The Man Who Sold Nelson’s Column

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Spanning the 18th century to the present day, these tales range from the quaint to the absurd, touching on all social classes and settings in society. Among them are the phoney minister who established a church and performed illegal marriage ceremonies, a middle-aged gentleman who passed himself off as an adolescent schoolboy, and the man who persuaded the world that he was the prince of an imaginary country. This book also looks at more familiar Scottish mysteries such as those surrounding the Loch Ness monster, the ‘Great Highland Hoax’ of Ossian’s poems, and the Burns Temple Hoax. This highly entertaining read makes us realise just how gullible many of us have been and may also continue to be.

Dane Love was born in Ayrshire and educated in Glasgow. He graduated from Jordanhill College of Education and is currently a principal teacher at Irvine Royal Academy. A Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the National History Society, Love is also an Honorary secretary of the Scottish Covenanter Memorials Associations. He has published many titles steeped in Scottish history, including Scottish Covenanter and Lost Ayrshire.