Wreck

April 1912. Titanic’s deck is tilting. Lifeboats are gone. Around William Hipkins, men are climbing the railings and jumping into the freezing dark. He is still thinking about others. He is still thinking about the family he’s already lost.

Ten years earlier, William was the man nobody saw coming. An outsider handed the keys to one of Birmingham’s great industrial dynasties, quietly dismantling everything the boardroom held sacred, and rebuilding it on his own terms. Written contracts, sick pay, paid holidays – half a century before British law would catch up. His wife, Lavinia, a writer and reformer, asked the questions that changed his answers. Men with everything to lose tried to stop him, but he kept going.

He always kept going.

Based on remarkable true events, Wreck is the largely forgotten story of the man who quietly built the modern workplace and his journey on the ship the world would never forget.

“An atmospheric book with a huge beating heart”
Helena Merriman, BBC journalist and author

Oliver Hipkins grew up in Birmingham and now lives in Dulwich, south London, with his wife and two children. He teaches English, writes poetry and plays music, though not always in that order. His poems have appeared in various editions of New Contexts.

Andy James lives nearby with his wife and two children. He earned a PhD with published research in Wiley Blackwell journals before becoming an award-winning copywriter. He also plays the drums.
Oliver and Andy have collaborated on writing and music projects, lent each other books and debated most of them. Wreck is their first novel.

** Published 5th November - title will not ship until publication date **