The Midnight Watch

Author(s): David Dyer

FICTION

WINNER OF THE 2016 THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS, MCKITTERICK PRIZE

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.

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David Dyer grew up in a coastal town in NSW, Australia, and graduated as dux of his high school in 1984. After commencing a degree in medicine and surgery at the University of Sydney, he soon decided it was not for him. David went on to train as a ship's officer at the Australian Maritime College, travelling Australia and the world in a wide range of merchant ships. He graduated from the college with distinction and was awarded a number of prizes, including the Company of Master Mariners Award for highest overall achievement in the course. He then returned to the University of Sydney to complete a combined degree in Arts and Law. David was awarded the Frank Albert Prize for first place in Music I, High Distinctions in all English courses and First Class Honours in Law. From the mid-1990s until early 2000s David worked as a litigation lawyer in Sydney, and then in London at a legal practice whose parent firm represented the Titanic's owners back in 1912. In 2002 David returned to Australia and obtained a Diploma in Education from the University of New England, and commenced teaching English at Kambala, a school for girls in Sydney's eastern suburbs. David has had a life-long obsession with the Titanic and has become an expert on the subject. In 2009 he was awarded a Commonwealth Government scholarship to write The Midnight Watch as part of a Doctorate in Creative Arts at the University of Technology, Sydney. The doctorate was conferred in November 2013. David's research for The Midnight Watch took him to many and varied places around the world including libraries and sites of interest in New York, Boston, London and Liverpool. 'I spent days reading Lord's papers in the archive of the Merseyside Maritime Museum, the highlight of whi

General Fields

  • : 9780143783466
  • : Penguin Random House
  • : Penguin Books Ltd
  • : 0.224
  • : January 2017
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : David Dyer
  • : Paperback
  • : 1
  • : en
  • : 336
  • : FA