Edward Bancroft: Scientist, Author, Spy

The first complete biography of a little-known but fascinating figure in the history of espionage and the American Revolution

A man of as many names as motives, Edward Bancroft is a singular figure in the history of Revolutionary America. Born in Massachusetts in 1745, Bancroft moved to England as a young man in the 1760s and began building a respectable résumé as both a scientist and a man of letters. In recognition of his works in natural history, Bancroft was unanimously elected to the R...