Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and talk about the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they are books that have yet to be released but don't have to be. It is based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous at Breaking the Spine.
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:
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.
- 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.
Why I'm Waiting: This sounds like a lot of fun!
HAPPY READING!!
This does sound like a fun read. Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteI have heard of the Rebecca Rioters - but not the others. Thank you for sharing this one:)).
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