A March on London: being a story of Wat Tyler's insurrection

The king is going to mass at Westminster, the knight said, and after that he will ride round the city. I shall go myself to Westminster with him, and you can both ride with me, for it may be that the king on his way may be met by the rabble, which is composed of the worst and most dangerous of all who have been out, for in addition to Tyler's own following, there will be the prisoners released from all of the jails and the scum of the city. We will ride in our armour. They say there are still 20,000 of them, but even if the worst happens we may be able to carry the king safely through them.

__________________

About the Author

G. A. Henty (1832-1902), was known as The Boy's Own Historian. His life was filled with exciting adventure. Completing Westminster School, he attended Cambridge University. Along with a rigorous course of study, Henty participated in boxing, wrestling, and rowing. The strenuous study and healthy, competitive participation in sports prepared Henty to be with the British army in Crimea. Shortly before resigning from the army as a captain in 1859 he married Elizabeth Finucane. The couple had four children. Elizabeth died in 1865 after a long illness and shortly after her death Henty began writing articles for the Standard newspaper. In 1866 the newspaper sent him as their Special Correspondent to report on the Austro-Italian War where he met Giuseppe Garibaldi. He was present in Paris during the Franco-Prussian war, in Spain with the Carlists, at the opening of the Suez Canal, toured India with the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and took a trip to the California gold fields.

G. A. Henty's storytelling skills grew out of tales told to his own children. After dinner, he would spend an hour or two in telling them a story that would continue the next day. Some stories went on for weeks! A friend who was present one day suggested that he write down his stories so others could enjoy them. He wrote his first children's book, Out on the Pampas in 1868, naming the book's main characters after his children. Henty wrote approx. 144 books plus stories for magazines and was dubbed as The Prince of Story-Tellers and The Boy's Own Historian.

On November 16th, 1902, Henty died aboard his yacht in Weymouth Harbour shortly before he finished his last novel, By Conduct and Courage, which was completed by his son Captain C. G. Henty.