In 1832 a stranger arrived in Canterbury dressed like a Turkish sultan and with seemingly limitless wealth. He claimed to be Sir William Percy Honeywood Courtenay and said that he was the King of Jerusalem, a Prince of Arabia, the Prince of Abyssinia, and King of the Gypsies. He entranced many in the city and soon had a sizeable following among the agricultural labourers who saw in his radical politics an answer to their poverty. Some five years later after unsuccessfully standing for parliament and being incarcerated in a mental asylum `Sir William' led the last armed uprising in England that left twenty dead and many seriously wounded at what became known as the Battle of Bossenden. Who was `Sir William' if he was not who he claimed to be? Who indeed? And why? The Lion of Canterbury is a haunting narrative written with particular sensitivity to the language of the period that brings readers into the heart of the strange story of Sir William Courtenay.

About the Author
ANTHONY FREWIN was an assistant to the film director Stanley Kubrick for nearly thirty years. He has written more than a dozen books, including an annotated bibliography of books that could almost exist but don't, 'The Secret Library of George Armoulian'. and 'The Count of Comedy'. He also has written a number of screenplays including 'Colour Me Kubrick' starring John Malkovich, and 2016's 'Anthropid' (with Sean Ellis) detailing the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague in 1942.


Book Information
ISBN 9781853981937
Author Anthony Frewin
Format Paperback
Page Count 216
Imprint Ashgrove Publishing Ltd
Publisher Ashgrove Publishing Ltd
Weight(grams) 282g
Dimensions(mm) 195mm * 140mm * 16mm