The Watchers

Elizabeth I's reign is known as a golden age, yet to much of Europe she was a 'Jezebel' and heretic who had to be destroyed. The Watchers is a thrilling portrayal of the secret state that sought to protect the Queen; a shadow world of spies, codebreakers, agent provocateurs and confidence-men who would stop at nothing to defend the realm. Stephen Alford brilliantly evokes a time of surveillance, paranoia, blackmail, plots and torture, when no-one could be trusted, and a single mistake could have changed England's history forever. 'Riveting . . . an enthralling account of the murky shadow-world of Elizabethan espionage.' Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves 'Splendid . . . a riveting study of the spies, informers and code-breakers who kept the Virgin Queen safe.' Dominic Sandbrook, Sunday Times, Books of the Year 'An intimate and revealing exploration of the men who did the Elizabethan security state's dirty work.' Thomas Penn, author of Winter King 'Gripping, engrossing . . . vividly evokes a murky world of codes, ciphers, invisible ink, intercepted letters, aliases, disguises and forgeries . . . he tells an exciting story.' Keith Thomas, Guardian 'Fascinating . . . cat-and-mouse reminiscent of le Carré.' Tim Martin, Daily Telegraph