Every Man for Himself (novel)

First edition (publ. Duckworth)

Every Man for Himself is a novel written by Beryl Bainbridge that was first published in 1996 and is about the 1912 RMS Titanic disaster. The novel won the 1996 Whitbread Prize, and was a nominee of the Booker Prize.^[1] It also won the 1997 Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Europe and South Asia).

Plot synopsis

The novel is narrated by 22-year-old Morgan, a rich young American orphan who is a relation of banker J. P. Morgan, having been brought up by his aunt and cousin. The book is divided into four sections, each one corresponding to a day Morgan spends on the RMS Titanic. He provides a lively account of the middle-class to upper-class passengers found on the luxury liner, while finding time to fall in love with spoilt young socialite Wallis Ellery. The narrator finally makes his way to a collapsible after the sinking of the Titanic, and is rescued by the crew of Carpathia.

References