‘The funniest book of the year, and quite possibly of all time.’ – Francis Wheen, Mail on Sunday

Willie Donaldson’s Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics: An A–Z of Roguish Britons Through the Ages

William Donaldson

Sample entries

‘Can reference books ever be laugh-out-loud funny? Donaldson manages it here. The inventor of Henry Root has made an essential work of historical biography that just happens to be the best loo book of all time. It puts our modern obsession with celebrity into a proper perspective. Next to ‘Mad Jack’ Mytton even the wildest excesses appear rather tame, and where else would you learn that Aleister Crowley designed boomerangs as a hobby?’ – John Lloyd and John Mitchinson, ‘The QI Top Ten Quite Interesting Books’, The Guardian

‘Few reference books have done so much to give respectability to rumours, half-truths and tall stories … [a] crazed bedlam of insanity, corruption, perversion and greed’ – Terence Blacker

‘Probably the greatest bathroom book ever’ – The Times

‘The funniest book in the history of the world’ – Roger Lewis, Daily Express

‘A work of maniacal genius.’ – Hywel Williams, The Guardian