The Greatest Nobodies of History: Minor Characters from Major Moments
Adrian Bliss
Penguin
Nonfiction, History/Humorous Nonfiction
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: Leonardo da Vinci, Charles II, "Buffalo" Bill Cody... these and other names are familiar figures from history books. But truth is often difficult to come by, when so much is lost to time, and what survives can be (and often is) colored by the biases and misconceptions of those recording it, and when so much focus is given to great names that the experiences of ordinary folk is all but forgotten. In a series of "recovered" documents, explore little-seen perspectives on great men and great moments from witnesses standing just to the side of history, with testimonies from such impeccable observers as Henry VIII's "groom of the stool" (tender of the royal chamber pot), a vestal virgin on trial for failure to tend the sacred temple flame of ancient Rome and bringing various "disasters" down upon the empire, the emu field marshal who led her troops through Australia's first war against the birds, and more.
REVIEW: I've seen some of Bliss's short online videos on a variety of subjects, and was curious how he'd come across in long-form writing. Drawing on what is known (or can be inferred) from history and adding a fair dollop of imagination and some humor, he presents ten unique, intriguing, satirical, and even sometimes touching stories, covering historical figures and events ranging from Ancient Greece to the early twentieth century.
As in most short story collections (which this more or less is), the tales vary a little in quality and tone, though none of them are outright clunkers. From the epistolary story of a nameless wealthy Athenian writing a series of complaints about the uncouth and shocking behavior of the philosopher Diogenes whose outlandish ideas spread like wildfire to the "war journal" of an emu field marshal, from the story of a Cromwell-supporting English oak tree's fateful encounter with a fleeing King Charles II, even through the stories of a Renaissance ferret's art modeling career and the eager young understudy of Buffalo Bill's aging horse in the showbiz years, Bliss never fails to find unique angles to approach his topics. He also doesn't fail to create decent characters and arcs within each story, so they work as historical fiction (or fantasy, if you need to stretch to account for anthropomorphism in your characters) in their own right. Once in a while they feel a little long, and occasionally the English humor threatens to be a trifle thick, but they never fail to interest or amuse, and some have unexpectedly emotional moments.
Following each story, Bliss offers the facts (or at least the facts as can best be known; in 2025, we're seeing real-time evidence how even events happening right in front of us, with unprecedented means of preservation at the fingertips of innumerable observers, can be warped and twisted, particularly by those with ulterior motives to ensure a particular version of reality is seen as the one and only true account. Just imagine how much worse that distortion becomes when far fewer people had the means to record their observations, and those observations have been handed down through innumerable retellings and/or translations like a centuries-long game of Telephone... only the original player is long gone and can't tell us how laughably twisted the message has become when it reaches the end of the chain). Some of the stories stick fairly close to known events, and others are more inventive, but all invite the reader to pursue further reading if any subject strikes their fancy, demonstrating how history can be as exciting and seemingly improbable as any fiction.
On the whole, I found it enjoyable, and Bliss did a decent job narrating the audiobook (with an expanded cast in a few of the tales).
You Might Also Enjoy:
How to Survive History (Cody Cassidy) - My Review
Terry Jones' Medieval Lives (Terry Jones and Alan Ereira) - My Review
Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws (Adrienne Mayor) - My Review
No comments:
Post a Comment