We are delving into the world of Elizabethan espionage this week to discuss a displaced Jewish doctor who realised that the way he communicated with his fellow exiles across Europe could just so happen to be turned into a readymade spy network for profit.

Quickly rising in influence after leaving his home of Portugal in his 30s, Dr Lopez managed to reach the dizzying heights of personal physician to Queen Elizabeth herself.

But the desire to return home never left him, and the schemes he participated in to try and engineer a chance to live out his days back in Portugal led him deeper and deeper into a tangled web of split loyalties and risky choices...

Guest Host: Emma Heathcote

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