In 1854, the Bella foundered off the coast of South America. On board was Roger Tichborne, heir to a baronetcy and vast estates in England. No survivors were found and Roger was presumed dead – except by his mother. Then, twelve years later, a bankrupt Australian butcher named Tom Castro stepped forward, claiming to be the missing heir.No one but the Claimant knew what had happened in the meantime; no one but the Claimant knew who he really was or the significance, if any, of his whispered-about ‘malformation’. Tichborne’s mother believed she recognised him though he’d forgotten how to speak French, her son’s only language until he was seventeen. It would take the longest, most sensational court case in British judicial history to arrive at the truth.This rollicking, convoluted and highly unlikely true story is retold with energy and wit by Robyn Annear. It’s a story of thwarted love, sexual ambiguity, class and family warfare and courtroom drama.