“You need this book because: It feels so good to read about the naughty. Besides, how can you resist an encyclopedia with entries like ‘butlers, murderous’ and ‘Jesus, believing oneself to be having carnal relations with’?”—Publishers Weekly. “A reference treasure.”—Booklist

A browsable and addictive collection of pen-portraits of 1500 extraordinary characters from British and Irish history

This fine account of the period following the 1960s charts the history of the Accounting Standards Committee. Written by a respected scholar, it makes a major contribution to the history of financial reporting.

Just why has England been blessed with so many quirky people? A delightful look at this phenomenon from an award–winning and “superbly talented” author (Sunday Express). From the eighteenth-century judge who insisted all babies were born with tails that were secretly removed by midwives to the twentieth-century schoolmaster who left twenty-six thousand pounds to the Lord Jesus Christ (upon His return and satisfactory proof of His identity), England is famed for its colorful characters. In this exploration of eccentrics through history, David Long studies these beloved real-life figures and their bizarre legacy, including the many strange buildings they left behind—not just follies but re-creations of exotic palaces. He also discusses why eccentrics still spark a continuing fascination, and highlights the most notable (not just the most famous) in his entertaining essays. In addition to a useful timeline that sets the scene, this book reveals where readers can see the long-lasting legacy of the eccentric for themselves, from Brighton Pavilion to the follies at Stourhead and Castle Howard. “A new book by David Long is always something to cherish.” —Londonist

This book will take you on a journey, a journey through Oxford and a journey through the lives of ten roguish males. All of the men have at least two things in common: a strong association with Oxford, and some claim to be a rogue. They are all famous in some way or another, some tending towards infamy. All but one has spent time at one of Oxford’s famous colleges, though only a few obtained an academic award during their stay in the city. The stories in this book are rich in human interest, from the sexual romps and salacious poetry of Lord Rochester to the elopements and romantic poetry of Percy Shelley. From the marriages and drinking of actor Richard Burton, to the expulsion and explorations of his Victorian namesake, Sir Richard Burton. From the trail of whoring and infidelity of author Graham Greene to the double-talk and double-dealings of ex-president Bill Clinton. From the drug dealing and identity fraud of Howard Marks to the claims of William Davenant to be the son of Shakespeare. From the greed and arrogance of Robert Maxwell to the addictive gambling of the author of The English Rogue, Richard Head. The devil would have to cast his net very widely to entrap this lot, though they could all be found within the intriguing streets and eminent building of Oxford at some time in their lives. Those lives are linked by the locations that most characterised their stay in Oxford, thus creating a unique trail through the ‘city of dreaming spires’ and an opportunity to stop and wonder at the buildings that grace its golden heart. The men of this book are as complex as the city, their characters forming a patchwork upon which to establish a trail that is quite unique. Their lives are differently characterised by: aesthetics, creativity, humour, intoxication, romance, licentiousness, avarice, desire, ambition, daring and lawlessness. And through them all runs this roguish streak, a trait that charms forgiveness from those who are damaged by them - though not always. Like the streets of Oxford, rogues can turn. A charming alleyway can become the scene of a rape; a poet can suddenly take out a loaded pistol. A friendly pub can suddenly become the scene of a riot; a night of love can be the seed of a wasting disease. A leafy tree can fall and crush a beautiful young woman; a happy drunk can become a pugilist. It is this edge that makes a rogue dangerous to live with – yet interesting to read about.

The life of Willie Donaldson ended in June 2005 when he was found dead in the seedy rented flat in Chelsea where he had lived for 35 years. His extraordinary career of writing, drug-taking, brilliance and underachievement put him in the same holy bracket as Peter Cook, Jeffrey Bernard, Peter Sellers and Alan Clark.

The alarming history of the British, and European, aristocracy - from Argyll to Wellington and from Byron to Tolstoy, stories of madness, murder, misery, greed and profligacy. From Regency playhouses, to which young noblemen would go simply in order to insult someone to provoke a duel that might further their reputation, to the fashionable gambling clubs or 'hells' which were springing up around St James's in the mid-eighteenth century, the often bizarre doings of aristocrats. An eighteenth-century English gentleman was required to have what was known as 'bottom', a shipping metaphor that referred to stability. Taking part in a duel was a bold statement that you had bottom. William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne certainly had bottom, if not a complete set of gonads following his duel with Colonel Fullarton, MP for Plympton. Both men missed with their first shots, but the colonel fired again and shot off Shelborne's right testicle. Despite being hit, Shelborne deliberately discharged his second shot in the air. When asked how he was, the injured Earl coolly observed his wound and said, 'I don't think Lady Shelborne will be the worse for it.' The cast of characters includes imperious, hard-drinking and highly volatile Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who is remembered today as much for his brilliant scientific career as his talent for getting involved in bizarre mishaps, such as his death as a result of his burst bladder; the Marquess of Queensberry, a side-whiskered psychopath, who, on a luxury steamboat in Brazil, in a row with a fellow passenger over the difference between emus and ostriches, and knocked him out cold; and Thomas, 2nd Baron Lyttelton, a Georgian rake straight out of central casting, who ran up enormous gambling debts, fought duels, frequented brothels and succumbed to drug and alcohol addiction. Often, such rakes would be swiftly packed off on a Grand Tour in the hope that travel would bring about maturity. It seldom did.