Why a Booktrail?
1912 onwards: She was known for what she lost. She lived by the courage she found
Daughter of the Titanic
What you need to know before your trail
When the SS Titanic set sail, Captain Edward John Smith became a legend – and when tragedy struck he was a hero to some, reckless to others. But in the shadow of his infamy stood his daughter, left behind on the shore with nothing but whispers, rumors and the ache of unanswered questions.
For Helen Melville ‘Mel’ Smith, Titanic was not just a shipwreck but a fracture that split her life in two. In every newspaper clipping, every account of that fateful night, Mel searched for the man she truly knew – the father who told her to find Polaris, the star that never moves.
Spanning the years after the disaster, this is the untold story of the girl history forgot – the daughter who carried the weight of a tragedy the world claimed as its own.
Locations
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Titanic locations
The story is a reimagining of the life of Helen Melville “Mel” Smith, the real-life daughter of the ill-fated ship’s captain, Edward John Smith.
Edward Smith and Helen Smith
Born in 1850 in Hanley, Staffordshire, he joined the White Star Line in 1880 as an officer, beginning a long career in the British Merchant Navy.
Helen Melville Smith was born on 2 April 1898 in Waterloo, Liverpool. The White Star line moved its transatlantic operations from Liverpool to Southampton in 1907 and at the same time, the family relocated to “Woodhead” on Winn Road, Southampton.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: Daughter of the Titanic
Destination/location: Southampton, Atlantic Ocean Author/guide: Caroline Cauchi Departure Time: 1912
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