View Item

George Psalmanaazaar was a fraudster responsible for one of the most entertaining literary hoaxes of the eighteenth century.

This bestselling book contains a completely invented description of the history, language, customs and culture of Formosa (today called Taiwan), along with lurid details of the practice of polygamy, human sacrifice, cannibalism and infanticide.

Psalmanaazaar was soon exposed as a fake. However, there was money to be made from public scandal and controversy, so he returned to the fray with a spirited defence of his reliability and accuracy.

The book on display was purchased in November 1925 to replace a copy which was listed as missing in 1766.

Psalmanaazaar’s true identity remains unknown to this day.

Citation:
25. George Psalmanaazaar, An Historical and Geographical Description of Formosa, An Island subject to the Emperor of Japan (London, 1704).,
Marsh's Library Exhibits,
accessed May 16, 2025,
https://web.marshlibrary.ie/digi/items/show/427