The Walsingham Gambit

R. Kent Tiernan served as an intelligence officer for the United States Air Force. He was also an assistant professor of history at the United States Air Force Academy. Before his retirement in 2014, he was promoted to the rank of Senior National Intelligence Service officer and acted as a Vice Chairman/Staff Director for the Foreign Denial and Deception Committee.

Part One (1560–1579)

1. Exit the Old Order - Enter the New Chaos

2. “Elizabeth Ascending”

3. The Worst of Times

4. Becoming the Fox

5. Elizabeth’s Eyes and Ears

Part Two (1580–1582)

6. Looking Back

7. Deception Roadmap

8. Looking Ahead

9. “A Sign from God”

10. It’s About Time!

11. “Devil In the Details”

Part Three (1583–1585)

12. Fired Up and Ready to Go

13. Unleashing the ‘Leash’

14. “Only Time Will Tell”

15. Points of Failure

Part Four (1585–1586)

16. Preparing the “Coup de Grace”

17. Running the Conspirators to Ground

Part Five (1587–1590)

18. “The End is My Beginning”

19. “The Queen is Dead Long Live the Queen!”

20. “Softly Into the Light”

Epilogue

Postscript

Acknowledgments

Appendices

Appendix A Deception Planner/Intelligence Analyst Insights

Appendix B Lingering Questions and Their Implications

Appendix C Walsingham’s Intelligence Organization

Appendix D Countering the Catholic Threat

Appendix E Facts, Fiction, and Inferences

Appendix F Chronology of Catholic and Protestant Events

Appendix G Chronology of Significant Deception Plan Execution Events

Appendix H Walsingham’s Deception Capabilities Flow Chart

Appendix I Walsingham’s Role in Defeating the Babington Plot