Burns describes it as "not a distinguished piece of literature", but it was one of the few romantic poems of the period that used a British rather than Italian setting. The next was "A wonderfull and straunge newes, which happened in the county of Suffolke, and Essex, the first of February, being Friday, where it rayned wheat, the space of vi or vii miles compass" (1583). This was a prodigy pamphlet that took a zealously Protestant stand, arguing that the referenced wonder was a sign of the end of the world. It was followed by "A Dyall for Dainty Darlings" (1584), dedicated to William Wrathe, warden of the Mercers' Company. This was expanded and reissued as "Four Notable Histories" (1590), now dedicated to Hugh Ofley. The publication for which Averell is best known is "A Mervalious Combat of Contrarieties" (1588). It begins as a dialogue between the parts of the body in which the tongue urges the body to revolt against the belly and back because of their greed and pride, but is ultimately unmasked as a traitor. Averell eventually abandons the dialogue format and concludes with an exhortation to loyalty to the queen. It was published during the Armada crisis, dedicated to Sir George Bond, the Lord Mayor of London, and includes fierce attacks on Roman Catholics and Jesuits. It was also the principal source for William Shakespeare's use of the parable of the revolt of the members against the belly in "Coriolanus".