I've seen some bits going around that refers to QUEEN as "a queen falling for her spy". This is not strictly true. Xania is a spymaster, not a spy, and I think this could lead to some misconceptions.

So today I decided to talk about some of my research into Elizabethan spycraft:

Disclaimer: My research is a few years old and things might have changed since then. I also don't know everything, and some stuff I twisted for my own uses, as QUEEN is a low-fantasy novel with a historical basis, not a true historical novel.

Disclaimer the Second: I use spymaster to refer to Xania, not spymistress, as her predecessor was a man and Lia and Xania maintain this as a way to deflect from her, in addition to Xania often acting as an agent of the 'spymaster' to gain information.

Interestingly, my spellchecker gave a red line to spymistress, but not spymaster. Hrm.

So! Elizabeth I! Arguably, the second famous Tudor after her dad (I am personally more of a fan of her), but undoubtedly had to clean up a lot of his messes that were made worse by her siblings who held the throne before her.

Liz I was: clever, spiteful, fearful, brave, probably a pain the neck to serve, as with all monarchs. She was a woman holding the throne in her own right & a Protestant disliked by Catholics and trying to figure out how to appease both religious sides.

She was always in danger.

Enter: Francis Walsingham; William Cecil; and Robert Cecil (William's son).

Walsingham is commonly believed to be Liz I's spymaster, but there's also evidence he may have worked with the Cecils, who possibly did a lot of the spy network management.

A trio of spymasters. The encrypted paperwork was probably a nightmare.

The Elizabethan Era is considered the birth of modern western spycraft. All those spycraft tropes: polite warring factions; household spies and delivery people turned; double agents; creating a spy network all over the country: Walsingham and the Cecils did this in earnest.

This was all in the name of keeping Liz I on the throne. Walsingham and the Cecils didn't always agree with her, and there's evidence she likely played them as much as they manipulated her, but they recognised it was better to keep her on the throne than face ANOTHER civil war.

Female historians give Liz I a lot more credit, especially when she let out a public outburst in response to something she technically wasn't supposed to have endorsed. Male historians often attribute this to ~female emotions.~ I say Liz knew when emotions would save her neck.

The Cecils apparently, by all accounts, weren't nice people. They were cold, clever, and able to brutally compartmentalise their emotions to do their jobs. Being a spymaster wasn't easy or fun. It involved doing Liz I's dirty work so she could remain a perfect, idealised queen.

It involved catching conspiracies early, diffusing them quietly, and keeping their own positions secure while dealing with other ambitious courtiers. As Liz's ministers, they would have had a lot of influence and access to her.

It almost meant making decisions Liz I didn't like, but which were good for the country, often making them in such a way where she also couldn't directly consent to them. (The matter of Mary, Queen of Scots, is a big example of this.)

Hence public outbursts and, for William Cecil, a necessary fall from grace after Mary's death. Thankfully, Robert was quite similar to his father and trained and equipped to claw back and win his father's old position while William got used to forced retirement in the country.

No one really knows how much spymasters were known as such in Court. Everyone likely knew they existed, but I imagine it was more of a whispered "So-and-so FIXES PROBLEMS for Her Majesty" etc.

In QUEEN, I specifically keep Xania hidden because Lia's position is quite precarious and her Court (and a chunk of Parliament) is out to get her. Her ancestors' spymasters likely wouldn't have been so clandestine, but it's not exactly a role you want to advertise.

Of the three, I think Walsingham was the closet to Liz I. He had a better personality, while still brutal. I think he liked her, as much as you can like a queen you serve, but I imagine there were days she drove him up the wall and vice versa.

So, Helen. Now that you've shown you're a bit of a nerd... how does this relate to Xania being a spymaster, not a spy, in your book?

Liz I's spymasters were essentially influential courtiers. As spymasters, they hired spies to infiltrate where they were simply too fancy to go.

They deciphered the information given to them, they planted agents into household as servants and maids and even turned delivery people into couriers (or double turned them for a better price). They spent their time in Court, trying to figure out who was their ally or enemy.

They maintained their positions, kept an eye on the nobility to see who fancied taking the crown for themselves, kept an ear on gossip, did their public jobs and, well, also kept Liz I happy. As they did her dirty work, others put themselves in danger to do theirs.

If Walsingham or the Cecils had ever took it upon themselves to take risks and were discovered or captured, they knew a WEALTH of information that could be used against Liz I and England. Others took the risks, and they kept everything stable for them to do so.

That's the role I give Xania. As she does Lia's dirty work, others in turn do it for her. She also siphons information from nobility in ways I feel Walsingham and the Cecils also did, but none of this is ever recorded. But I feel they had Court informers outside of their network.

I worry the 'Queen's spy' misconception will lead people into expecting a James Bond spy plot, which this book is not. Think more Littlefinger and Tyrion, less Daniel Craig swagger--only with more women involved, some of them queer.

However, if you liked this thread and think you'd dig this kind of spycraft: QUEEN OF COIN AND WHISPERS is out June 1st. Preorder links are here: http://helencorcoran.com/writing