Books! Reading about Spies in the Court of Queen Elizabeth I (episode 24)

While we all know that Elizabeth ended her reign peacefully,
dying in her bed, that outcome was not guaranteed. From the
beginning of her reign, Catholics in England and abroad
questioned her right to rule. 

When Mary Queen of Scots came to England in 1568, 10 years into
Elizabeth's reign, there was a Catholic option right there!
English Catholics, supported by France, Spain, and the Pope,
rebelled against Elizabeth and attempted to replace her with Mary
Stuart.

This period was a time of a communication explosion in England
and Europe. When there are more means of communication, there's
an immediate attempt to monitor and control communication. And
that, of course, leads to an increase in attempts to hide
communication.

The battle between Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots was a
battle of messages and a battle of ways to hide messages. It's an
exciting time, rich with amazing characters and fascinating
stories. Here are three of my favorite books about that
time:

God’s Traitors: Terror & Faith in Elizabethan England by
Jessie Childs. I  found this book incredibly enlightening as
a way to get a glimpse into the lives of English Catholics. . I
hadn’t really thought about his work in that way, and now I can’t
think of any of Walsingham’s actions without remembering his
early experience in Paris. I found that such illuminating way of
considering his single-minded approach to the rest of the
century.

Her Majesty’s Spymaster:  Elizabeth I, Sir Francis
Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage by Stephen
Budiansky. One of the things I really appreciate about this book
is that it starts with the St. Bartholomew Day’s massacre and
looks at Walsingham’s work as Elizabeth’s Spymaster through the
lens of that experience.

Rival Queens: The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots (also
published as The Betrayal of Mary, Queen of Scots: Elizabeth I
and Her Greatest Rival) by Kate Williams. There are many great
books about Elizabeth I and about Mary Queen of Scots. There are
several very good books about the two of them. I really liked
Kate Williams’s book because it offers a fresh perspective that
makes it easy to relate to these two queens as women and humans
as well as queens.


History shows us what's possible.