This excellent piece of historical detective work shows that nineteenth-century scoundrels are an international phenomenon.
Charlatan, by Catherine Jinks
Thomas Guthrie Carr, who 'lied, fought and sleazed his way around Australia and New Zealand between 1865 and 1886', lived on the fringes of various nineteenth-century movements such as mesmerism and phrenology. With all the crafts of a showman and self-promoter, he moved backwards and forwards across the fine line between the performer and the criminal.
Very well written and constantly interesting, the book 'unearths a Victorian-era celebrity who should never have been forgotten'. Recommended reading.
Sources
First published August 19, 2017, kept and lightly revised September 16, 2026. On how this journal is rebuilt and sourced, see the about page.
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