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Carpathia and Hadrian’s Wall: the practice of turning archival research into creative nonfiction
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Carpathia and Hadrian’s Wall: the practice of turning archival research into creative nonfiction

Jay Ludowyke
New Writing, Vol.16(2), pp.238-250
2019
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14790726.2018.1511733
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https://doi.org/10.1080/14790726.2018.1511733View
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Abstract

creative nonfiction truth Hadrian's Wall RMS Carpathia
This paper examines the use of archival research as a method in writing creative nonfiction, and the relationship between research and story. It chronicles fieldwork conducted at archives and information repositories in the United Kingdom, drawing on the author's personal experiences. The resulting data has extended the known historical record of the RMS Carpathia, the ship famous for rescuing the Titanic survivors in 1912. The discussion focuses on the author's search for information concerning the 1903 excavation of Hadrian's Wall (a UNESCO world heritage site) which took place at the Swan and Hunter shipyard while the Carpathia was under construction. While this event is frequently mentioned in historical accounts about the ship, new information was uncovered which reveals that stones from the wall were displayed aboard Carpathia in a glass case. Further, the paper demonstrates how archival and historical data can be incorporated into creative nonfiction writing practice and provides an excerpt to this effect.

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