Excerpt from The Invention of Fire by Bruce Holsinger, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

After a few pitying murmurs I began gently, asking Norris whether he had noticed any unusual activity at the gate in recent days, particularly involving a large company of men.

"Not Londoners, but a company from outside the city," I said.

"Sixteen of them. All dead now, thrown in the privy ditch beneath the Long Dropper. They were walked in some time in the last week—or carried, I suppose. Does anything come to mind?"

Norris thought for a moment, then looked up and surprised me.

"Welshmen, I'll be bound," he said.

I felt a satisfied warmth. "What do you know of Welshmen, Norris?"

"The first day of my sentence. A Wednesday it was," he said. "Caught a little glimpse of them skirting along the yard, just there." He nodded toward the mouth of Bower Row. "Only reason I remember it is, those Welsh carls gave us a nice respite."

"How is that?"

"My first day in the stocks. Seemed half of London was out hurling eggs, cabbages, dungstraw at me and my boy, anything they could lift. But then those strangers come by, and all at once every man of them leaves off and starts tossing his rot at the poor Welshers instead." He laughed weakly. "Should have heard them, Gower, our good freemen. 'Savages!' 'Sodomites!' 'Child burners!' 'Leap off the walls, you filthy Welshers!' Those sorts of roses, is what they shouted. And so it went until the strangers were beyond the bar."

"What were they doing at Ludgate?"

"Wouldn't know. Couldn't hear a thing of them."

Young Jack had returned and took his place to the right of his father's protruding head and hands. He had purchased himself an oatloaf and nibbled at it slowly.

"You didn't see who was leading them through?" I asked.

He sniffed and spat. "Wha

Excerpted from The Invention of Fire by Bruce Holsinger. Copyright © 2015 by Bruce Holsinger. Excerpted by permission of William Morrow. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.