Sinking of the RMS Lusitania significant "false flag" controversy left the ship; Cunard later explained that he was "tired and really ill." He was replaced with a new commander, Captain William Thomas Turner, who had previously commanded "Lusitania", "Mauretania", and "Aquitania" in the years before the war. On 17 April 1915, "Lusitania" left Liverpool on her 201st transatlantic voyage, arriving in New York on 24 April. A group of German–Americans, hoping to avoid controversy if "Lusitania" were attacked by a U-boat, discussed their concerns with a representative of the German Embassy. The embassy decided to warn passengers before her next crossing not to sail aboard
The World That Never Was and anti-revolutionaries of the period. David Peers, in the anarchist newspaper "Freedom", recommended the "racily and colourfully written" book while pointing outs its omission of anarcho-syndicalism and anarchism in Ukraine and Mexico. Socialist feminist writer Sheila Rowbotham, writing in "The Independent", wrote that ""The World That Never Was" conveys the labyrinthine coils of conspirators and spies with graphic panache" but noted Butterworth's failure to convey his characters' ideals and motives, and his imprecise referencing style. Leo McKinstry of the "Daily Express" praised the book's scope and its "rich cast of characters" but argued it was let down by Butterworth's style