Book excerpt: The story of Nicholas Culpeper - legendary rebel, radical, Puritan, and author of the great "Herbal". Working in the underground world of religious sects, secret printing presses and unlicensed apothecary shops, Culpeper challenged the authority of the College of Physicians at the time it was reaching the very pinnacle of its power - and in the process helped spark the revolution that toppled a monarchy. This is the story of a medical rebel who took on the authorities and paid the price.