"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. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
These books are free to read. Each is in the public domain in the United States; check your own country's rules before you copy or share one.
