The truth behind one of the oldest fictions in history can finally be told. The Catholics were in danger of wresting influence from Robert Cecil who had managed to remove Queen Elizabeth's favourites and put himself at the forefront of political power. King James, easily influenced, especially by a pretty face, male or female, needed to be restrained, especially with his profligate spending. Cecil had three goals, therefore: remove the Catholic nobility; limit Puritan influence and endear himself to the king by becoming even more favoured than the pretty boys at court, the most influential of them had saved James's life. The Puritans were dealt with by the king at 'The Hampton Court Conference' and that left the Catholics and the pretty boys. If he could only hatch a plot to discredit the Catholics and save the king at the same time, he would remove any potential opposition and earn the king's undying gratitude, put him above all others in the king's estimation. So he did

Remember the Fifth of November, the story you were told was just that. Robert Cecil was a master manipulator and master storyteller. He could not have succeeded if it had not been for the help of his consummate companion, Markham. This is the real story of the plot hatched by Cecil to ingratiate himself with King James.

Every child has heard of Guy Fawkes and will most likely have watched a 'guy' being burnt on a bonfire and fireworks lighting up the night sky on Bonfire Night. This book answers the questions of history that lie behind the celebrations of 5 November. Who was Guy Fawkes and how to did he come to be below the chamber of the House of Lords in the first hour of 5 November 1605? What desperation drove those involved to plan a horrific massacre of the Protestant royal family and government? Alan Hayne's probing analysis offers the clearest, most balanced view yet of often conflicting evidence, as he disentangles the threads of disharmony, intrigue, betrayal, terror and retribution. In this updated edition he gathers together startling evidence to uncover the depth and extent of the plot, and how close the plotters came to de-stabilising the government in one of the most notorious terrorist plots of British history. This enthralling book will grip the general reader, while the scope of its detailed research will require historians of the period to consider again the commanding importance of the plot throughout the seventeenth century.

The truth behind one of the oldest fictions in history can finally be told. The Catholics were in danger of wresting influence from Robert Cecil who had managed to remove Queen Elizabeth's favourites and put himself at the forefront of political power. King James, easily influenced, especially by a pretty face, male or female, needed to be restrained, especially with his profligate spending. Cecil had three goals, therefore: remove the Catholic nobility; limit Puritan influence and endear himself to the king by becoming even more favoured than the pretty boys at court, the most influential of them had saved James's life. The Puritans were dealt with by the king at 'The Hampton Court Conference' and that left the Catholics and the pretty boys. If he could only hatch a plot to discredit the Catholics and save the king at the same time, he would remove any potential opposition and earn the king's undying gratitude, put him above all others in the king's estimation. So he did!

When Sir William Waad became Lieutenant of the Tower of London in August 1605, only three months before the Gunpowder Plot, it was the culmination of a lifetime of service to the Crown. For the previous 22 years he had been a constant visitor to the Tower. As secretary of the Privy Council, he had interrogated numerous prisoners on behalf of the State, several of them under torture. Many of those incarcerated owed their unfortunate position to his skill as an interrogator. He had risen from inquisitor to gaoler With a known hatred of Catholics and an extensive inside knowledge of almost all previous plots against Queen Elizabeth, Waad's experience as both an 'intelligencer' and inquisitor made him the ideal candidate for the post of Lieutenant of the Tower of London shortly before the Gunpowder Plot. His early life and experiences produced a loyal servant of the State who was capable of dealing with foreign kings as well as common villains. He had been closely involved with the intelligence network operating in Elizabethan England and continued this association when James came to the throne. With years of experience dealing with informers, Waad knew how to extract information and how to discern plot from counter-plot. Waad's role in the Gunpowder Plot and in the capture, interrogation and execution of the culprits are explored in detail. Proud of his achievements in bringing the perpetrators to justice, he erected a huge commemorative monument in his Governor's house at the Tower, which still exists today. Yet, despite his obvious success as Lieutenant of the Tower, he was eventually ousted from his post on suspicion of embezzlement, and narrowly escaped being indicted for murder. He retired to his 'farm' near the village of Manuden, Essex and was buried there in 1623.