The Great Pretenders: The True Stories Behind Famous Historical Mysteries

Lots of facts and M-DNA solved a lot of the past Pretenders claims. Author does ramble on information of some of the pretenders but a interesting book in general.

I've read several books by Bondeson and enjoyed them, though at times it's a bit sad having science disprove things that were fascinating possibilities. Regardless, Bondeson makes you rethink what you (and at times the entire world) have thought to be solved mysteries, most notably last year's affirmation via mitochrondial DNA that the alleged heart of the 'Lost Dauphin,' Louis Charles XVII, is indeed the boy's heart. Or is it really? Bondeson has a unique way of approaching these mysteries both scientifically and open-minded - never saying that the mysteries are solved absolutely by approaching them from every possible 'what if?' angle. BUT, it is annoying that Bondeson spends so much time on minute possible details while simultaneously making the most stupid mistakes of what is concrete fact. For example, the Dauphin was born in 1785 and died in 1795. Any source will tell you this. Bondeson will tell you this repeatedly, as well as the obvious fact that the boy was 10-years-old when he died. Yet Bondeson then goes on to describe the first of the hundreds of pretenders and states if any of the pretenders actually had been the real Dauphin, this was the most likely possibility. The problem is that this pretender showed up in a village in 1796, when the Dauphin would have been eleven, and is described as a teenager (who in fact was later identified as being an 18-year-old runaway). At another point, when trying to explain the discrepancies of the Dauphin's crystal encased heart, Bondeson suggests that it is actually the heart of the Dauphin's older brother, who died at the age of nine, as the heart is smaller than that described in the autopsy and records of the doctor who had spirited away. Bondeson's theory is that the TWELVE-year-old Dauphin's heart would be larger. Seriously, how hard is it to keep the most basic fact that the lost Dauphin was 10-years-old straight while theorizing with great depth the potential cause of his death and claims of the various pretenders? I would give the book five stars if not for these types of, frankly, stupid mistakes. As it is, if it were possible, I'd give the book 3 1/2 stars for such ridiculous faults. I'd also suggest strongly that Bondeson needs to interupt his deep ruminations and check for such painfully obvious mistakes, in addition to firing his editor.

The most famous historical mysteries contain a large amount of contradictory evidence; most cannot be solved in actuality. Mysteries of disputed identity have ancient origins and are based on medieval folk tales. Nineteenth Century romantic history was built on these legends because the aristocracy liked mystifications and conundruns, plus their prevailing literary taste. The writer of historical mysteries presented his subject matter within the boundaries set by the traditional Gothic novel. The Little Prince died in France after his parents, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI had been put to death on the guillotine during the Revolution. Rumors surfaced that the Royalists had saved him, and more than a hundred 'pretenders' claimed to be the Lost Dauphin. Other mysteries in this volume by Dr. Bondeson include a duke whose country estate had a maze of tunnels in the basement, who possibly had a double life as a furniture shopkeeper with a separate family (Emperor or hermit), Kasper Hauser in Germany, Duke of Baker Street in London, and others. Rumors about George III's bigomy were boundless. Some of these mysteries of 'disputed identity' developed into national enigmas, based on folklore and romantic fantasy. Thus is history. He explains his summations thusly: "What is it about these tales of lost heirs, secret marriages, and immortal monarchs (who) turned into immortal mysteries (which) engage the minds of millions?" I was disappointed that he left out the case of Anastasia in Russia. I love the cover pictures of those he did write about, so true to life -- as it was back then.

The Great Pretenders is a collection of stories about famous historical mysteries, mostly involving missing royals or nobles from the nineteenth century. If you are an aficionado of royal histories from that period you've probably already read quite a bit about the subjects presented here, like the missing Dauphin or Kaspar Hauser or Fedor Kuzmich, but nevertheless its nice to have the stories encapsulated in a quick, well written series of chapters like this one. Its also interesting to see how much DNA has been used in recent years to help verify or debunk some of these stories. Some of the selections seem a bit off, for example the story of the Tichborne Claimant is interesting history but it could hardly be considered a case of a missing heir, being actually a pretty obvious case of attempted fraud, but that is no reason not to enjoy this book.

Expertly compiled by Jan Bondeson (Professor at the University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff), The Great Pretenders: The True Stories Behind Famous Historical Mysteries is an enthralling anthology of unsolved mysteries which are presented on a case by case basis and keenly analyzed with the exacting scrutiny of modern scientific and medical knowledge. From what DNA testing reveals on the supposed heart of the alleged Lost Dauphin (who claimed to be the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette); to Kaspar Hauser (a boy who claimed to be the Crown Prince of Baden and to have lived his entire childhood in an underground dungeon), The Great Pretenders offers a fascinating, informative, and occasionally iconoclastic peek into human identity conundrums down through history.

The Great Pretenders is great fun, no pretending. Jan Bondeson examines the great (and the lesser great) historical mysteries of the nineteenth century, such as Kaspar Hauser, the Lost Dauphin, and monk-czar of Russia. He presents all the known evidence in a clear fashion and lays out the possible solutions relying on both modern scientific evidence, if available and applicable, and documentary evidence. The author may disappoint conspiracy buffs (they always have the internet) but this book will interest history buffs. These stories are endlessly fascinating and they add up to a marvelous evening or so of reading.