Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
"It was an age of great change. By the sixteenth century, the years of darkness were slowly giving way to the light of a new intellectual curiosity, which had explorers calling on new shores, scientists musing again about our place in the heavens, and poets rewriting what it means to be human.".
"From among the great names that entered into history from this period, one had been lost: Dr. John Dee. This single shadowy and complex figure embodied all the conflicts of the age - between science and superstition, Papist and Protestant, faith and future, medieval and modern. Dee was a man of astounding learning, whose influence ranged from esoteric philosophy to practical politics.
It was said that his vast personal library - perhaps the largest and finest in all of Europe at the time - contained the entire Renaissance within it. A trusted adviser to Queen Elizabeth, Dee plotted her astrological chart and selected her coronation day. His mathematics anticipated Newton by nearly a century; his mapmaking and navigation made possible great voyages of exploration, such as Martin Frobisher's ill-fated journeys in search of the Northwest Passage.
The very idea of a British empire may be credited to Dee.".
"Yet these intellectual and scientific achievements were matched by his passions for alchemy, astrology, and mysticism, and Dee's relentless pursuit of spirits and angels proved his undoing. The tragic story of the latter portion of his life - his fall from grace at the hands of a charismatic and diabolical trickster - is a riveting spectacle of obsession and betrayal, of intellectual insight and blind faith.
Despite his once-lofty position and his prodigious intellect, Dee died in poverty and obsurity, pitied, reviled and ultimately forgotten." "The Queen's Conjurer is Benjamin Woolley's account of the rise and decline of this brilliant and remarkable man, who left an indelible mark in so many different realms. Blending biography with superb narrative skills, Woolley tells the story not just of a man, but a pivotal moment in history."--BOOK JACKET.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Showing 3 featured editions. View all 3 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
The Queen's Conjurer: The Science and Magic of Dr. John Dee, Adviser to Queen Elizabeth I
February 1, 2002, Holt Paperbacks
Paperback
in English
0805065105 9780805065107
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
2
The Queen's Conjurer: The Science and Magic of Dr. John Dee, Adviser to Queen Elizabeth I
2001, Henry Holt
in English
- 1st ed.
0805065091 9780805065091
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
3
The queen's conjurer: the science and magic of Dr Dee
2001, HarperCollins Publishers
in English
0002571390 9780002571395
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. 334-342) and index.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
Internet Archive item recordInternet Archive item record
Library of Congress MARC record
Better World Books record
marc_columbia MARC record
Work Description
Although his accomplishments were substantial-he became a trusted confidante to Queen Elizabeth I, inspired the formation of the British Empire, and plotted voyages to the New World-John Dee's story has been largely lost to history. In The Queen's Conjurer, Benjamin Woolley brings to life the tale of one of the most colorful characters of the Renaissance. In the midst of a pivotal era when the age of superstition collided with the world of science and reason, Dee's mathematics anticipated Newton by nearly a century, and his mapmaking and navigation were critical to exploration. Obsessed with alchemy, astrology, and mysticism, his library was one of the finest in Europe, a vast compendium of thousands of volumes. Yet, despite his powerful position and prodigious intellect, Dee died in poverty and obscurity, reviled and pitied as a madman.
Written with flair and vigor, and based on numerous surviving diaries of the period, The Queen's Conjurer is a highly readable account of an extraordinary and nearly forgotten life.
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?August 14, 2020 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
September 11, 2019 | Edited by Anonymous | Edited without comment. |
September 11, 2019 | Edited by Anonymous | Edited without comment. |
December 4, 2010 | Edited by Open Library Bot | Added subjects from MARC records. |
December 10, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |