By turn poignant, humorous, erotic, disturbing, their subject is the human condition. Ten stunning characters explore every aspect of human experience – both public and private.

Richly produced and with subtle tonalities marking their age, over 220 photographs showcase the work of photographers whose identities have been lost in time. The images are never less than mesmerising, and include among them previously unseen portraits of stars such as Cary Grant, Richard Burton and Marlene Dietrich.

Complete with an introduction by bestselling author Alexander McCall Smith, this follow-up to Robert Flynn Johnson's widely acclaimed Anonymous is a publication that - in taking in birth , marriage, death, disease, hope, glory, despair and a plethora of other emotions, events and human states besides - will capture the imagination of any reader.