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An age of terror gripped England in the reign of Elizabeth I. The Protestant throne was under continual attack both at home and abroad and, while Catholic armies threatened the borders, Jesuit plots and conspiracies erupted throughout the nation. At the heart of this conflict stood Sir Francis Walsingham. Tradition has painted Walsingham as a man of infinite mystery, the crown's Machiavellian 'Spymaster', born at a time of extremes as England embraced Reformation. As a young man, he was caught up in the vicious St Bartholomew's Massacre in Paris, when over 2,000 Huguenots were slaughtered in one day. Returning to London he gained prominence within the court and soon became a power behind the throne. He vowed to protect England from such devastation and became not only the ever-vigilant intelligencer whose spies broke the Babbington Plot and gained vital warnings of the Spanish Armada, but was also one of the leading architects in creating Protestant England from the turmoil of the age. Derek Wilson brings a lifetime's understanding of the Tudor period to bear on one of its most misunderstood figures. He re-evaluates the counsellor's role within the court, offering new insights into the political landscape of Elizabeth's England and including a new portrait of the queen herself. Walsingham himself emerges as a brilliant, passionate and dedicated politician, described by Edmund Spenser as 'the great Maccenas of this Age'.

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