Draper joined The Sam Steen Show via Zoom on RTL Today Radio ahead of the event, where she spoke about her fascination with overlooked figures from history and why she prefers telling stories beyond the familiar tales of kings and queens.
Taking place on Monday 17 February at 18:30 at the Cercle Cité Auditorium, the talk will explore the remarkable lives featured in Draper’s debut book, which shines a light on unusual characters whose stories often sit outside traditional history books.
Mavericks explores 24 extraordinary individuals who lived unusual lives, sometimes by choice and sometimes through circumstance.
“The book is called Mavericks: Life Stories and Lessons of History’s Most Extraordinary Misfits, and each chapter is about a different person in history who had a bizarre life either because they chose to live in a strange way or because a strange life was forced upon them,” Draper explained.
Among the figures featured are writer Radclyffe Hall, whose groundbreaking 1920s novel about lesbian relationships was banned, Noor Inayat Khan, who served in the French Resistance during the Second World War, and Peter the Wild Boy, a child discovered living alone in the German woods in the 18th century and later brought to the British court.
Each story offers a different perspective on how individuals shaped history in unexpected ways.
Draper is widely known for her popular YouTube channel and her work as a London tour guide, where she shares unusual historical stories with a wide audience. She says those experiences directly influenced the book.
“The nice thing about doing tour guiding and YouTube and the book is that they all feed into each other,” she said. “A lot of the people in this book are stories that I would love to do in a tour, but for one reason or another you can’t walk to their house or there’s no physical place connected to them.”
The book’s short chapters allow readers to explore different stories independently.
“You can dip in and out,” Draper said. “Each chapter stands alone, so you don’t need to read one to understand another.”
She also spoke about the difference between writing online content and publishing a book.
“There’s a certain amount of prestige that comes with writing a book versus writing YouTube videos,” she said. “Your parents don’t have to ask what you do. You can say you’ve written a book and they understand.”
Draper’s work aims to make history more approachable and entertaining, drawing inspiration from her childhood love of series such as Horrible Histories and other accessible historical storytelling.
Her YouTube channel explores a wide range of subjects connected to London, from historical figures to unusual cultural stories, including topics such as body snatching in the 18th century, public executions and hidden landmarks across the city.
She believes history should not always be seen as predictable or fixed.
“History isn’t science,” she said. “Just because something happened one way in the past doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen again that way. Things can change.”
During her visit to Luxembourg, Draper will present selected stories from the book, discuss her research process and answer questions from the audience. Copies of Mavericks will be available to purchase and sign on the night.
The author said she is also looking forward to exploring Luxembourg for the first time.
“I do want to try and see some of actual Luxembourg while I’m here and soak up a different kind of history,” she said.
J Draper will present Mavericks: Life Stories and Lessons of History’s Most Extraordinary Misfits on Monday 17 February at 18:30 at the Cercle Cité Auditorium. Entry is by reservation via bibliotheque-events@vdl.lu and discover more here.
