Creative History

  Some called him a conman, a scoundrel and even a criminal.  He named himself the “King of the Beggars” and published an international bestseller that detailed his exploits as a wandering vagabond who lived on the margins of accepted society.  He claimed it was a one-hundred percent true autobiography.  His detractors said that his work was nothing more than pure fiction.  But one thing is certain--Bampfylde Moore Carew’s literary talents made him one of the 18th century’s most famous (and infamous!) celebrities. To this very day, nearly three hundred years later, the question still remains--Who really was this self-proclaimed “King of the Beggars” Bampfylde Moore Carew?  And is there anything today that we  know about this man that is even remotely true? History doesn’t tell us exactly when Bampfylde Moore Carew was born, but church records tell us that an infant by that name was  baptized on the 23rd of September in the year 1690 at a church in Bickleigh in Devon, England. Tho