Burghley; Tudor Statesman, 1520-1598

London: Macmillan, 1967. Presumed First U.K. Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. Very good/Good. x, 340 pages. Notes. Further Reading. Index. The book includes 17 black and white illustrations of Lord Burghley and his contemporaries. The construction of this book provides a new technique in historical biography. While the first part offers a picture of William Cecil's development in his career, the second part allows the reader to see him in a variety of contexts which provide a sense of perspective and a fuller appreciation of the texture of his life and of the contemporary setting. This new technique overcomes the danger of clogging the narrative of his life, and does not lose the man in the welter of events. It brings out clearly Cecil's position and achievement in government, politics, and administration, and in the intellectual, artistic, and social milieu. William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley KG PC (13 September 1520 - 4 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550-1553 and 1558-1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. Cecil set as the main goal of English policy the creation of a united and Protestant British Isles. His methods were to complete the control of Ireland, and to forge an alliance with Scotland. Protection from invasion required a powerful Royal Navy. While he was not fully successful, his successors agreed with his goals. In 1587, Cecil persuaded the Queen to order the execution of the Roman Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots, after she was implicated in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth. He was the founder of the Cecil dynasty which has produced many politicians including two Prime Ministers. The author is a Cambridge University graduate. After distinguished service in the Middle East and Europe during WWII, he became an academic and at the time this book was published was on the faculty of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne.