Under the Molehill An Elizabethan Spy Story John Bossy

In the latter part of the 16th century, Elizabethan London was uneasy: was it France's intent to side with Protestant England or with the hostile Catholic powers of Europe? This volume describes the espionage operation that was devised to find the answer. John Bossy speculates on the identity of the mole in the French ambassador's household and tells the details of the arrests, escapes, crises and deals surrounding the affair.

John Bossy, emeritus professor of history at the University of York, is also the author of Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair (ISBN 0 300 0, new NB paperback, [pound]8.99*), also published by Yale University Press.

"A gripping story of Elizabethan realpolitik revealed in step-by-step detail. Bossy knows more about this intriguing chapter in Elizabethan politics than anyone else and is still finding new and surprising things in it. The book is written with characteristic gusto... One talks of 'close readings' of history, but few get closer than Bossy's." Charles Nicholl, Sunday Times "Bossy's case is most persuasive and his sleuthing is meticulous and exhaustive. He is also a witty writer." Frank McLynn, Literary Review "Bossy tells the story with all his familiar narrative flair." Ralph Houlbrooke, Times Literary Supplement