Jindřich Vacek

Jindřich Vacek’s (b.1955) alma mater is the Charles University in Prague. He taught Czech at Bucharest University for 12 years and has been a long-time editor at Argo Publishing House. A prolific translator of several languages, he has received the important Josef Jungmann Award for his translation from Yiddish. In addition, he has published the memoir All My Wanderings (2021). Captured By the Thunderbird was his fiction debut. In 2022 Argo published his second fiction book for adults named Three men on the Titanic.

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Three Men on the Titanic

November 2022, 216 pages

The story of a single voyage on the Titanic, during which two men – a police detective and an adventurous explorer – search for a murderer from Long Meadows in Ireland

It is 10 April 19,12, and the Titanic sets sail from Southampton harbour on its first and last voyage. On board is British detective Sanders, who is faced with a nearly impossible task: he must try to identify a wanted criminal among hundreds of first-class passengers. Since this is his first time at sea and he feels somewhat insecure in the company of the first-class elite, Captain Smith introduces him to Cedric, a well-travelled explorer who becomes a welcome help to Sanders. The two men begin their search for the Long Meadows Murderer of Ireland. While on board on the ship, Cedric writes a long letter to his old flame, telling her about his travels to Mormon Utah at a time when polygamy, while illegal, was still around, about traditional India and Jewish Galicia, his writing adding to the story’s intrigue. The story of the Titanic is closely documented.