Lying Abroad: Henry Wotton and the Invention of Diplomacy

(Hardback)

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Student, traveller, secretary, scoundrel, spy: introducing the maverick whose diplomacy saved Europe from war.

Henry Wotton had already exhausted several lives when he arrived in Venice as England's ambassador in 1604. Yet the most remarkable phase of his career was yet to come.

In Lying abroad, Carol Chillington Rutter tells Wotton's extraordinary story. She reveals how this one-time exile, who fled England after his employer was convicted of treason, gained the favour of King James, securing a knighthood and a diplomatic posting. Charged with restoring relations with Venice after a fifty-year hiatus, he drew criticism for his breaches of protocol. But when a dispute brought Europe to the brink of war, Wotton took a risk one that changed European history.

This engrossing biography recounts a life that was tumultuous, tarnished and endlessly theatrical. The man King James called his 'honest dissembler' was a maverick who fashioned diplomacy in ways that still inform international relations today.

Reviews

'A riveting account of a remarkable Elizabethan, Henry Wotton, whose experiences as a scholar, traveller, soldier, exile, outlaw, spy, traitor and compulsive letter-writer prepared him well for his greatest challenge: serving as King Jamess ambassador to Venice. Deeply researched, captivatingly told and richly rewarding for anyone interested in British history and diplomacy.'
James Shapiro, author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare

Author Bio

Carol Chillington Rutter is Emerita Professor of Shakespeare and Performance Studies at the University of Warwick. She is the author of numerous books and critical editions. In 2023 she was Visiting Fellow at Ca' Foscari, Universit di Venezia.