RearParty - The Queen’s Agent by John Cooper

Subtitled: Francis Walsingham at the Court of Elizabeth I

This is the biography of a man who rose from humble origins through courtly ranks to become First Secretary to Queen Elizabeth I. Along the way it tells the gripping story of events in England, Europe, Asia and America at a time of great international struggles and unrest.

Starting at the massacre of the Protestant Huguenots in Paris in 1572, and with chapters about turmoil in Ireland, troubled settlements in Virginia, wars with European neighbours and the question of who might marry the Queen, there’s a lot of material to cover. And then of course there are the internal battles between Protestants and Catholics struggling to control the nation, with the subtleties of some Protestants wishing tolerance whilst others wanted to destroy all traces of the Catholic faith and Catholics loyal to the Queen and others wishing England to be ruled by Philip of Spain. I conclude that if it hadn’t been for Walsingham and his network of agents, we’d be speaking Spanish now!

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The author has done a huge amount of research and cites many original references, but makes it clear that these may have been ‘weeded’ by those with their own Agendas at the time, and that in some cases only one part of a correspondence is available.

There are a lot of characters and events – this is a book that needs concentration, but concentration will be rewarded with a lot of knowledge and understanding of life in those times and how it impacts the way we live today.

At a time of traitors, agents, double and triple agents, with the French, Scots, Dutch and Spanish all trying to take over a very small and quite poor nation Walsingham is credited with saving England, largely by his use of secret agents. Unlike our current spooks, these were not employed by the Crown, but by him personally, often at his own expense. The network he organised, all based from his London home, was vast and complex. I have to admire the fact that a single man absorbed all this information and was able to pick out plots related to placing Mary Stuart on the throne, Spanish and French invasions, and Catholic uprisings. I was interested to find out that coded letters from Mary discussing taking her cousin’s throne are still in existence. That leads to an interesting diversion into the world of codes and ciphers as the world’s first cryptoanalyst, Thomas Phelippes (Phillips) worked for Walsingham.

Many people are aware of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, the service he gave to the Queen, and the magnificent rewards he received for it. Fewer people will have heard of Walsingham, who used his own money to pay agents and give them pensions, and died with massive debts, unappreciated by his nation. That should ring a few bells with ARRSErs!

RR Readers will appreciate the information about Drake, Raleigh and Hawkins, and their adventures against the Spanish.

For those interested in this period of history, more turbulent than the present day, when the survival of England was at stake, this book is a worthwhile addition to your collection.

Three Wineglasses – recommended to all readers.

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