The enthralling story of the dark side of Elizabethan rule - its spies, secret agents and informers - from Stephen Alford, dubbed the John le Carr of Tudor historySUNDAY TIMES BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2012Elizabeth 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.