Historical Mysteries

(Photo by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen)

(Edited by Ian Pindar)

P loves Folio books but is allergic to outlaying big money for their gorgeous products, at least, too often..  L has no such malady fortunately, so we have shelves bulging with these strongboxes of literary treasure. The Folio Book of Historical Mysteries is one such treat, a sumptuous volume you can skip about to kill time, during an afternoon at the cricket, say, or while waiting for guests to arrive.  Written by various historical experts, judiciously argued, properly footnoted with lists of suggested further reading, and filled with lovely illustrations, dare one say (?), it’s a “perfect Xmas gift!”

Here are the mysteries:

  1. Who Built Stonehenge?
  2. Where is Atlantis?
  3. Was Tutankhamun murdered?
  4. Why did Rome fall?
  5. Robin Hood: Reality or Myth?
  6. Who was the Pied Piper of Hamelin?
  7. Is the Turin Shroud a Fake?
  8. Were the Princes in the Tower Murdered?
  9. Who Wrote Shakespeare’s Plays?
  10. What Happened on Easter Island?
  11. What is the Voynich Manuscript?
  12. Who was the Man in the Iron Mask?
  13. Who was Kaspar Hauser?
  14. Was Napoleon Murdered?
  15. What Happened on the Mary Celeste?
  16. Who was Jack the Ripper?
  17. Did Anastasia Survive?
  18. Who was the Piltdown Hoaxer?
  19. Where is the Amber Room?
  20. Who Shot JFK?
Not the real Amber Room (photo by Dennis Jarvis)

Not the real Amber Room (photo by Dennis Jarvis)

Potential spoiler alert:

The Varnished Culture’s comments are:

  1. Depraved French stonemasons.
  2. In the basement of Atlantis, The Palm, in Dubai.
  3. By Ra.
  4. According to Edward Gibbon, you can take your pick…
  5. Of course he was real.  We’ve seen the Errol Flynn documentary.
  6. A chap called Nicholas.
  7. The Lord moves in mysterious ways.
  8. It’s too late to displace the myth.
  9. Shakespeare.
  10. Venereal disease came to Rapanui.
  11. A medieval prank.
  12. D’Artagnan.
  13. A simple lad.
  14. Certainly.
  15. Dunno, but whatever it was, it must have been bad.
  16. Probably Mr. Chapman but the umbrella of suspicion remains open…
  17. Nope.
  18. Dawson.
  19. Lost during WWII.
  20. We may find out in 2017 when all the documents are released.  But LHO is the prime suspect.

0 Comments


Leave a comment...

While your email address is required to post a comment, it will NOT be published.

Leave a Reply

© Copyright 2014 The Varnished Culture All Rights Reserved. TVC Disclaimer. Site by KWD&D.