Product details
- ISBN 9780008784539
- Weight: 280g
- Dimensions: 129 x 198mm
- Publication Date: 09 Apr 2026
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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She was never meant to be a symbol, but the world made her one
In 1912, fourteen-year-old Helen ‘Melville’ Smith loses her father, Captain Edward J. Smith of the Titanic. In the decades that follow, she becomes the reluctant keeper of a story the world insists on telling for her: unlucky, cursed, tragic.
Sixty years later, Oxford academic Catherine Haynes discovers a mislabelled portrait and a trail of forgotten papers that lead her to the woman behind the myth.
In a series of interviews, Mel recounts the truth behind the headlines – the quiet rebellions, the dangerous loves, the secrets she burned, and the one fragment of her past she refuses to let go…
Inspired by a true story, this is a moving reimagining of loss, legacy and the fragile truth between memory and myth…
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Readers are LOVING Daughter of the Titanic:'Revealing, powerful and moving … I felt truly enlightened and blessed to have read this novel.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'I am in bits! So poignant, beautiful, sad, hopeful, inspiring…' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A fascinating tale' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A really moving book. One that lingered in my heart' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A 5* read on every level … Linger[s] long after the last page' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Completely captivating … will hold your heart for a long time to come.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'You'll find yourself falling headfirst into Mel's world with her. 5 stars- no notes.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A very emotional read' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A story filled with perseverance, sorrow … beautifully written' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Fresh, evocative … historical fiction at its absolute best’ Gill Paul
‘Vibrant … unapologetic raw honesty … elegant’ Historical Novel Society
Caroline Cauchi also writes as Caroline Smailes and her acclaimed novel, The Drowning of Arthur Braxton was adapted into a film starring James Tarpey and Johnny Vegas. It won Best UK Feature 2021 at Raindance film festival. Matt Haig called the novel, ‘magical, weird, wonderful’.
Caroline worked as a lecturer for several years before turning her hand to fiction. She lives in Liverpool with her husband and children.
