Queen Elizabeth I and England’s First Spymaster
Sir Francis Walsingham’s official title was principal secretary
to Queen Elizabeth I, but in fact this pious, tight-lipped Puritan
was England’s first spymaster. A ruthless, fiercely loyal civil
servant, Walsingham worked brilliantly behind the scenes to foil
Elizabeth’s rival Mary Queen of Scots and outwit Catholic Spain and
France, which had arrayed their forces behind her. Though he cut an
incongruous figure in Elizabeth’s worldly court, Walsingham managed
to win the trust of key players like William Cecil and the Earl of
Leicester before launching his own secret campaign against the
queen’s enemies. Covert operations were Walsingham’s genius; he
pioneered techniques for exploiting double agents, spreading
disinformation, and deciphering codes with the latest code-breaking
science that remain staples of international espionage.
關於作者:
STEPHEN BUDIANSKY, journalist and military
historian, is the author of nine books about history, science, and
nature, including Battle of Wits: The Complete Story of
Codebreaking in World War II. He publishes frequently in the
New York Times and the Washington Post and currently
serves as a correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly.