A General History of the Lives, Murders & Adventures of the Most Notorious Highwaymen

Captain Charles Johnson’s celebrated A General History of the Pirates (1724) is the most famous book about pirates ever written. The mysterious Johnson followed up with the equally engrossing The Lives and Adventures of the Most Famous Highwaymen (1734) which, published here for the first time in two centuries, provides over 50 accounts of the most notorious British criminals of the 17th and 18th centuries. Johnson’s volumes are significant as the forerunners of the real life criminal biography genre, and for their influence on such early novels as Defoe’s Moll Flanders and Fielding’s Jonathan Wild. Originally published in folio size complete with fine engravings, this new edition not only includes the very best of these original decorative features but also presents a series of related illustrations, playbills and portraits from the British Library collections.

The identity of Captain Charles Johnson has long been a mystery. Suspected as a pseudonym for Daniel Defoe, or even as a pirate himself, neither has ever been confirmed. His books are the prime source of information on the great age of piracy and road adventurers and have inspired numerous plays, books and films including Treasure Island, Peter Pan and Pirates of the Caribbean. Sam Willis is an award-winning historian and broadcaster whose work includes the three-part BBC documentary Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues.