In the dangerous world of sixteenth-century Europe, diplomacy was rarely polite — and almost never safe.

In The Ambassadors: Elizabeth I’s Spies in Europe, historian and writer Simon Courtauld tells the remarkable story of the men who represented England abroad during the reign of Elizabeth I. Operating in the great courts of France, Spain and beyond, these diplomats were far more than messengers between monarchs. They were intelligence gatherers, negotiators, informants and sometimes conspirators — the front line of England’s survival in a continent divided by religion, rivalry and war.

Through vivid portraits of figures such as Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, Sir Thomas Smith, Thomas Chaloner and Thomas Randolph, Courtauld reveals the realities of Tudor diplomacy: dangerous journeys across Europe, constant financial hardship, and the delicate art of navigating courts dominated by powerful rulers such as Catherine de Medici, Philip II of Spain and Mary Queen of Scots. Their letters, intrigues and negotiations formed the intelligence network that allowed Elizabeth and her advisers — notably William Cecil and Francis Walsingham — to understand and outmanoeuvre their enemies.

Rich in anecdote and grounded in contemporary sources, The Ambassadors brings to life a world in which information was power and a single diplomatic misstep could alter the balance of Europe.

Simon Courtauld is the author of several previous books including Footprints in Spain, To Convey Intelligence, and Lady of Spain: A Life of Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria, as well as works on travel, culture and history. A former legal correspondent of The Times and deputy editor of The Spectator, he writes with the insight of a historian and the narrative skill of a seasoned journalist. (quartetbooks.co.uk)

In this compelling study, Courtauld turns his attention to the shadowy world of Elizabethan diplomacy — revealing the spies in ambassadors’ clothing who helped shape the fate of England.

Simon Courtauld

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