Francis Walsingham was the first spymaster in the modern sense. His methods anticipated those of MI5 and MI6 and even those of the KGB. He maintained a network of spies across Europe, including double-agents at the highest level in Rome and Spain — the sworn enemies of Queen Elizabeth and her Protestant regime. His entrapment of Mary Queen of Scots is a classic intelligence operation that resulted in her execution. As Robert Hutchinson reveals, his cypher expert s ability to intercept other peoples secret messages and his brilliant forged letters made him a fearsome champion of the young Elizabeth. Yet even this machiavellian schemer eventually fell foul of Elizabeth as her confidence grew (and judgment faded). The rise and fall of Sir Francis Walsingham is a Tudor epic, vividly narrated by a historian with unique access to the surviving documentary evidence.

The son of a brewer, Thomas Cromwell (1485-1540) rose to become Earl of Essex, Vice-Regent and High Chamberlain of England, Keeper of the Privy Seal and Chancellor of the Exchequer. Cromwell was a master of intrigue and pursued both his own career and the interests of the King with bribery, corruption and a single-minded energy. Drawing on contemporary sources and quoting the words of the protagonists, Hutchinson provides a colourful narrative of the rise and fall of Henry VIII's notorious Chief Minister.