Brewer's Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics: An A-Z of Roguish Britons Through the Ages

William Donaldson

Phoenix, 2004 - Reference - 686 pages

'The funniest book of the year, and quite possibly of all time'

Francis Wheen, Mail on Sunday

Everyone loves a rogue. Take Louis de Rougemont, pearl diver, alligator hunter and King of the Cannibals, who was allegedly shipwrecked off the coast of New Guinea and survived by clinging to the tail of the ship's dog. Or Archbishop Lancelot Blackburne, who tired of waiting for heavenly rewards and became a swashbuckling pirate, rumoured to have employed Dick Turpin as his butler.

From assassins and arsonists to hell-raisers and highwaymen, plus an array of poisoners, strumpets, quacks, and forgers, BREWER'S, ROGUES, VILLAINS and ECCENTRICS is a hugely entertaining miscellany of bizarre Britons through the ages. Including the famous, infamous and downright dangerous, you couldn't ask for a better gallery of Britain's most outrageous characters.

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LibraryThing Review

User Review  - MiaCulpa - LibraryThing

An hilarious collection of entries on an array of interesting British folk. There's some famous people who drank a lot (Oliver Reed & Keith Moon both feature), some rather eccentric people, like the ...

About the author

Willie Donaldson has led an extraordinary and colourful life - from his privileged public-school eduction to an untidy lifestyle in the company of pop stars, actors, models and others. He is the author of the various volumes in the 'Henry Root' series and of numerous other humorous titles.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Brewer's Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics: An A-Z of Roguish Britons Through the Ages
• Author: William Donaldson
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Phoenix, 2004
• ISBN: 0753817918, 9780753817919
• Length: 686 pages
• Subjects: Reference / General