Mavericks
Life stories and lessons of history's most extraordinary misfits
by Jenny Draper
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Pub Date 11 Feb 2025 | Archive Date 4 Feb 2025
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Description
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.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781786788986 |
| PRICE | US$24.95 (USD) |
| PAGES | 224 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Katie B, Reviewer
4 stars
I'm not familiar with Jenny Draper or her TikTok, but I'm a sucker for reading about the rulebreakers, scoundrels, and eccentrics of history. Mavericks accomplishes the goal of being highly educational and immensely amusing with several stories that you will have to read to believe. Draper also does a wonderful job of representation with several stories about queer people as well as people of color. It's an easy, breezy read that history fans can devour in a day. Who could ask for anything more?
Thank you to NetGalley and Watkins Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!
Kathryn M, Reviewer
I really enjoyed learning about new historical people and this had that charm that I enjoyed about nonfiction books. Jenny Draper was able to weave interesting stories and have interesting real people in history. It had that humor that I wanted and was glad I got to read this.
Reviewer 1543773
Written with a very fun sense of humor, this book is the kind of history book that's not purely for history buffs. The author shines a light on lesser known figures of history, some known a little bit by academics & others pretty much drowning in obscurity. There's a good balance between showing the hard reality of life for disadvantaged people & balancing it out with a more positive outlook on the progress/advancements these misfits managed to make.
I can't really pick a favorite chapter, not when I learned about such oddballs as:
- an illiterate woman who experienced vivid visions, and somehow managed to get her words recorded in a book (that seemingly survived in a single copy)
- a noblewoman who successfully defended her castle from invaders (with a sense of style)
- or learning about the Rebecca Rioters (who really, really hated tollbooths and did something about it)
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