The mysteries of history : unravelling the truth from the myths of our past

"As Napoleon himself once said, 'History is a version of past events that people have decided to agree upon'. Noted down in historical documents, copied and widely repeated, it doesn't take long for a version of the truth to become accepted as fact. But who invents these false accounts in the first place, and why do they gain traction so quickly? Far from concerning the obscure and insignificant parts of our history, these fundamental inaccuracies and downright lies colour the depiction of many of those pivotal characters and events we learnt about at school. Cleopatra, Marco Polo, Captain Cook, Joan of Arc: most of us could probably reel off a fact or two about each. But as this intriguing book reveals, a closer examination of these core parts of our social and political history shows that often all was not as it seemed, and that the agendas of those responsible for recording these events had a huge impact on what was reported and what was covered up. The Mysteries of History is an entertaining romp through the centuries, uncovering the great mysteries surrounding some of the most inaccurate and misleading parts of our past."--Amazon.com Also by the same author Title page Copyright page Dedication page Contents Introduction 1. Smoke and Mirrors Joan of Arc: A French (Flight of) Fancy Elizabeth Báthory: The Real Countess Dracula Doctor James Barry: A Necessary Disguise Phantoms and Face Paint: The Western Myth of the Black-clad Ninja Pope Joan: A Woman on the Fisherman’s Throne Tokyo Rose: The Woman Who Never Was Robin Hood: Fact or Folklore? 2. Voyages of Discovery The Book of Marvels: Marco Polo’s Chinese Whispers America: Who Got There First? Cooking Up a Lie: Who Really Discovered Australia? Man and Myth: Bligh’s Mutiny on the Bounty Ghost Ship: The Mysteriously Abandoned Mary Celeste Walking Without Legs: The Monoliths of Easter Island 3. Murder Most Foul Cleopatra’s Cobra: The Death of the Last Queen of Egypt Syphilis or Salieri: Mozart’s Killer The Peasant Who Knew Too Much: The Death of Rasputin The Body in the Basement: The Mistrial of Dr Crippen Abandoned to Their Fate: Romanovs and Revolution The Dreyfus Affair: The Origins of the Tour de France 4. Riddles of Ritual and Religion The Great Pyramid Mystery: The Who, Why and How The Spanish Inquisition: The Black Legend Raising the Roof: The Many Incarnations of Stonehenge 5. Conflict and Catastrophe The Black Hole of Calcutta: A Lie Built on Greed Invasions of the Spanish Conquistadors: The Incas and the Irish The Light Brigade: A Charged-Up Family Feud What Lit the Great Fire of Chicago: Cow or Comet? Suicide by Proxy: The Death of General Gordon The Bombing of Guernica: Capturing the Falling Soldier Acknowledgements Bibliography Index