On Sunday 2nd October at 2pm John Cooper will be talking about his new book’The Queen’s Agent : Francis Walsingham At The Court of Elizabeth 1′

Elizabeth I came to the throne at a time of insecurity and unrest. Rivals threatened her reign; England was a Protestant island, isolated in a sea of Catholic countries. Spain plotted an invasion, but Elizabeth’s Secretary, Francis Walsingham, was prepared to do whatever it took to protect her.

He ran a network of agents in England and Europe who provided him with information about invasions or assassination plots. He recruited likely young men and ‘turned’ others. He encouraged Elizabeth to make war against the Catholic Irish rebels, with extreme brutality and oversaw the execution of Mary Queen of Scots.

“The Queen’s Agent” is a story of secret agents, cryptic codes and ingenious plots, set in a turbulent period of England’s history. It is also the story of a man devoted to his queen, sacrificing his every waking hour to save the threatened English state.

The most authoritative biography ever written about Walsingham, this is essential reading for anyone with an interest in Elizabethan history.

 Walsingham is a figure of paramount importance in the Elizabethan court, foiling several assassination plots and being instrumental in persuading Elizabeth to execute Mary Queen of Scots. John Cooper is the only person to have read everything Walsingham wrote – including all his encrypted secret messages, and we are very lucky that he is coming to Warwick to talk about his work.