SPIES IN THE PANTRY

Between 1642 and 1651, England was gripped by a civil war - which also extended into Scotland, Ireland and Wales - that pitted the Crown against Parliament and resulted in the execution of King Charles I, as well as the abolition of the monarchy. In the midst of all this turmoil, women were working behind the scenes as spies on both sides of the conflict, proving that they were more active and politically involved than previously assumed. We spoke to Dr Nadine Akkerman, who explores female espionage in her groundbreaking book, Invisible Agents: Women And Espionage In Seventeenth-Century Britain.

What was it that initially sparked the research process for your book?

I stumbled upon a woman spy while I was researching a completely different topic in the archives, and I was immediately intrigued. I found it funny that this woman was spying, and she turned out to be rather successful, with quite a large