Keith M. Melton

Captain Cobbler: the Lincolnshire Uprising, 1536 Keith M. Melton

A tumultuous year . . . It is 1536, and the kingdom of Henry VIII is in turmoil. King Henry's first wife, Catherine and his bastard son, Henry Fitzroy, have died suspiciously. Henry's second wife, Anne Boleyn, has been executed, and he has married his third wife, Jane Seymour, only a fortnight later. Meanwhile, Chancellor Lord Cromwell is dissolving monasteries and abbeys, trampling religious traditions, and unsettling the community. Rumours are circulating that Cromwell is about to steal the Church silverware as well, and Nicholas Melton-a shoemaker from the town of Louth-and his friends decide they have had enough. Determined to protect the people's treasure from royal coffers, Melton and his friends take the keys of the church of Saint James from its reluctant churchwardens. After they secure the building and lock away the town's treasure to keep it safe, their protest quickly gets out of hand, disturbing the peace of the kingdom. Rather than listen to his subjects, King Henry behaves like a tyrant, threatening them with condign punishment. So, the simple act of protecting community treasure turns into a widespread rebellion as Melton, now known throughout the land as Captain Cobbler, risks everything . . . Captain Cobbler shares the tale of a Lincolnshire shoemaker as he matures from boyhood to adulthood, and now challenges the might of a tyrant king.