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The Watchers: A Secret History of the Reign of Elizabeth I

The Watchers was the result of four years’ research and writing. It offers a new perspective on the Elizabethan world, on the power and scope of the Tudor state, on espionage and political patronage, on religious faith and conscience and on torture and security. The book rests upon broad and deep archival foundations. Technically the research was challenging, especially given the efforts by many of its subjects to conceal their identity. More than anything else the book is a study written from early printed books and primarily manuscripts, twenty-one classes of documents from the National Archives alone.