Product Description

Throughout history, individuals have pictured themselves becoming emperor, king, queen or president. Some have proved successful, others not, while some were pure fantasists. Many produced coins, banknotes, stamps and heraldic devices as proof of the status they claimed. In exploring the issues surrounding political legitimacy, this volume brings together evidence for an amazing variety of would-be sovereigns and phantom countries, rebel states and royal imposters, ranging from ancient to modern times and from the Orient to the New World. The extraordinary personalities, their individual stories and the images they employed are interesting in themselves, but set in a wider context they also demonstrate the changing tradition of pretence and rebellion. The authors examine fundamental concepts of loyalty and group identity in a commentary on the nature of legitimate power and established sovereignty. Their analysis reveals the convenient fictions, collective myths and pseudo-histories inherent even today in the construction and maintenance of a dynasty or modern nation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2079931 in Books
• Published on: 2002-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 196 pages

About the Author
Clive Cheesman was formerly a curator in the Department of Coins & Medals in The British Museum and is now Rouge Dragon Pursuivant at the College of Arms, London. Jonathan Williams is curator of Roman and Iron Age coins in the same department and the editor of Money: A History. Both contributed to the World of Money CD-ROM.

Customer Reviews

Entertaining, quirky and highly informative
The authors tell of how people, places and even nations in history have tried to assume titles, kingships and empires by creating myths around themselves of varying degrees of plausibility. These vary from the justified (escaped slaves seting up their own governance) to the questionable (the Stuart pretenders) to the flaky (various successors to Byzantine emperors) to the completely mad.

They span a huge range of history from antiquity to the late 20th century in a brisk and engaging manner, managing to avoid taking too condemnatory a stance on the claimants' credentials while also gently making their opinions on these matters clear.

This is all illustrated with some wonderful photos, focusing quite heavily on coinage (the authors are authorities on coins from the British Museum) but also including things like stamps, arms etc. issued by various pseudo-states and nobility.

A real gem.