Sea Queens: A Novella

Studiously researched and fantastically written, Sea Queens resuscitates the vessel’s flamboyant and fay characters including Major Archibald Butt, Thomson Beattie, Thomas Francis McCaffrey, John Hugo Ross, Ella White, and Marie Grice Young. Probing world history, nautical lore, and the queer imaginary, the 130-page historical novella richly describes their intimate and professional struggles from the moment of boarding in Southampton up to the aftermath of Titanic’s sinking on April 15, 1912. 

On April 10 — the day on which Titanic’s maiden voyage finally precipitated — Major Archibald Butt is dreading returning to a Washington that esteems political theatre over effective but unexciting solutions. With Thomas Francis McCaffrey serving as their fearless leader, globetrotters Thomson Beattie and John Hugo Ross are struggling to keep up with the middle-aged Canadian they deeply revere. With a flock of French hens between them, New York society ladies Ella White and Marie Grice Young fight to recall the qualities in one another with which they fell in love.

These are but a handful of the tales that Sea Queens articulates; tales that are as relevant to the queer experience in 2020 as they might have been at the turn of the century.