Best-selling Danish author Mette Hjermind McCall came to CLU to present her bestselling book and a new and interesting angle of the journey of the Titanic.
McCall is the author of “Titanic De Danske Fortsellinger,” which tells the tale of the destinies of specifically the Danish passengers on the Titanic. The nonfiction best-seller was released on April 15 in Denmark.
She presented her book on Oct. 27 at 2 p.m. in the Roth Nelson room, where many of her books were available for purchase.
“I really love being able to educate people on all the things that are not as common to know. Not many people know the stories about the third class Danish people on the boat. Most people are commonly aware of the first class passengers, and that the boat hit an iceberg and sank,” said McCall. “It’s also great to be able to tell what happened after the tragedy, and how families coped with the tragedy.”
More than 1,500 people lost their lives on April 14, 1912, when the passenger ship Titanic, famously dubbed “unsinkable,” struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage from England to New York and sank into the Atlantic Ocean.
The event was free and was sponsored by the California Lutheran University history department and the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation, which hosts a few programs each year in addition to the Scandinavian Festival.
The presentation lasted about two hours and included music that was played on the Titanic, pictures, illustrations, and select audio recordings from interviews of survivors.
McCall delivered her knowledge in a way that captivated the audience. She also had a sense of humor, which gave the presentation a lighter touch.
During her presentation, McCall gave elaborate descriptions about each of her slides and brought them to life.
There were many pictures of select individuals McCall had researched and she was able to tell their stories in detail from the information that she had researched.
There was a 10 minute break between the two hours, during which audience members to go up to her and ask questions.
McCall has done many different presentations around California and Denmark, but this is her first time ever coming to CLU to present her work.
“Every year we always try to get new Scandinavian speakers to come to our campus, and we are so thrilled to have McCall come to give an intriguing and Scandinavian twist to the story of the Titanic,” said Mary Hekhuis, board member of the Scandinavian American Cultural and Historical Foundation. “She really has…quite a bit of insight into some of the survivors and their amazing stories.”
McCall’s work is based in the San Francisco Bay area and Århus, Denmark. McCall works as a freelance journalist and a public relations consultant with experience in print and broadcast journalism in Europe and California.
McCall’s in depth and intriguing presentation brought the story to life and helped show people the various angles of the Titanic.
Lizzie Lopez
Staff Writer
Published Oct. 31, 2012