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The Titanic

Futility

Robertson's novel features a ship, the Titan, '..which was the largest craft afloat and the greatest of the works of men'. No expense was spared on making the ship luxurious and the steward's cabin is described as being 'equal to that of a first class hotel.'

The latest technology was used in the building of the Titan including the addition of '..nineteen water-tight compartments.. With nine compartments flooded the ship would still float, and as no known incident of the sea could possibly fill this many, the steamship Titan was considered practically unsinkable.'

Because Titan was considered unsinkable she only carried the minimum number of lifeboats required by law - 24 - able to carry 500 people. This was not enough for the 2000 passengers on board.

Morgan Robertson's Titan hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic Ocean and sank. 2987 people died in the disaster.

Morgan Robertson republished Futility after the sinking of the Titanic with some notable changes suggesting that he was trying to cash in on the Titanic disaster.

Nevertheless, the similarities between The Titan and Titanic are striking:

	1898 Version	1912 Version	Titanic
Nationality	British	British	British
Length	800ft	800ft	882.5ft
Metal	Steel	Steel	Steel
Weight	45,000	70,000	66,000
Horse Power	40,000	75,000	46,000
Propellors	3	3	3
Masts	2	2	2
Watertight compartments	19	19	16
Number of Lifeboats	24	24	20
Passenger Capacity	3,000	3,000	3,000
Passengers on board	3,000	3,000	2,228
Speed at Impact	25 knots	25 knots	22.5 knots
Time of Impact	near midnight	near midnight	11.40pm
Point of Impact	Starboard	Starboard	Starboard
Month	April	April	April
Number of Survivors	13	13	705