Which novel written in 1898 bore an uncanny resemblance to the sinking of the Titanic.
Who was the author?

Oh that's an easy one. The novel was entitled "Futility" and was written by Morgan Robertson. Ironically, the ficticious ship was named Titan.

Good answer.
Look at this, and complare the similarities, quite a few coincidences.
http://www.cite-des-sciences.fr/english/ala_cite/expo/tempo/titanic/naufrage/reel_fiction.html