Mattingly's account of Philip II's great failure to invade England is over 40 years old, and though it still reads brilliantly, some caution is needed. Modern historians no longer hold to the simplified picture of a gallant, beleaguered island fighting Popery and the might of Spain, nor was Elizabeth, though a great ruler, any kind of political saint or heroine. To a large extent, the Armada was a sideshow to more complex Continental politics, and it did not weaken Spain as much as has often been claimed. Nevertheless, the English genius for the sea was firmly stamped on history, and the basic miscalculations underlying the whole enterprise are laid bare. Mattingly sets it skilfully against the background of the fighting in the Netherlands and the various dynastic rivalries of the time, as well as the wars of religion racking Europe.