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Titanic author visits ship’s birthplace

Monday, 13 April 2009

A best-selling author has visited the Titanic Made in Belfast Festival as part of his worldwide book tour.

Australian Steven Rafter — author of ‘209 A Story’ — took in the exhibition at the Odyssey’s W5 on Saturday.

‘209 A Story’ follows the life of Arthur Gordon McCrae, the only Australian whose body was recovered after the Belfast-built Titanic sank on her maiden voyage in 1912.

Steven Rafter’s novel tells the life of young Arthur, weaving fact and fiction around four characters whose lives are linked over 150 years.

The novel starts in Balmoral Castle in the Highlands of Scotland around the middle of the 19th century.

As the world book launch took place last week in Piper’s Hall at Balmoral Castle, Steven learned about Belfast City Council’s Titanic Made In Belfast Festival and the Titanic exhibition at W5.

“I was delighted to be able to visit W5 for this exhibition,” said Steven. “Someone mentioned the festival to me at the UK launch and I thought since I had come all the way to the UK I might as well pop over to Belfast to see the exhibition”.

Stephanie Berkeley, marketing manager of W5, welcomed Steven and showed him around, highlighting the significance of the Titanic to Belfast and W5’s location, which overlooks the shipyard where Titanic was designed and built nearly a century ago.

In return W5 was presented with a signed first edition copy of ‘209 A Story’. Steven also took the opportunity to stand on the deck of SS Nomadic and said: “This is the closest thing anyone will ever get to standing on Titanic.

“I really do need to congratulate the organisers of Titanic: Designed and Built in Belfast and the Titanic Made in Belfast Festival for their efforts to ensure the story of RMS Titanic stays alive for future generations. This is a world class exhibition and I hope it can make its way to Australia at some stage. It would be an enormous hit.”

Steven returns to Australia this week to prepare for the main book launch. It will be held on Wednesday, which is the anniversary of the ship’s sinking, at the National Gallery of Victoria.

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titanorak,after reading your comment,you will read that i wrote that,the story was fictitious,not the person,described as a novel story,based presumably on conjecture?and supposed happenings,however i can only go on the information supplied by the article,which states it is a novel,i never wrote that the australian victim was fictitious.Just the same as my grandfather whose story,will not be fictitious but based on written evidence,i hope to get the story out soon but as a small story first before the big one,which has already been read out in public at the library bangor.

Posted by patrick.j.toms | 16.04.09, 17:56 GMT

Patrick.j.toms - Interesting comment. As President of the Shannon Titanic Society you would, presumably, have access to Titanic's passenger list. Before you posted this comment you could have done some research and discovered that Arthur Gordon McCrae was certainly not a ficticious character!

Posted by Titanorak | 14.04.09, 09:59 GMT

interesting article about the australian,and another book on titanic,to do with the life of someone but fictitious,I would like to write a book on my grandfather but it is true not fictitious,but best of luck to the australian and his book launch,from the president of the shannon ulster titanic society.pat toms.

Posted by patrick.j.toms | 13.04.09, 09:33 GMT