Mavericks

In her first book, popular TikTok historian J Draper uses her characteristic wit and intellect to introduce us to extraordinary figures marginalized by history, and the lessons we can learn from them. Witty and engaging TikTok historian J.D. 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 Juliana Popjoy - a society beauty who lived in a tree for years Paul Robeson - 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.

In her first book, popular TikTok historian J Draper uses her characteristic wit and intellect to introduce us to extraordinary figures marginalized by history, and the lessons we can learn from them. Witty and engaging TikTok historian J.D. 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 Juliana Popjoy - a society beauty who lived in a tree for years Paul Robeson - 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.

'Wildly exciting' KATE ADIE 'Thoroughly gripping ... An action-packed tale' JUSTIN MAROZZI, THE TIMES ' Beautifully written' LOUIS DE BERNIÈRES ‘ Stimulating... entertaining and instructive ’ JULIAN EVANS, DAILY TELEGRAPH The forgotten story of a group of British mavericks who took on an impossible mission with a daring and fearless approach. As the First World War drew to a close and regimes began to collapse across Europe, British officials plotted a daring campaign to send an unlikely band of maverick soldiers, diplomats and spies to the chaotic region around the Caspian Sea. Their mission: to block the advance of the Turks, to hold back the rising Bolsheviks and prevent a Turkish-inspired jihad overwhelming India, and to secure the vital supply of oil from Baku. It was an almost impossible task , but Mavericks tells the gripping stories of the remarkable and enterprising characters at the centre of it all, who would be tested to the limit. There was Lionel Dunsterville , the inspiration for Kipling’s Stalky and commander of the expedition; Ranald MacDonell , a Scottish aristocrat and diplomat who smuggled millions of roubles for the war effort; Edward Noel , a seemingly indestructible soldier who was held hostage for sixty-five days in horrific conditions; Toby Rawlinson , the younger brother of one of Britain’s most senior generals and a brilliant inventor; and Reginald Teague-Jones , a spy who printed his own currency and would eventually emerge as an author at the age of ninety-nine. Drawing on personal diaries, memoirs and once-secret government archives, Mavericks brings to life a cast of eccentric heroes who survived against all odds to tell their extraordinary tales. This is a propulsive story of boldness and intrigue, set in a forgotten corner of the Great War where the rules were made to be broken.

'Wildly exciting' KATE ADIE 'Thoroughly gripping ... An action-packed tale' JUSTIN MAROZZI, THE TIMES ' Beautifully written' LOUIS DE BERNIÈRES ‘ Stimulating... entertaining and instructive ’ JULIAN EVANS, DAILY TELEGRAPH The forgotten story of a group of British mavericks who took on an impossible mission with a daring and fearless approach. As the First World War drew to a close and regimes began to collapse across Europe, British officials plotted a daring campaign to send an unlikely band of maverick soldiers, diplomats and spies to the chaotic region around the Caspian Sea. Their mission: to block the advance of the Turks, to hold back the rising Bolsheviks and prevent a Turkish-inspired jihad overwhelming India, and to secure the vital supply of oil from Baku. It was an almost impossible task , but Mavericks tells the gripping stories of the remarkable and enterprising characters at the centre of it all, who would be tested to the limit. There was Lionel Dunsterville , the inspiration for Kipling’s Stalky and commander of the expedition; Ranald MacDonell , a Scottish aristocrat and diplomat who smuggled millions of roubles for the war effort; Edward Noel , a seemingly indestructible soldier who was held hostage for sixty-five days in horrific conditions; Toby Rawlinson , the younger brother of one of Britain’s most senior generals and a brilliant inventor; and Reginald Teague-Jones , a spy who printed his own currency and would eventually emerge as an author at the age of ninety-nine. Drawing on personal diaries, memoirs and once-secret government archives, Mavericks brings to life a cast of eccentric heroes who survived against all odds to tell their extraordinary tales. This is a propulsive story of boldness and intrigue, set in a forgotten corner of the Great War where the rules were made to be broken.