Beryl Bainbridge, Every Man for Himself

Markus Hiltl (Université de Paris IV Sorbonne)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), Graham MacPhee (University of Manchester), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1996

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Historical
Novel

Resources

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Every Man for Himself

was published in 1996 and was the first of three historical novels written in succession by Bainbridge (it was followed by

Master Georgie

in 1998 and

According to Queeney

in 2001).

Every Man for Himself retraces the maiden voyage of the Titanic. The story begins on April 8th 1912 and it ends on April 15th with the protagonist and some other surviving passengers floating in a life-boat amidst the debris of the sunken ship, awaiting rescue. The story is mainly peopled with fictional characters but some of them bear the names of rich and influential families of the period, e.g. “Morgan”, “van Hopper” and “Rothschild”. Beryl Bainbridge also uses the real names of the principal authorities on board, including Captain Smith, chief designer Thomas Andrews and

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2591 words

Citation: Hiltl, Markus. "Every Man for Himself". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 May 2006 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16897, accessed 20 April 2024.]

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