A biography of william wickham 1761 1840 britains master spy on the continent for more than five years during the french revolutionary wars it follows wickhams career to narrate the rise and fall of his secret service community. William wickham 1761 1840 was britains master spy on the continent for more than five years during the french revolutionary wars he was the creator and head of a small and highly organized secret service unit and was sent on missions to europe and ireland he is the only important political figure of the period not to have been the subject of a modern biography. Stanford libraries official online search tool for books media journals databases government documents and more. William wickham master spy the secret war against the french revolution the enlightenment world durey michael on amazoncom free shipping on qualifying offers william wickham master spy the secret war against the french revolution the enlightenment world