Giants Amongst Us

My focus, so far, has been largely on giants in mythology and world folklore, but today I will turn to the topic of human giants.
Larger – and far larger than normal – human beings have been noted as a remarkable feature stretching back at least several thousand years.  There are some fascinating examples of gargantuan humans.  Today, I’d like to take you to the eighteenth century, and to consider the case of Irishman Charles Byrne (1761-1783). 

Byrne’s dates make it clear that he only lived into his twenties.  By adulthood, he had reached the astounding height of 7 ft 7 in (2.31 m).  In his final years, he lived in London and was obviously of great interest.  He made money as an attraction in his own right.  Yet his time in London was blighted by drink and, when his life savings were stolen, he drank to excess and died in June 1783.

He wanted to be buried at sea but his corpse was purchased instead; his huge skeleton can be seen today at the Royal College of Surgeons in London.

Recently, the New York Times reported that a genetic mutation accounted for Byrne’s tremendous height.  Researchers believe that up to 300 people may share the mutation that caused his ‘gigantism’.

Charles Byrne’s tragic and evocative story has been covered by Irish and British television, and in a novel by Hilary Mantel (Man Booker Prize winner for ‘Wolf Hall’).

Byrne is not the tallest human on record, and I will look at more instances in history of giants amongst us in the future.

Finally, on a different note, I want to recommend the superb ‘Guide to Literary Agents’, which can be found at: http://www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog/.  I use it daily as I continue to search for agency representation.