The Queen's Conjuror: The Life and Magic of Dr. Dee

Description

Dee was one of the most influential philosophers of the Elizabethan Age. A close confidant of Queen Elizabeth, he helped to introduce mathematics to England, promoted the idea of maths as the basis of science, anticipated the invention of the telescope, charted the New World, and created one of the most magnificent libraries in Europe. At the height of his fame, Dee was poised to become one of the greats of the Renaissance. Yet he died in poverty and obscurity - his crime was to dabble in magic. Based on Dee's secret diaries which record in fine detail his experiments with the occult, Woolley's book is a rich brew of Elizabethan court intrigue, science, intellectual exploration, discovery and misfortune. And it tells the story of one man's epic but very personal struggle to come to terms with the fundamental dichotomy of the scientific age at the point it arose: the choice between ancient wisdom and modern science as the path to truth.

Ben Woolley is an author and broadcaster covering both the arts and science. His first book, Virtual Worlds, was shortlisted for the Rhone-Poulenc prize and has been translated into 8 languages. His second book, The Bride of Science , examines how the life of Byron's daughter Ada Lovelace, the world's first computer programmer. He was a regular contributor to The Late Show and has won the Arts Journalist of the Year Award. In 1998, he won an Emmy for his script for the Discovery series Three Minutes to Impact.

'Fresh and original Woolley thinks and writes beautifully. This is a distinguished and rather brilliant book - it's also a rattling good story.' Lisa Jardine ''A fascinating, brilliant account of the Renaissance world picture' Kathryn Hughes, New Statesman 'Woolley handsomely captures a society torn between rationality and romance, cynicism and hero worship'. New Scientist 'An informative and enlightening book. It offers concise and lucid explanations of Dee's more abstruse and arcane theories. And it is immensely enjoyable, its narrative exciting and inexorable. I have not read as stimulating a study of the Elizabethan period since Charles Nicholl's book on Marlowe, the Reckoning'. Thomas Wright, Daily Telegraph