment, however, Morgan does not know the identity of the stranger.
Jim Walker's Morgan Fairfield even encounters his father by chance: He watches him being stabbed by a thief. Afterwards, he is handed a satchel, and has to fulfil his father's mission. Again, it is not until the very end of the book – this time even three months after the sinking – that Morgan gets to know the real identity of the stranger, George Sinclair.
Secret Missions
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (in William Seil's book "Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Tragedy") have to accompany Miss Christine Norton who has to deliver some secret submarine plans to America. These plans are already stolen on the second day, and Holmes and his companions do not manage to get them back until the very night of the disaster. The theft is organised by a first-class passenger, Colonel Moriarty, and is carried out by two members of the crew (the lower-ranking officer Bishop and the stoker Ed Strickley).
Jim Walker rather preferred to hand his characters some documents that could prevent war (instead of improving Britain's military power), nevertheless the story is the same in principle: It is soon tried to steal the documents, although in this case, the would-be thieves do not succeed until the very end. Again, the theft is planned by a first-class passenger, Donald Delaney, who has hired two accomplices: one crew member (the steward Fitzgerald) and one steerage passenger (Howie O'Conner).
Intrigues
Both Sherlock Holmes and Morgan Fairfield are involved in an intrigue of a certain group of radicals who want to sink the Titanic with the help of one respectively two bombs in order to push through their ideas:
Holmes has to deal with several communists of whom one is a first-class passenger, and the others are steerage passengers. They want to sink the Titanic, for this would be an "immeasurable loss of confidence by the capitalist countries." However, Watson and Futrelle get on to them, and succeed in finding and defusing the two bombs. Nevertheless, the wire-puller, Hugo Brandon, escapes, and only his accomplices are arrested.
Morgan Fairfield has to face the IRA which fights for the independence of Ireland. A first-class passenger, Donald Delaney, organises to plant a bomb with the help of a crewman and a third-class passenger in order to sink the Titanic and kill lots of the "bloody English." Again, the bomb is found, this time by a steerage passenger. In this novel, the wire-puller is not arrested either, but he perishes in the disaster. Before, however, the crew only succeeds in arresting his henchman. By the way, even in Bainbridge's novel "Every Man for Himself," the ideas of Marx are supported by a character, though he is not that extreme: The first-person narrator is convinced that it is worth to support the communist ideology. He is involved in several discussions with Scurra who does not share Morgan's opinion.
Escaping from the Titanic
It is quite striking that most of the authors did not "dare" to let their main characters die, though they did not want them to leave in a properly lowered lifeboat either, for they did not want them to act like cowards. So, most of the male protagonists escaped on collapsible B. The only exception is Jack Dawson who perishes. In my opinion, this was quite a good idea, for it renders the film even more emotionally touching.
Historical Inaccuracies and Doubtful Events
As I said before, the novels as well as the film are quite accurate accounts of the Titanic disaster. Nevertheless, several minor errors can be noticed:
Firstly, in almost every novel and in the film, it is reported that the band played "Nearer My God to Thee." Although it cannot be completely refuted, it is more likely that the band played the popular waltz "Songe d'Automne." It was claimed that the mentioned hymn would be a tactless warning of death, and would create panic. This, however, was not the intention of the band: The musicians rather wanted to cheer up and to calm down the passengers than worry them.
What is more, in the film and in the novel "Every Man for Himself," an officer shoots at one or more passengers. In the film, two passengers are even killed by First Officer Murdoch who commits suicide afterwards. The relatives of the officer have complaint about the fact that their ancestor was pictured as a scaredy-cat and murderer, and the producers finally apologised. In Bainbridge's novel, Rosenfelder is not killed, but is shot in the arm by an officer.
Finally, it is quite striking that in two of the novels, the mistress of Benjamin Guggenheim is called Kitty Webb, though she was really called Madame Aubert. One can hence suppose that Jim Walker – who even remarks in his foreword that Kitty Webb is a historical character – got his inspiration from Bainbridge's novel.
Final Remarks
When one compares the three novels and the film, it is obvious that Jim Walker (who published his novel in 1998) has done quite a good recycling work: He clearly got his inspiration from James Cameron's movie (1997), and from the two novels by William Seil (1996) respectively Beryl Bainbridge (1996) – unless the similarities are a quite improbable, but possible coincidence ...
In my opinion, each novel appeals to the reader in one way or another, though none of the three books has satisfied me completely:
Beryl Bainbridge's "Every Man for Himself" is sometimes too confusing. The characters are lacking in purpose and motivations, and their behaviour sometimes changes throughout the novel for no obvious reasons.
I think that Jim Walker's novel "Murder on the Titanic" is far too long: It has 487 pages, and in his foreword, the author presents us 16 (!) main characters. Due to the length of the book, it is sometimes quite difficult to follow the story. This is also impeded by the fact that the scenes change every chapter, and the reader takes part in several events taking place at (almost) the same time.
The novel "Sherlock Holmes and the Titanic Tragedy" by William Seil, finally, is – in my opinion – the best of the three novels. Nevertheless, I must criticise that the author rather preferred to write a crime story. It seems that he picked the Titanic just to make his novel more interesting.
Still, I must pay my tribute to all three authors concerning the historical accuracy: They did a real good research work, and managed to weave their fictional story into the historic background very well (apart from a few minor errors which I have already listed above).
Nevertheless, the three novels cannot compete with the movie by James Cameron. With the help of his gripping, touching scenes, James Cameron makes the full extent of the disaster crystal clear to the audience. Although I have dealt with the sinking of the Titanic for more than three years now, I have never before realised the extent of the disaster so clearly. I could almost agree with Brock Lovett when he says: "Three years, I've thought of nothing except Titanic, but I never got it. I never let it in ..."
