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Elizabethan England is a popular topic, enjoyed by pupils and teachers. The topics are familiar: Catholics plots to put Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne and her eventual execution; the treatment of the poor; the defeat of the Spanish Armada; and the fun of the Elizabethan theatre. Less familiar, and given scant attention in school textbooks, is the work of the Elizabethan spy network. Masterminded by Francis Walsingham, this network of spies and agents in England and Europe, with its rather ruthless methods, kept Elizabethan England safe during a time of great danger and made the prosperity of the reign possible. This is an exciting yet overlooked element and one well worth teaching.