The Elizabethan Secret Services [Paperback]

Alan Haynes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 25, 2000

A detailed account of the "secret services" operated by the great men of Elizabethan England, whose clandestine efforts sprang from the collective Protestant fear provoked by the exiled presence in England of Mary, Queen of Scots. After the rising of the Northern Earls in her favour in 1569 - an event that shocked the government - any claimant to the English throne was viewed with hostile suspicion as a potential focus for religious malcontents and foreign meddlers. By stealthy efforts at home and abroad the Elizabethan spy clusters became forces to be feared. Kidnapping, surveillance, conspiracy, counter-espionage, theft and lying were just a few of the methods employed to defeat the ever-present threat of regicide. The author aims to challenge many of the stale notions about espionage in Renaissance England and to show the reign of Elizabeth I in a new light.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan Haynes is a prolific writer on Elizabethan and 17th-century history.His other books  include Walsingham, Sex in Elizabethan England, and The Gun Powder Plot.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Sutton Publishing (April 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750924632
• ISBN-13: 978-0750924634
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,072,687 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting look at how Elizabeth I kept her throne, October 30, 2000

By 

Ellen Whyte "ellen437" (Selangor, Malaysia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Elizabethan Secret Services (Paperback)

If you are interested in how Elizabeth I managed to fight off all the enemies that surrounded her, both within her country and without, then this book will give you some great insights into her methods.

When Protestant minded Elizabeth I came to the throne in 1558, she was surrounded by powerful Catholic enemies. These included Philip of Spain, Catherine de Medici and Mary, Queen of Scots. Many plots were hatched to dethrone Elizabeth. Most of the popular plots sought to replace her with the Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots married to a suitably royal and Catholic English member of the nobility. Elizabeth however, managed to survive all of these machinations thanks to the existence of an extremely large secret service.

This little book describes the background to each of the plots that sought to destroy England's first Protestant queen. Plots, sub-plots, spying, infiltration, deceit, double agents, hidden codes... it's all here. Those interested in the life of Mary, Queen of Scots will love the chapters that focus on the events that led to her execution.