History may be written by the victors, but to get the real story sometimes you have to ask the nobodies.

Whether it's Julius Caesar, Buffalo Bill or Henry VIII, the lives of history's greatest heroes have long dominated the history books, and bored generations of high school students in the process. But what about the side characters waiting in the wings of humanity's defining moments?

Who will tell the tale of the pirates who kidnapped Caesar? Of Bill's horse who thrilled Queen Victoria. Or of Henry's toilet attendants, who may have caused a wife or two to lose their heads?

Adrian Bliss won't rest until these forgotten heroes are as well-known as their glory hogging contemporaries. Equal parts fascinating and hilarious, The Greatest Nobodies of History is a surreal love letter to the losers and weirdos who transformed mankind forever.

All of this happened. And some of it could even be true...