Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art, fifth series, no. 126, vol. III, May 29, 1886

A captivating survey of history’s most audacious impostors, this work follows the curious pattern of strangers stepping forward to claim royal bloodlines. From the 19th‑century “Napoleonic Claimant,” who appeared in a Paris police station pleading for funds to reach his supposed mother, the Empress Eugenie, to earlier medieval pretenders, the narrative weaves together legal drama, personal desperation, and the lingering allure of a throne.

The book also recounts the tragic tale of a woman in the early 1300s who asserted she was the long‑lost Maid of Norway, seeking recognition in Bergen only to meet a grim fate. By juxtaposing these episodes with older examples, the author reveals how claims to royalty have repeatedly tangled fact and fantasy, shaping both contemporary opinion and the historical record. Listeners will discover a world where ambition, identity, and the yearning for legitimacy collide in startlingly human ways.