The year is 1652. General George Monck has been through an awful lot since he sat as a prisoner in the Tower of London eight years before. He had led his men admirably through campaigns in Ireland and Scotland, but still storm clouds surround his future. Six months ago Monck's life had been put in peril as he underwent the agonies of the spotted-fever. He had been away from his beloved Anne for many months and had come to London to find whether Ratsford - who had abandoned Anne some four years earlier after robbing her of her life's savings - was alive and still proving to be an obstacle to their proposed marriage or dead. Now rumours were surfacing that the increasing difficulties with the Dutch were most likely to lead to war, thus creating a further obstacle to Monck's matrimonial intentions. But the soldier in Monck would never stand down from the call of duty. His life with Anne will have to wait as Parliament and the Army Council require the general's artillery expertise as naval conflict with the Dutch becomes inevitable. Will the great general find his sea legs and overcome his greatest challenge yet? In The Tempering, the second book in the Sword of the State trilogy, award-winning author Richard Woodman recreates the true story of George Monck, a giant of the 17th Century. Monck is all but forgotten today, yet his legacy is nothing less than the British monarchy and a famous regiment - the Coldstream Guards. Captain Richard Martin Woodman LVO is an English novelist and naval historian who retired in 1997 from a 37 year nautical career, mainly working for Trinity House, to write full-time. His main work is 14 volumes about the career of Nathaniel Drinkwater, and shorter series about James Dunbar and William Kite, but he also written a range of factual books about 18th century and WW2 history. Endeavour Press is the UK's leading independent digital publisher. For more information on our titles please sign up to our newsletter at www.endeavourpress.com. Each week you will receive updates on free and discounted ebooks. Follow us on Twitter: @EndeavourPress and on Facebook via http://on.fb.me/1HweQV7. We are always interested in hearing from our readers. Endeavour Press believes that the future is now.