In Tudor England, the line between mathematics and the mystic arts is vanishingly thin. Straddling both worlds is John Dee, a brilliant scholar and astrologer whose intellect grants him access to the highest circles of power. Dee navigates the politics of the court by making bold prophecies, which win him royal favour. But even correct predictions may come with a price – and laying claim to the future is a dangerous game.
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A key source was The Diaries of John Dee (1998), edited by Edward Fenton. Several other books were very useful:
John Dee’s Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy and the End of Nature (1999) by Deborah Harkness
The Years of the Wizard: The Strange History & Home Life of Renaissance Magicians (2025) by Rachel Morris
The Arch-Conjuror of England (2011) by Glyn Parry
The Secrets of Alchemy (2012) by Lawrence M. Principe
Prophecy: Prediction, Power and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI (2026) by Carissa Véliz
The Queen’s Conjuror: The Life and Magic of Dr Dee (2002) by Benjamin Woolley
The following websites and articles also helped us tell John Dee’s story:
“Phantom pregnancy: The mental health condition that mimics a baby’s arrival” by Rosemary Counter, National Geographic (11 September 2023)
“Some Workmen’s Wages in 1588” by Elizabethan.org
“A robot in Prague and an elixir for Rudolph II” by Habsburger.net
“John Dee: Elizabethan 007, scientist, magician and spy” by History Extra (8 October 2021)
“Nothing But Solitude” by Christopher P. Heuer, Lapham’s Quarterly (14 May 2019)
“Mathematics, navigation and empire” by Alex Grover, Royal Museums Greenwich (8 July 2019)
“Martin Frobisher’s North West Passage expedition 1576–78” by Royal Museums Greenwich
“The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth” by A. L. Rowse, History Today (May 1953)
“Elizabeth I’s Coronation Procession” by Tudor Times (16 August 2019)
“John Dee and Edward Kelly: Through a Glass Darkly” by Michael Wilding, The Brazen Head (18 October 2020)
