THE QUEEN’S CONJUROR: The Science and Magic of Dr Dee Benjamin Woolley, Harper Collins, London, 2001. Hardback, 394 pages, £15-99. ISBN 0-00-257139-0

John Dee was probably born on 13th July 1527: he died sometime between December 1608 and March 1609, his passing as enigmatic as his remarkable life. So ended in poverty, obscurity and disgrace, the life of one whom Elizabeth I had once described as "my philosopher". He might have been greater than Newton, but he dared to go further than the Church and the Establishment would permit and seek, not only to investigate the occult, but to attempt to possess its magic powers for himself.
    This is a wonderful book and hard to put down; it is more than just a biography of John Dee based on his secret diaries. Benjamin Woolley weaves together science, religion, exploration, the world of espionage and the history of the Sixteenth Century; it is as much an historical perspective on popular belief, magic and the unknown as it is a biography of one man, even one as fascinating and as steeped in the arcane as Dee.
    Dee was drawn to the very centre of political life: offered a position at the court of the Charles V, the first of five such offers from Holy Roman Emperors; a member of the Household of the Duke of Northumberland; Lord President of Edward VI’s Regency Council from 1551; hunted down and imprisoned on the orders of Bloody Mary; the expert tasked to choose the most auspicious date for Elizabeth’s coronation. From thereon, his career took off and he was able to spend time investigating the Cabala, meeting with like-minded philosophers abroad, undertaking complex alchemical experiments, as well as advising Elizabeth and the Emperor Rudolf following frequent summonses to court.
    Woolley documents Dee’s life and works in much detail, explaining the world in which he lived, chronicling Dee’s extensive travels and his turbulent relations with those around him and bringing his alchemical researches and explorations of the spirit world to our understanding. It is to Woolley’s great credit that these intensely difficult areas are intelligible to the reader. Any Freemason who seeks to go beyond the outward ceremonies and social practices of the Craft should read this book.
    Matthew Christmas