I thoroughly enjoyed this two-part story, David. I wrote my dissertation on 19th-century scientific hoaxes and yet had never heard anything about your geologist swindler. The hoaxers that I researched and wrote about often had a genuine fascination with science or natural history, at a time when the fields were still open to the citizen-scientist who could contribute their small discoveries. But their sincere interest could easily be derailed by contact with professional men who made a good living with their scientific knowledge. That seems to be the case here--he was obviously *compelled* to remake himself for each situation. (One wonders how he kept track of the aliases and their quirks.) Slippery identity, amateur science, and railway travel--you're speaking my language!
great story, David, what a guy this was!
Yeah, nutty how much time and energy he spent being a conman.
I thoroughly enjoyed this two-part story, David. I wrote my dissertation on 19th-century scientific hoaxes and yet had never heard anything about your geologist swindler. The hoaxers that I researched and wrote about often had a genuine fascination with science or natural history, at a time when the fields were still open to the citizen-scientist who could contribute their small discoveries. But their sincere interest could easily be derailed by contact with professional men who made a good living with their scientific knowledge. That seems to be the case here--he was obviously *compelled* to remake himself for each situation. (One wonders how he kept track of the aliases and their quirks.) Slippery identity, amateur science, and railway travel--you're speaking my language!
Wow, I didn't know you did that. Sounds like an interesting dissertation. Fun. We'll have to compare notes.
D