Of course I had to check it out!
Phil Rickman’s book The Magus of Hay (current book I’m invested in) features Richard Booth, the Self-Proclaimed “King” of Hay.
Hay-on Wye is a place that I’ve long longed to visit. Soo effing close to Hereford and Ross-on-Wye and Goodrich that I missed it. OK, I was lead AWAY from it by others because it’s the Book Capital of the UK.
I’ve heard too many insults about the amount of books I own from family members :o(
Anyhoo.
The King of Hay is/was REALLY REAL.
This is another reason why I love Phil’s books. He actually lives his work.
I used ALL “real” (?) Historical Peeps in my novel. Which can be quite confining. Ravens of Dinefwr is a mix of “real” and purely fictional.