The tale of Southampton's ill-fated Titanic continues to cast its spell over the decades. Keith Hamilton looks at a new book on the White Star liner

Titanic, at the same time the most famous and infamous name in Southampton's shipping history, has never lost its fascination across nine decades.

Hundreds lost their lives, including many who lived in and around Southampton's dockland streets, as Titanic slipped beneath the Atlantic's icy waters after the ship struck an iceberg, ripping open its hull.

Historians have examined every detail of the ship's maiden voyage and sinking, countless words have been written about the ill-fated vessel and films have attracted audiences of millions around the world.

It is a story that has never dulled and one, as long as people voyage across the oceans of the world, which is likely to be told and re-told for years to come.

The latest insight into Titanic comes from author and researcher, Debbie Beavis who has written and compiled the book, Who Sailed on Titanic? The Definitive Passenger Lists.

Much of the work is taken up with lists of names, ages, notes and last known addresses of hundreds of passengers and crew that set sail on Titanic from Southampton in April, 1912.

The book is the result of years of painstaking work by the author as she examined and analysed many lists in archives across the globe.

Collating the lists was not an easy job as names differed between lists and the book demonstrates the reliability or otherwise of these documents, the accuracy of which has never been fully examined.

"Titanic's maiden voyage carried an impressive list of glittering names including some of the world's richest and most powerful men,'' said the author.

"But out of sight of the affluent and privileged promenading on the topmost decks, safely concealed in the third class accommodation way below were also several hundred of the poorest, most disadvantaged or displaced persons seeking to change their fortunes by emigrating to the United States and Canada.

"The night was quiet, cold and moonless. Slicing effortlessly through the freezing waters, this dazzling new star powered her way westwards towards New York.

"Beyond the horizon, a jagged mountain of ice drifted into her path.

"Three hours later, Titanic was gone. The iceberg continued its leisurely drift southwards, leaving in its wake a sea of wreckage and shattered dreams.''

Not only will the book be of great interest to those gripped by Titanic's tale but also a useful resource for anyone researching their ancestors thought to have been among those who died or survived the freezing waters 90 years ago.

Who Sailed on Titanic? The Definitive Passenger Lists by Debbie Beavis is published by Ian Allen and priced £19.99.