Publisher description for Her Majesty's spymaster : Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the birth of modern espionage / Stephen Budiansky.
Bibliographic record and links to related information available from the Library of Congress catalog
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Sir Francis Walsingham’s official title was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I, but in fact this pious, tight-lipped Puritan was England’s first spymaster. A ruthless, fiercely loyal civil servant, Walsingham worked brilliantly behind the scenes to foil Elizabeth’s rival Mary Queen of Scots and outwit Catholic Spain and France, which had arrayed their forces behind her. Though he cut an incongruous figure in Elizabeth’s worldly court, Walsingham managed to win the trust of key players like William Cecil and the Earl of Leceister before launching his own secret campaign against the queen’s enemies. Covert operations were Walsingham’s genius; he pioneered techniques for exploiting double agents, spreading disinformation, and deciphering codes with the latest code-breaking science that remain staples of international espionage.
In the taut narrative of a spy novel, Budiansky recounts how this legendary spymaster invented the art and science of modern espionage—and in the process set Elizabethan England on the path to empire.
Library of Congress subject headings for this publication:
Walsingham, Francis, -- Sir, -- 1530?-1590.
Espionage, British -- History -- 16th century.
Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- 1558-1603.
Elizabeth -- I, -- Queen of England, -- 1533-1603 -- Relations with cabinet officers.
Great Britain -- History -- Elizabeth, 1558-1603 -- Biography.
Cabinet officers -- Great Britain -- Biography.
Great Britain -- Foreign relations -- France.
France -- Foreign relations -- Great Britain.