Product Description

In 1817, an amazing story enthralled the journals and newspapers of the time and was the talk of high society. A beautiful, young foreign princess was found wandering the English countryside. She spoke no English but called herself Caraboo. She was given shelter by Jane Worrall, a wealthy banker's wife, at the mansion of Knole near Bristol which soon became the spot of a pilgrimage for those who wished to pay this exotic creature a visit. However, as the storm of publicity grew, it soon emerged that the lovely princess was only a poor servant girl named Mary Baker who played the masquerade to avoid being sent to the workhouse as a vagrant. This book reveals through letters and diaries, all firmly based on documents written at the time of the event itself, who Caraboo really was, how Mary Baker carried out her fabulous hoax and what her life was like both before and after her brief reign as the Princess Caraboo of Javasu. The 1994 film "Caraboo" stars Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1466466 in Books
• Published on: 1995-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 220 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Part fairy tale, part analysis of human gullibility, this story, which inspired an eponymous movie, is the history of Mary Baker, a servant girl who fooled 19th-century England into believing she was a princess from the mysterious country of Javasu. Found wandering the English countryside, strangely dressed and speaking no English, Mary was rescued from the workhouse by the wealthy Elizabeth Worrall. Mrs. Worrall was convinced that no one with such ``a delicate, sure manner'' could be anything but royalty. Using Mrs. Worrall's diary and letters and Mary's confessions (both expanded to some extent by the authors, though exactly what has been added is, unfortunately, unclear), the story reveals how this clever con woman convinced scholars as well as laymen of the truth of her preposterous tale. The more outlandish her behavior (bizarre religious rituals and fencing with men), the more people were persuaded. Mary's confessions, which deal with her life up until she began her game, reveal a restless, selfish person who resorted to the hoax in the end because of desperation and laziness. The story works especially well as a study of the gullibility of 19th-century English royalty and its willingness to believe the absurd before the rational.

Copyright 1995 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Another hoax?
I came across this book after I had seen the movie and was delighted to find a comprehensive account of the truth behind the legend. Unfortunately, the lack of citation and frequent embellishment of the "diary" makes the reader only vaguely aware of an element of truth. The diary portions are very readable and enjoyable. However, without knowing which parts are real and which parts are embellishments, any true historical value is lost. In fact, the authors do not even give a list of sources used for any further research. The exact copies of a few newspaper articles are historically helpful, but these are the only elements that can point to any "real" story of Caraboo. The title "The Real Story of the Grand Hoax", is truly odd since the authors do not separate the "real" portions from their "probable" portions, which actually perpetuates Caraboo's original hoax.

AMAZING
This was honestly one of the most fascinating books I have ever read - Ms. Worral's journal is an amazing account of what she went through, as well as what it was like to live an upper class woman's life during that time. And Princess Caraboo is possibly one of the most fascinating characters from history.