Titanic’s children honoured in new book

Historian and author John Boileau discovered children are some of the most ardent and curious readers about the Titanic’s tragic sinking on the cold, moonless night of April 15, 1912.

Wanting to honour their interest and the lives of the 156 children who sailed on the Titanic, Boileau wrote a non-fiction book for young readers called Lucky and the Lost: The Lives of Titanic’s Children (Nimbus Publishing). The book comes 14 years after his first book on the tragedy, Halifax and Titanic was published in 2012 on the 100th anniversary of the sinking.

“Kids have a fascination with Titanic. Some of the most knowledgeable folks who would engage me in conversations while I was doing book signings were children,” Boileau said in a recent phone interview. “I hope that interest and fascination continue with this book.”

While several books about Titanic have been written for children, The Lucky and the Lost: The Lives of Titanic’s Children, zeros in on the stories of the 73 children who survived the sinking by escaping in lifeboats and 83 who didn’t survive. They were among the more than 1,500 people who died when the ship hit an iceberg. The book also follows the children survivors through their lives and talks about the lasting effect the sinking had on them. Many never spoke about their experiences to their own children.

The Titanic was not only a floating luxury hotel but was also an emigrant ship transporting people to a new life in the United States and Canada. The lone immigrant family headed to Canada was the Harts from Essex. Benjamin, Esther, and their seven-yearold daughter Eva were travelling to Winnipeg, where they intended to open a drugstore.

According to Eva, from the time her mother boarded Titanic, she “had a premonition and she never went to bed in that ship at night at all. She sat up for three nights, so she slept during the day and I was with my father.”

It was an eerie foreboding of the fate that awaited them, writes Boileau.

In the ship’s steerage, you were just as likely to hear Swedish or Syrian as English. Out of 102 passengers in third class, 80 were Lebanese, including 23 children.

“Remarkably, although eight third-class Lebanese children died, 15 got away. In many cases, they were led by a young mom who did not speak English and had to traverse a labyrinth of corridors and stairwells before coming out onto the boat deck,” writes Boileau. His sister, Patricia Theriault was also a researcher, fact-checker, and writer of the book.

Bertha Watt was 12 years old at the time of the sinking. She was rescued in Lifeboat 9. “We heard many pistol shots and could see people running hopelessly up and down the decks,” but “there was nothing anyone could do. We just kept on going.”

Mary Lines, 16, was in the same lifeboat and later wrote about her terrifying experience: “What a horrible thing, this enormous ship engulfed in the little space of two hours. And the cries of the dying as it sank!!!”

The 160 children and youth covered in The Lucky and the Lost range in age from two months to 16 years. They came from 20 different countries of origin, and most were leaving their homeland to start a new life across the Atlantic Ocean. Nine of the children travelled in first class, 28 in second class, and 114 in third class. Tragically, 75 of these children in third class were lost, a survival rate of only 34 per cent. Additionally, four children disembarked before leaving Ireland and were not on board when the Titanic went down. Another five male teenagers were crew members.

“Life for children aboard Titanic, like everything else, depended upon their class of ticket,” writes Boileau. “Those in first class had ample space to frolic and were often attended by their nannies. This was not a Disney cruise, however, with planned activities for children. The nine in first class had free access to the first-class promenade deck, where they could be out in the fresh air, the lounge for quieter pursuits, such as reading and writing notes, and the gymnasium.”

The 28 children in second class did not have quite as much space to roam but did have access to a library and second-class outdoor promenade spaces. The third-class children could run up and down long corridors within third-class boundaries.

With 40 black-and-white images as well as numerous maps and illustrations, Boileau hopes his book offers a complete accounting of the fates of the children aboard the doomed ocean liner.

Join him on April 30 at 6:30 p.m. at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax for the launch of his new book.

NOVA SCOTIA FOLK ART

Ray Cronin, a former Art Gallery of Nova Scotia curator, provides readers with a narrative guide to the province’s folk art in his latest book. Nova Scotia Folk Art: An Illustrated Guide (Nimbus Publishing) is co-published by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and features profiles of 50 artists —some obscure and some well-known — including Barry Colpitts, Joseph Norris, and Maud Lewis.

With more than 100 colour images, the illustrated guide explores the exhibitions, collections, and festivals that allowed a group of Nova Scotia artists to move their creations from the roadside to the museum.

THE OLD OAK TREE

A new children’s picture book follows a robin through a year of seasons in an oak tree that is her home. Annapolis Valley-based authors Hilary and Reid Blair tell the tale in The Old Oak Tree (Nimbus Publishing).

One night, a terrible storm comes and topples the tree. As the season turns from winter to spring, the tree, now a nurse log, becomes home to a new kind of life. Exploring the cycle of life, the story is complemented by paper-collage illustrations by Halifax-based artist and photographer Angela Doak.

The Old Oak Tree can be read as either a song or a verse story, and features sheet music at the back of the book.

BOOKMARKS

■ Goose Lane Editions has published poet Matthew Walsh’s new collection of confessional poetry called, Terrarium. It follows Walsh’s debut collection, These are not the potatoes of my youth. Walsh’s poems explore queer identity and desire, depression and addiction.

■ Spring Foreword, a fiveday celebration of books, stories, writers and readers, takes place from April 23-27 in Halifax. Spring Foreword is presented by Afterwords Literary Festival, King’s Co-op Bookstore, and Frye Festival. For more details visit: www. afterwordsliteraryfestival. com/spring-foreword.