Walsingham

Under Elizabeth I, her spymaster built an intelligence operation larger than any that had existed before. He planted agents across the continent, most densely in the Catholic courts of Spain, Italy and France, in order to uncover conspiracies aimed at the queen. He was also a driving force behind the crackdown on England's Catholics, a role that sits uneasily beside his reputation as a shrewd administrator of secrets. The account covers the workings of his network and the religious tensions that shaped his choices.