A Sea of Contumely

<p>Dr John Webster (1610-1682), was a defrocked cleric, Schoolmaster, alchemist, astrologer, surgeon and writer. He is at once arrogant, worldly and with a wry sense of humour. Written mainly in the first person, this historical fiction is based on his life.</p><p>While living and working in Lancashire during the early days of the English Civil War, Webster finds a fraud, perpetrated by one of the governors, in the accounts of the Grammar School at which he is the Master. The fraudster, now knighted by King Charles, becomes a sworn enemy.</p><p>Webster¿s household is chased from the town after the satanic murder of his black servant and, with his enemy serving with the Royalists, he is co-opted into the Parliamentary forces as a surgeon.</p><p>With larger than life characters, murder, intrigue & betrayal, Webster, accompanied by his housekeeper¿s son and a Sergeant-at-Arms takes us into the little-known battles of Lancashire and the Fylde, the story reaching its climax at the Battle of