John Timbs
English Eccentrics and Eccentricities
"English Eccentrics and Eccentricities" by John Timbs is a biographical collection published in 1866. This two-volume work catalogues the lives of unusual people from the late 18th and early 19th centuries, ranging from celebrities to recluses, religious figures to astrologers, and authors to tragedians. Timbs explores how oddity of character can coexist with goodness of heart, presenting a gallery of "motley-minded and grotesque" individuals whose rare accidents offer lessons in both thrift and humor.