Charles Stratton transcends. He became so famous you don’t even know his name, but you will recognise it when you hear it. Two people inspired him to do it: PT Barnum, and Sir Jeffrey Hudson. He looked up to Phineas literally, but he looked up to Sir Jeffrey as if from earth to those unreachable stars; across eternity.

“Sir Jeffrey was born in England in 1619.”

At eighteen inches tall he was thirty years of age.

His exploits were legendary:

He was baked cold into a pie by the Duke of Buckingham to jump out and surprise Queen Henrietta. He served as Captain of the Horse in Charle’s the First’s court. He was captured by Dutch privateers on a journey to France, but was released.

He fought a turkey and almost died before being saved from its claws. He nearly drowned in a wash basin, but was rescued by someone over eight feet tall. Presumably to give us such a strange scene to imagine. He once challenged a full sized man to a duel, and demanded to be taken seriously. The villain arrived with water pistols. Infuriated, our eighteen inch hero challenged him again and demanded again to be taken seriously. They fought with pistols on horseback, Sir Jeffrey killing him outright.

Imprisoned for murder, he was pardoned by the Queen of England and become her most valiant defender. He was captured by Turks, and sold into slavery. He was ransomed, and returned to England. Suddenly he grew to three feet nine inches.

He lived happily on a pension until he was implicated in a Popish plot, and jailed where he died at 63. Most of all, he served as an inspiration to this mysterious Charles Sutton.

Charles was to become Tom Thumb, or in his full title: General Tom Thumb. He was of course named after the earlier character from literature and folklore, but he walked the earth as you or I. His adventures are even more beguiling, but I know you will pursue them on your own…