Table of Contents
A PLUME BOOK
HER MAJESTYS SPYMASTER
STEPHEN BUDIANSKY, journalist and military historian, is the author of nine books about history, science, and nature. He publishes frequently in the New York Times and the Washington Post and currently serves as a correspondent for the Atlantic Monthly.
Fascinating and superbly written. I know just the man who could revivify and unite our countrys floundering, sundered intelligence services. Unfortunately, he has been dead for 415 years. Walsingham was Wild Bill Donovan, William Casey, and James Angleton, not to mention the fictional George Smiley of MI6. We can learn from Walsingham, even if we cannot hire him. The Wall Street Journal
Does this bring to mind a certain masterful, discreet White House policy advisor, dubbed the Architect by Bush? In this time of war, terrorism, and administration leaks, CIA-related and otherwise, its hard not to relate Tudor-era struggles over faith and empire to contemporary goings-on. Los Angeles Times
Racy. Tells the tale of Walsingham and his spies with all the bravura of a historical novelist. [Budianskys] accounts of events and personalities associated with Elizabethan espionage are full of suspense and melodrama. The Washington Post
Illuminates a new route to appreciating the distinct personality of Englands Elizabeth I and the exciting climate found at her court. In this vivid account, Walsingham emerges full-blown as a strange and powerful combination of both Puritan and Renaissance man.
Booklist (starred review)
Riveting. A satisfying and shrewd portrait of a key historical and very human figure. A historical study that makes us wish for more like it on subjects too often only glanced at. Kirkus Reviews
A fresh look at the Virgin Queens reign. Even readers already well-versed in Elizabeths reign will find Budianskys new angles on a much-examined era enlightening. Publishers Weekly
I thoroughly enjoyed Stephen Budianskys Her Majestys Spymaster, the incredible account of how Sir Francis Walsingham, the ruthlessly efficient spymaster for Queen Elizabeth I, put the intelligence industry on the modern map. Walsingham, the spiritual godfather of secret services around the globe, practically invented the indispensable trade-craft tools used today: covert operations, double agents, the theory and practice of disinformation, and code breaking. Must reading for amateurs of espionage fiction, not to mention the professional spooks themselves. Robert Littell, author of The Company
OTHER BOOKS BY STEPHEN BUDIANSKY
HISTORY
Air Power: The Men, Machines, and Ideas That Revolutionized War from Kitty Hawk to Gulf War II
Battle of Wits: The Complete Story of Codebreaking in World War II
NATURAL HISTORY
The Character of Cats
The Truth About Dogs
The Nature of Horses
If a Lion Could Talk
Natures Keepers
The Covenant of the Wild
FOR CHILDREN
The World According to Horses
To David Alvarez
LIST OF NAMES
Alenon, Francis, Duke of; Elizabeths suitor, later Duke of Anjou
Allen, Dr. William, Cardinal; head of English Catholic seminary at Douai and Rheims
Alva, Fernando lvarez de Toledo, Duke of; Spanish governor of Netherlands, 1567-1573
Anjou, Henry, Duke of; suitor to Elizabeth, later Henry III, King of France
Arran, James Stewart, Earl of; powerful courtier of James VI
Babington, Anthony; Catholic conspirator, executed 1586
Baillie, Charles; Marys courier, arrested at Dover 1571
Beale, Robert; Walsinghams secretary
Berden, Nicholas; alias of Thomas Rogers, prison informer and spy
Bothwell, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of; third husband of Mary Queen of Scots
Bruno, Giordano; lapsed Dominican friar, philosopher, possible spy
Burghley, William Cecil, 1st Baron; Privy Councilor, Principal Secretary, 1558-72, Lord Treasurer, 1572-98
Camden, William; chronicler of Elizabeths reign
Campion, Edmund; Jesuit missionary priest, executed 1581
Catlyn, Maliverny; prison informer
Cecil, Robert; son of William Cecil, named Principal Secretary 1596
Charles IX; King of France, 1560-1574
Chteauneuf, Claude de lAubespine, baron de; French Ambassador to England, 1585-1589
Chrelles, Jean Arnault de; secretary to Mauvissire and later the French Council
Cockyn, Henry; London bookseller, arrested for aiding Mary
Coligny, Gaspard de, seigneur de Chtillon; Admiral of France, Huguenot leader, assassinated 1572
Courcelles, Claude de; a secretary to Mauvissire
Creighton, William; Scottish Jesuit and conspirator, arrested 1584
Darnley, Henry Stuart, Earl of; second husband of Mary Queen of Scots, murdered 1567
Davison, William; Walsinghams assistant
Drake, Sir Francis; voyager, vice-admiral against the Armada
Edward VI; Elizabeths half-brother, King of England, 1547-1553
Elizabeth; Queen of England, 1558-1603
Essex, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of; Walsinghams son-in-law, executed for treason 1601
Fagot, Henry; pseudonymous informer in the French embassy
Faunt, Nicholas; Walsinghams secretary
Feron, Laurent; secretary, and possible mole, in the French embassy
Fowler, William; Scottish poet, unsuccessful spy on French embassy
Gifford, Gilbert; agent provocateur, carrier of messages to Mary
Glasgow, James Beaton, Archbishop of; Marys ambassador in Paris
Gregory XIII; Pope, 1572-1585
Gregory, Arthur; Walsinghams expert seal-lifter
Guise, Henri of Lorraine, 3rd Duke of; leader of French Catholic faction, uncle of Mary Queen of Scots, plotter against Elizabeth
Heneage, Sir Thomas; Vice-Chamberlain, friend of Walsinghams
Henry III; King of France, 1574-1589
Henry VIII; Elizabeths father, King of England, 1509-1547
Howard of Effingham, Charles, 2nd baron; Lord Admiral, commander against the Armada
Howard, Lord Henry; Catholic nobleman, brother of Norfolk
James VI; King of Scotland, 1567-1625, James I of England, 1603-1625
John of Austria, Don; Spanish governor of Netherlands, 1576-1578
Leicester, Robert Dudley, Earl of; courtier and Privy Councilor, leader of Puritan faction
Lennox, Esm Stuart, seigneur dAubigny, Earl of; influential Catholic courtier of James of Scotland, ousted 1582
Lorraine, Charles, Cardinal of; brother of Duke of Guise, uncle of Mary Queen of Scots
Manucci, Jacobo (also sometimes Jacomo or Giacomo); servant and confidential agent of Walsingham
Mary; Queen of Scots, 1561-1567
Mary Tudor; Elizabeths half-sister, Queen of England, 1553-1558
Mauvissire, Michel de Castelnau, seigneur de; French Ambassador to England, 1575-1585
Mdicis, Catherine de; Queen Mother of France
Medina-Sidonia, Alonso Prez de Guzmn, Duke of; commander of Spanish Armada
Mendoza, Bernardino de; Spanish Ambassador to England, 1578-1584
Moray, James Stewart, Earl of; Marys half-brother, Regent of Scotland, 1567-1570
