This gripping history from Robert Hutchinson delves into Sir Francis Walsingham’s dramatic 1580s spy campaign to protect Elizabethan England from the tentacles of Catholic Spain. Elizabeth's Spy Master is thoroughly researched and presents a convincing case for Walsingham as an unsung English hero – albeit one not adverse to the torture and brutal execution of his country’s enemies.
The incredible real life story of the world's first super spy 'Full of stimulating detail... vivid glimpses of the world of Elizabethan espionage' GUARDIAN
'Walsingham emerges from these pages as a hero of epic stature' DAILY TELEGRAPH
Francis Walsingham was the first 'spymaster' in the modern sense. His methods anticipated those of MI5 and MI6 and even those of the KGB. He maintained a network of spies across Europe, including double-agents at the highest level in Rome and Spain - the sworn enemies of Queen Elizabeth and her Protestant regime. His entrapment of Mary Queen of Scots is a classic intelligence operation that resulted in her execution.
As Robert Hutchinson reveals, his cypher expert's ability to intercept other peoples' secret messages and his brilliant forged letters made him a fearsome champion of the young Elizabeth. Yet even this Machiavellian schemer eventually fell foul of Elizabeth as her confidence grew (and judgement faded). The rise and fall of Sir Francis Walsingham is a Tudor epic, vividly narrated by a historian with unique access to the surviving documentary evidence.
Robert Hutchinson was defence correspondent for the Press Association 1976-83 before moving to Jane's Information Group to launch JANE'S DEFENCE WEEKLY. He is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and a contributing author to THE ARCHAELOGY OF THE REFORMATION. He is the author of Last Days of Henry VIII, Elizabeth's Spy Master and Thomas Cromwell. He was appointed OBE in the 2008 Honours List.
