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Stephen Alford – All His Spies: The Secret World of Robert Cecil

Robert Cecil, statesman and spymaster, lived through an astonishingly threatening period in English history. Elizabeth I had no clear successor and enemies both external and internal threatened to destroy England as a Protestant state, most spectacularly with the Spanish Armada and the Gunpowder Plot. Many readers are familiar with the great events of this tumultuous time, but All His Spies shows how easily these dramas could have turned out very differently. Cecil’s sureness of purpose, his espionage network and good luck all conspired to keep England uninvaded and to create a new ‘British’ monarchy which has endured to the present day. 

Chaired by Harry Pearson

Tickets £10.50/£8.50

 

“One of the greatest biographies, a masterwork beautifully, intensely written and researched.”Simon Sebag-Montefiore

 

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Booking Information

  • Priority Booking for Festival Friends opens at 08.00 on Friday 7th of March. Tickets go on general sale from Monday 10th March.
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Back to 2025 programme 

Location

Hexham Library, Queens Hall

Date

11 May 2025

Time

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Cost

£10.50/£8.50 (concs)

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