This is an interesting book, but the content turned out to be different than I expected. I had heard about John Dee as an astrologer and thought vaguely that he had something to do with witch-hunting in 17th century England. According to this biography I was only partly right. A large part of the book is taken up discussing the nature of "science" in the 16th century. Apparently the idea of studying the real world by directly and carefully observing it was a relatively new concept, heavily overlaid with age-old tendencies to rely on classical authorities, (Plato, Aristotle, etc.), ancient fantasies like alchemy, superstition, and religious dogma. Dee was a very learned man for his time (he died in the early 1600s). He was a good friend of some of the more advanced mapmakers of his day (Mercator was one), and very advanced in the study of mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. He was one of the earliest Englishmen to hail Copernicus' contention that the Earth and other planets orbit the Sun, for instance.

As a mathematician and astronomer it was a natural thing that he was also an astrologer, which was an important branch of science in those days, and the only aspect of astronomy really understood by the general public. The fact that he served as an astrologer and was an accomplished mathemetician guaranteed him a reputation as a wizard and conjuror. While he complained about this sort of imputation, he clearly profited by it to some extent. He was a sort of consultant to the government, and may have been involved with the government's spy service.

Most of the book relates Dee's adventures in spiritualism. Apparently Dee hoped to learn more by consulting spirits (he called them angels) through a medium than by studying natural phenomena, although he did that, too. Dee seems to have employed a string of questionable, even criminal men to help him learn occult secrets. Eventually he seems to have fallen under the sway of a charlatan who talked him into leaving England, calling out the Holy Roman Emperor on his sins, and finally wife-swapping. At least, that's how the book interprets the events of his life. Given the available evidence, it seems hard to make coherent sense out of the evidence cited. The author refers to other interpretations of his life story, and I look forward to reading one or more of them.

This is an interesting biography of a strange, enigmatic figure. ( )

Not yet read

A thorough biography of John Dee. Covers more than just his life as a spiritualist and alchemist, but also his involvement in navigation and cartography. Edward Kelley (or Talbot) is definitely painted as a villain and con man.