The Queen’s Conjuror: The Life and Magic of Dr. Dee (Science and Magic of Dr Dee)

The Queen's Conjuror is an enjoyable read, even though it has a slightly odd feel to it. Dee certainly led a highly colorful and interesting life, more often than not a nomadic one in search of security and patronage.I would have liked the book to have been written in a more directly biographical mode, giving detailed insight into the relationships of Dee with his contemporaries, especially in that he was friends with some high-powered people: Burleigh, Walsingham, Queen Elizabeth, Robert Dudley to name a few. What Woolley offers instead is part history, part biography, part detective novel. There is a kaleidoscopic cast of characters who appear and disappear adding to the air of mystery and an aura of insubstantiality.The author faced a serious difficulty in writing this book on a sixteenth century subject who was peripheral to the court, which is the problem of finding good source material. Many of the relevant documents have either been lost or destroyed. Such papers of Dee's that have survived are due in no small part to the efforts of Alias Ashmole a century after Dee who recognized in a "Chest of Cedar wood, about a yard & a half long," the lock and hinges of which were of such "extraordinary neat work" something of extraordinary value.It is from within this Chest that Dee's story unfolds, and it is thanks to Ashmole's antiquarian's instincts that the story of Dee and his companions can be told at all.

John Dee, was so fascinating, and this book gives us but a taste, as most of the great John Dee's work has not survived the passage of time, nor the assaults by religious zealots who claim to have known better. So we are left with but a handful of documents to tell us of his contacts with spirits, demons and angels. His partner Edward Kelley deserves equal billing, but again all were against these great men who made company with kings, queens, emperors, poets, writers, sorcerers, priests, and God himself. The author has done a lot with very little, and I strongly recommend this book for anyone who looks beyond the veil for more in this life.

Really enjoyable narrative of that period of British and European History, including the key points in the life of the legendary Dr. Dee. I set 4 stars only because there are no pictures, maps to complement this research.

A most comprehensive and enjoyable book on the life of the mythical Dr John Dee. The relationship of Dee with Kelly is fascinating. The Elizabethan era is one of the most interesting in history and Dee was certainly one of its most eccentric characters. Mr Woolley writes is an easy and flowing style that results in a most enjoyable book. Highly recommended.

Excellent resource for anyone interested in the John Dee/Edward Kelley origins of Enochian Magick and the socio-political backdrop that birthed them.

This is about the best book on Dee that does not descend into Lovcraftian Hippy doo-doo. Worth the money.

Good historical description.

well researched and written.

I found the first half of this biography of Dr Dee quite interesting. His dealings, intrigues and association with the court of Elizabeth I, and in times just prior, as the theological conflicts between Protestants and Catholics placed many in genuine danger of their lives. Then the story of John Dee drifting into what came across to me as an absurd world of his relationship and dealings with a certain skryer (medium) seeking to guide him in various matters as he meandered around Europe, engaged in sundry matters of no particular interest to me.Mention is made of Dr Dee's "mysticism". I am more accustomed to associate mysticism with the likes of Meister Eckhart and others, whose works can still offer guidance to those seeking to live fully and genuinely in our own modern world. Dee's "mysticism" is of another order, involving the activity of angels and messages from "on high" that I failed to see the significance of.Having read quite a few biographies of men of science during the transition to our current worldview, I am well aware of just how the teachings and beliefs of the past were entangled with the movement towards a greater understanding. Those such as Kepler and Newton are perfect examples. Alas, Dr Dee, at least on this evidence, was more a complete child of obscurity rather than one who paved the way forward.In parts interesting but ultimately I found it boring.

I read Woolley’s ‘The Herbalist’ whilst I was writing ‘A Certain Measure of Perfection’. Quite apart from the subject content, this is a more structured book and is a true reflection of the multifaceted life of Dr. Dee. It has to span a plethora of areas from Dee’s own history and how he came to be at Mortlake, his interactions with the Elizabethan Court circle and the ambiguity of his relationship with Marian Catholicism, his abilities in mathematics and astrology and his under-reported role in navigation and the ambitions of Empire.However, most intriguing is his relationship with his skryer, Edward Kelley, one which would bring him into contact with spirits such as Uriel and Madimi, drag him to Poland and Bohemia and, ultimately, into breaking the Commandments, having all things in common.The copious sourcing and referencing at the back make this a valuable contribution to study.It left me wondering quite what Dee really thought about Talbot-Kelley as well as how Kelley cold have come to know so much even if he did ‘borrow’ some of the books Dee set apart from his Mortlake Library – which was to be ransacked and sold off during their Central European sojourns. [There may be one pertinent piece of archival material which has not been examined here.] It also left me thinking about the extent to which Dee merges with his alter-ego archetype of the fallen Renaissance Man, Dr Faustus, and the manner in which the obsession with the alchemical creation of gold to fill state coffers - even at the expense of further debt - prefigures our own global debt crisis.

I love this book. I first read it in 2002 when I worked in a bookshop and it was one of my favourite reads. I haven't owned a copy for ages so I decided to buy It again in second-hand paperback for a surprisingly good price. I was happy to discover that it was the first printed edition of the paperback from 2002. It felt like I had my old copy back again and it was a real pleasure to read.As an artist and illustrator I've also always loved the artwork for the cover. In this case do judge a book by the cover because they're both really good.

I received this yesterday. Book is in very good condition and super fast service too. Not read book yet as it’s for my mum....

Fascinating and obscure. A very strange story of the first stirrings of scientific enquiry within the magical and the mysterious world of an Elizabethan enigma, the basis of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Shakespeares Prospero. well illustrated.