Sir Francis Walsingham: Courtier in an Age of Terror

Description

Cover; Title; Copyright; Contents; List of Illustrations; Preface; Introduction: August 1572, Death in Paris; 1 Background and Beginnings, 1532-53; 2 Travel and Travail, 1553-8; 3 'The Malice of This Present Time', 1558-69; 4 'In Truth a Very Wise Person', 1569-73; 5 'To Govern that Noble Ship', England, 1574-80; 6 'God Open Her Majesty's Eyes': Foreign Affairs, 1578-80; 7 'She Seemeth to be Very Earnestly Bent to Proceed', 1581-4; 8 'Be You All Stout and Resolute', 1584-8; 9 No Tomb, 1587-90; Notes; Bibliography; Index.;During the brief reign of the Queen Mary, Walsingham was a Protestant exile in Italy. Returning home when Elizabeth assumed the throne, from 1570 he became a diplomat to the arch-pragmatist Queen. He was often troubled by her inconsistent policy decisions and for allowing the exile in England of Mary Queen of Scots. His triumph came in 1587 when Mary was at last beheaded after the cunning defeat of the Babington plot. A powerful, if enigmatic figure, loathed by his adversaries and deeply admired by friends and allies, Walsingham became the master co-ordinator of a feared pan-European spy.