Welbeck to publish Otto English's Fake Heroes

Welbeck Publishing Group is to publish Fake Heroes, Otto English’s follow-up to Fake History. Oliver Holden-Rea, editorial director for Non-Fiction, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, including audio and serial, to Fake Heroes: Ten False Icons and How They Altered the Course of History, in an exclusive submission from Doug Young at PEW Literary. The book will be a lead hardback for Welbeck in May 2023.

In Fake History, English tackled 10 of the greatest lies from history. In Fake Heroes, the journalist turns his attention to historical figures such as Coco Chanel, Mother Teresa and John F Kennedy, and “the truths they were trying to hide”, said the publisher.

Holden-Rea said: "I loved working with Otto on Fake History, he is a wonderful writer with an incredible eye for spotting BS throughout time, and have been delighted to see that book embraced by readers, so I am overjoyed to get to work with him again on this equally brilliant (and perhaps even more incendiary) title. I just cannot wait for everyone to read it and also begin to question everything they thought they knew about heroism, the past and the world as we know it.”
English commented: “The truth of the past and the people in it, is always so much more interesting than the myths we’ve been sold. It has been fascinating to discover why the ’heroes’ in my book have been raised up, why we have been encouraged to revere them and the actual events and stories of their lives that lie beneath.

"In an age of personality politics and social media influencers, with new ’fake heroes’ seemingly getting born every minute — I hope my book will act as something of a warning from history. But more than that, I hope that readers will be thoroughly entertained and surprised along the way.”
Young said: “It’s always surprising to find out that some of our most cherished idols maintain their status despite having feet of clay. What’s mind-blowing is to examine why, as Otto English does brilliantly here, some of them have managed to keep their shining reputation intact despite the fact that devastating evidence to the contrary has been hiding in plain sight for so long!”