Excerpt from Famous Impostors The subject of imposture is always an interest ing one, and impostors in one shape or another are likely to flourish as long as human nature remains what it is, and society shows itself ready to be gulled. The histories of famous cases of im posture in this book have been grouped together to show that the art has been practised in many forms - impersonators, pretenders, swindlers, and hum bugs of all kinds; those who have masqueraded in order to acquire wealth, position, or fame, and those who have done so merely for the love of the art. So numerous are instances, indeed, that the book cannot profess to exhaust a theme which might easily fill a dozen volumes; its purpose is simply to collect and record a number of the best known instances. The author, nevertheless, whose largest experience has lain in the field of fiction, has aimed at dealing With his material as with the material for a novel, except that all the facts given are real and authentic. He has made no attempt to treat the subject ethically; yet from a study of these impostors, the objects they had in view, the means they adopted, the risks they ran, and the punishments which attended exposure, any reader can draw his own conclusions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Famous Impostors is a non-fiction work written by Bram Stoker, who is best known as the author of the horror classic 'Dracula' which was adapted into the legendary eponymous 1931 film starring Bela Lugosi. It is a witty tongue-in-cheek tribute to dozens of impostors and hoaxes throughout history. These notorious charlatans include eminent characters such as royal pretenders (take for instance Perkin Warbeck, who faked his way to King Henry VII's throne). Other characters include magicians, self-professed witches and clairvoyants, women masquerading as men and the like - the very stuff needed to set your mind whirling far and wide. This is a must-read for fans of the fantastic yet hilarious tales penned by Terry Pratchett, co-author of 'Good Omens', the TV adaptation of which stars Michael Sheen and David Tennant. Also a perfect pick for those captured by historical enigmas such as Harry Houdini, about whom the debate whether he is fact or fraud still rages on. Abraham "Bram" Stoker was born in Dublin in 1847. Turning to fiction in his later years, Stoker published his first short story 'The Crystal Cup' (1872) in London Society magazine. In the 1880s and 1890s, he published 'Under the Sunset' (1882) and an adventure novel titled 'The Snake’s Pass' (1890). It was the publication of 'Dracula' in 1897 which launched Stoker into literary stardom.

The subject of imposture is always an interesting one, and impostors in one shape or another are likely to flourish as long as human nature remains what it is, and society shows itself ready to be gulled. The histories of famous cases of imposture in this book have been grouped together to show that the art has been practiced in many forms - impersonators, pretenders, swindlers, and humbugs of all kinds; those who have masqueraded in order to acquire wealth, position, or fame, and those who have done so merely for the love of the art. Bram Abraham Stoker (1847-1912) was born in Dublin, Ireland. Although best known for Dracula, Stoker wrote eighteen books. Stoker coined the term "undead," and his interpretation of vampire folklore has powerfully shaped depictions of the legendary monsters ever since.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to ensure edition identification: ++++ Famous Imposters Bram Stoker Sturgis & Walton company, 1910 Impostors and imposture

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1910 edition. Excerpt: ... X. THE BISLEY BOY A. PROLEGOMENON QUEEN ELIZABETH, the last of the House of Tudor, died unmarried. Since her death in 1603, there have been revolutions in England due to varying causes, but all more or less disruptive of family memories. The son of James I had his head cut off, and after the Commonwealth which followed, Charles I's son James II, had to quit on the coming of William III, by invitation. After William's death without issue, Anne, daughter of James II, reigned for a dozen years, and was succeeded by George I, descended through the female line from James I. His descendants still sit on the throne of England. NO DESCENDANTS The above facts are given not merely in the way of historical enlightenment but rather as a sort of apologetic prolegomenon to the ethical consideration of the matter immediately before us. Had Queen Elizabeth had any descendants, they need not have feared any discussion of her claims of descent. The issue of the legality of her mother's marriage had been tried exhaustively both before and after her own birth, and she held the sceptre both by the will of her dead father and the consent of her dead half-sister who left no issue. But Queen Elizabeth, whatever her origin, would have been a sufficient ancestor for any King or any Dynasty. Still, had she left issue there might have been lesser people, descendants, whose feelings in the matter of personal and family pride would have required consideration; and no person entering on an analysis of historical fact would have felt quite free-handed in such an investigation. B. THE QUEEN'S SECRET There are quite sufficient indications throughout the early life of Queen Elizabeth that there was some secret which she kept religiously guarded. Various historians of the...