I came across a reference to a Baron Trenck in a short Dickens piece I was recording. It was clearly a name which would be familiar to Dickens' readers, so I took a look to find out who he was and found this book which was apparently very popular at the time:
The Life and Adventures of Baron Trenck by Friedrich, Freiherr von der Trenck (1726-1794) translated by Thomas Holcroft (1745–1809).
Friedrich von der Trenck appears to have led rather an eventful life during the time of Frederick the Great of Prussia. Accused of being an Austrian spy, he was imprisoned and escaped. After some years of adventuring, he was captured and imprisoned again, for ten years this time, only being released on the intervention of Empress Maria Theresa. He finally died at the hands of the French at the guillotine in 1794 (again being thought to be a spy). This is his autobiography.
Volume I: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2668
Volume II: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2669
About 105,000 words in total.
Ruth
The Life and Adventures of Baron Trenck
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I read some of the first chapter. It is very interesting. I hope this takes off. 