The Lion of Canterbury

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.