It’s been 25 years in the researching and two years in the writing. My brand-new book about the Titanic’s most fascinating passengers is set to launch in March in time for the centenary of the sinking on April 15, 2012. The book will be published by Collins in Canada (where it’s titled RMS TITANIC: Gilded Lives on a Fatal Voyage) by Crown in the US and by Robson Press in the UK. It’s also being pubbed in France, Italy and Spain.
For the 100th anniversary there will be a slew of other new books, TV docs, a Julian Fellowes mini-series and James Cameron’s epic movie remastered in 3D. In this tidal wave of Titanic-iana, you might well ask, how will Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage stand out? I have had a few sleepless nights about this, but my early readers have been most encouraging. I’ve had remarkable help with this book from some of the world’s best Titanic historians and they tell me that they found the book to be fresh and compelling and that it reveals much new information. (see comments below). And another acquaintance who has read virtually everything ever written about the Titanic said that Gilded Lives was the most intimate account yet and it made her feel as if she were actually on board.
I’ll be giving dozens of talks in Canada, the US and the UK in coming months and hope to meet many of you and share thoughts and stories about this greatest of all lost ships.
Some advance comments on Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage:
“Full of delicious details, from champagne flutes to the careless luxe of furs and satin, this is a spellbinding story, fresh, original and totally absorbing.”” —Marian Fowler, author of In a Gilded Cage
“A fascinating and engaging account of the Titanic disaster that also focuses some much-needed attention on the vessel’s Canadian passengers and their way of life. This outstanding book is a definite “must-read” for the centenary of the Titanic disaster, and I feel certain it will quickly be regarded as a standard work on the subject. “ — George Behe, author of On Board RMS Titanic and The Carpathia and the Titanic.
“Hugh Brewster writes a compelling account of how this select group of names came together in one enormous tragedy.” –Don Lynch, author of Titanic: An Illustrated History and Ghosts of the Abyss.
“…a welcome, interesting addition to Titanic-related literature.”–Kirkus Reviews
A sold-out crowd gave a standing ovation to ‘Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose: A Victorian Entertainment in Words, Images and Music’ at the Elora Festival on Saturday, July 23rd. The Elora Festival Singers gave beautiful renditions for everything from selections from The Mikado and The Eton Boating Song to Rule Britannia and The Lost Chord. Actors Brigitte Robinson and Christopher Newton from the Shaw Festival narrated the story splendidly and Sargent paintings and period photos faded in and out on a large screen overhead. ‘Ye Shepherds Tell Me’, the song that inspired the title of Sargent’s painting provided a perfect conclusion to the performance.
Deadly Voyage, my latest novel in the I Am Canada series from Scholastic, tells the story of Jamie Laidlaw, a boy from Montreal who is returning home from England on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. On the night of April 14-15, 1912, Jamie find himself in the freezing north Atlantic as the giant ship sinks before his eyes. Jamie is a fictional character but most of the people he meets on board the Titanic are real. As with my first novel in the IAC series, Prisoner of Dieppe, I’ve made this book as accurate and true-to-life as possible. W
hen I give school talks, my readers always want to know, “Is this story real?” Having worked on so many Titanic books — from Robert Ballard’s The Discovery of the Titanic to Polar the Titanic Bear-– I have a fair bit of detail in my brain about this famous shipwreck. And I also asked George Behe, a Titanic historian par excellence to review it for accuracy. And the result, I believe, is a novel that is engaging and exciting as well as a realistic depiction of what happened on the April night almost a century ago.
‘Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose’ will be presented in a special concert performance in words, images and song at the Elora Festival on July 23, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. in St. John’s Church, Elora, I will be joined (and outclassed) by distinguished Canadian actors Christopher Newton and Kelli Fox in doing the narration and the Elora Festival Singers under the baton of Noel Edison will provide the music accompanied by a multi-media presentation of Sargent paintings and period photographs. In addition to a special performance of the “lost” song from which Sargent titled his masterpiece (and I titled the book) there will favourites by Gilbert & Sullivan and such Victorian rousers as ‘Rule Britannia’, ‘The Eton Rowing Song,’ and ‘The Lost Chord.’
A Victorian afternoon tea will follow the performance.
Elora is just north of Guelph, 1 ½ hrs from Toronto.
For tickets go to: www.elorafestival.com or call 1-888-747-7550
