What Inspired My Titanic Novel
Author Gabriella Saab shares how her personal ancestry as a descendant of Lebanese immigrants played a role in inspiring her Titanic novel.
The RMS Titanic. The unsinkable ship. The iceberg. The lack of lifeboats. It’s a tragic tale we all know—or do we?
Most stories of the Titanic are largely related to the tragedy’s impacts on American, British, and European passengers, particularly those from upper classes, and a few stories of those from lower classes as well. Since these stories are the most well-known, most people assume that only passengers from these places were aboard.
In reality, the ship was carrying people from a diverse number of backgrounds, including immigrants from Syria and Lebanon. Until recently, I did not know this. I’m a descendant of Lebanese immigrants who traveled to America around the turn of the century, as these passengers did, so I was immediately compelled to learn more.
Counting passengers and crew, approximately 2,200 people were aboard the Titanic. Of those, over a hundred were third-class Syrian and Lebanese immigrants seeking a new life in America. The more I learned, the more I knew this history deserved to be told. The stories we already know are important, but the stories we do not know are important, too.
As I explored the possibility of writing a novel inspired by the Titanic’s Syrian/Lebanese immigrants, I asked myself an important question: Am I Lebanese enough to tell this story? I’m only half Lebanese, so do I have a right to share this history? The more I considered this question throughout my research, the more I could see my ancestors in these immigrants. The stories of these Lebanese passengers helped me to more fully understand the struggles and sacrifices my ancestors made to establish a better life for their families and descendants. In a small way, I hope this book honors them.
The stories we know are not always the only stories to be told. By writing The Survivors Guild through the contrasting perspectives of the type of Titanic passenger we know—an American heiress traveling in first class—with one we do not—a Lebanese immigrant traveling in third class—I hope to share a more complete understanding not only of the tragedy, but of the world and New York City in 1912.
The Titanic is not the story of a select few, but of many. I hope a deeper understanding of the people aboard the ship—people from all classes and backgrounds, many seeking better lives—serves to inspire others as it has inspired me.
Check out Gabriella Saab's The Survivors Guild here:
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