Titanic shipbuilders inspire Black Country author's new novel
A woman from the Black Country has written a book inspired by the the forgotten shipbuilders in Belfast who built the Titanic.
Helen Murphy, from Wednesbury, wrote The Riveters after being inspired to tell their story and the losses suffering during the process.
The book follows a family of shipbuilders fighting for recognition in Ireland and its independence – and their work on the passenger liner.
She said: "I finished it a couple of months ago – it took me around two years to write – and it's about the men and boys who build the Titanic.
"Seventeen of them died before the ship – including a 15-year-old boy – and they've been mainly ignored, so I thought I'd write about them.
"I had to do tons of research about the Titanic, which wasn't an issue, but I had to put a note out on the internet about the workers.
"I got speaking on a Belfast forum and even to a person in Australia who told me about how riveting was done."
The book is set during the period where Ireland was fighting against home rule and follows a family and country's fight for independence – and even includes a reference to the Peaky Blinders.
Much of the book is set against a real historical backdrop, with a "lot of research" having gone into it to ensure everything was correct.
The 40-year-old, who works at a call centre for the AA, said: "I wasn't sure when I would finish because it kept getting longer and longer, but then coronavirus happened and I was furloughed and it gave me the time to dive right into it."
The e-book is available on Amazon – with a second, more light-hearted, book set to be released just before Christmas about how Santa Clause quits his job.
