{"product_id":"watchers","title":"Watchers","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe acclaimed and enthralling story of the dark side of Elizabethan rule, from Stephen Alford\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eElizabeth 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReviews:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Forget Le Carré, Deighton and the rest - this is more enthralling than any modern spy fiction'' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Telegraph\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Absorbing and closely documented ... Alford vividly evokes this murky world of codes, ciphers, invisible ink, intercepted letters, aliases, disguises, forgeries and instructions to burn after reading ... flowing narrative [and] crisp judments ... engrossing'' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''[Alford] has brought a dash of le Carré to the 16th century'' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Times \u003c\/i\u003e(Book of the Week)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A vivid and staggeringly well-researched portrait of the sinister side of Elizabethan England ... This is a spectacular book. It sheds new light on plots that most historians have ceased to explore and brings less famous conspiracies to the attention of the general reading public''\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e Herald\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Fascinating ... If you want to know the inside story of this struggle, the dark heart of calculation and the fight for survival, then this is the book to read. I know no better'' \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eSpectator\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the author:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStephen Alford is the author of the acclaimed biography \u003ci\u003eBurghley: William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I\u003c\/i\u003e and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. He taught for fifteen years at Cambridge University, where he was a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of History and a Fellow of King''s College. He is now Professor of Early Modern British History in the University of Leeds.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57309769924990,"sku":"NW9780141043654","price":11.67,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9780141043654.jpg?v=1778599704","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/watchers","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}