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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First-Hand Accounts of the Scottish soldier from 1707 to the present Day

I was sent this book several weeks ago and it has taken me some time to review. Not because it is a difficult read but because it is essentially a number of fascinating short stories. I really enjoyed it, partially because it features regiments I know well – all Scottish of course – and partly because each excerpt gave a real feel of the battle and/or the circumstances it was describing.

Spanning over three centuries, written by Privates, Sergeants, Lieutenants, Troopers, Majors the book is divided into sections reflecting the Scottish soldier’s/regiment’s role in war through the centuries: the Age of Reason, The Napoleonic Wars, The Wars of Empire, The Great War, The Second World War and The World’s Policemen. Each section has an historical preface placing the regiments, the battles and the writers within context and then there is a small introduction before each excerpt. A sort of 3-dimensional history lesson! No two entries read the same; there are letters, diaries and reports portraying humour, pathos, brutality, bewilderment, adrenaline, excitement and terror. My only complaint is that it would have been helpful to have a map showing the position of the protagonists or writers in each case; I can however see that this would not have been an easy item to include.
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