by Elizabeth Sparrow 

 Espionage is taken for granted today as the unavoidable veiled activity of modern statecraft. But how and why did it all begin? This 'secret history' starts in the period immediately following the French Revolution. It was a turbulent time, both on the continent and in Britain as the established order came under the threat of social upheaval. To this point can be traced the story of the Scarlet Pimpernel, and the origins of the British Secret Service. Pitt's administration, advised by Louis XVI's ex-ministers, reacted to the threat of revolution in Britain by instituting surveillance to counteract the threat of sedition.A foreign secret service followed, its purpose to infiltrate the French Revolutionary government's actions. At the same time, British agents in Paris helped potential victims to escape. Espionage activity intensified in the ensuing decades, achieving formal status with Napoleon's military domination of Europe.

Fine in slightly chipped d/w -
459pp, 19 b/w illustrations

The Boydell Press, 1999
ISBN  9780851157641

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Web No. 
1046-01

£320.00