First published in two volumes in 1866 and reprinted from the Chatto & Windus single volume edition of 1868. This work by English author and antiquary John Timbs (1801-75) provides both enteraining light reading and a source of biographical incident on unusual characters from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, including celebrities and recluses, religious notables and country astrologers, and those from the sporting field and the world of art, literature and the theatre.