Elizabeth's Spymaster; Francis Walsingham and the Secret War That Saved England

New York: St. Martin's Press (Thomas Dunne Books), 2006. First U. S. Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. 399, [1] pages. Color illustrations. Appendix. Notes. Chronology. Dramatic Personae. Bibliography. Index. Black dot on top edge. Robert Hutchinson is a historian, archaeologist, and broadcast journalist, most recently chairing the media division of Britain's Defence, Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee. Hutchinson has written several books on the history of the Tudors, including Last Days of Henry VIII, Elizabeth's Spymaster, and Thomas Cromwell: The Rise and Fall of Henry VIII's Most Notorious Minister, as well as contributing to The History Channel's Inside the Body of Henry VIII. He lives in England. Derived from a Kirkus review: An examination of the life and sometimes gruesome career of the Protestant official who crushed Catholic resistance in 16th-century England. Hutchinson delves deep into history to explore the life of Francis Walsingham (1532-90), a seminal figure whose influence still resonates today. Hutchinson unveils the methodology Walsingham employed to garner crucial intelligence for his queen after he took over her secret intelligence service from Sir William Cecil. One of the spymaster's first tasks was to quash the threat from Mary Queen of Scots. Walsingham stopped at nothing, even forging correspondence to discredit Mary. Hutchinson painstakingly scrutinizes the broad range of grisly devices employed in these activities and proffers information on such accomplices as chief torturer Richard Topcliffe, "rackmaster" Thomas Norton and playwright Christopher Marlowe, who became part of the spy ring Walsingham formed.