Mavericks

Witty and engaging TikTok historian J Draper digs out unusual stories of individuals that have shaped the world, and discovers the lessons their unique experiences can teach us.

Breaking away from history as told through the lens of kings, queens and nobles, this book instead lifts the lid on 24 fascinating stories of little-known underdogs, mavericks, trailblazers and oddballs. Through these stories you will meet characters such as:

• The Chevalier d’Eon – a fencing master, spy and diplomat who came out as a woman in 18th-century London
• Ellen and William Craft – a married couple who made a daring escape from slavery in the American south
• Peter the Wild Boy – a child found living in the woods in Germany who was taken to the royal court in England
• Caroline Herschel – the first British woman to be paid for scientific work, and a discoverer of comets
• William Buckland – the man who wrote the first account of a dinosaur – yet who also ate the heart of a French king
• Eleanor Rykener – a gender-bending sex worker from medieval England who spilled juicy gossip about her clients in the clergy
• Paul Robeson – American athlete, singer, actor, polyglot, activist… and handsome to boot
• The Rebecca Rioters – a roving crowd of Welshmen who destroyed tollbooths dressed in skirts and bonnets.

These poignant and often hilarious true stories show us that the world as we know it was built by a wider array of historical figures than we experienced in our schoolbooks.