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86-404: The Stoneheart trilogy is a set of three children's novels by Charlie Fletcher , published between 2006 and 2008. The three novels in the trilogy are Stoneheart , Ironhand , and Silvertongue . The trilogy follows two children, George and Edie, as they struggle to survive a war between the animated statues of London. The war takes place in a second reality, which overlays modern London. Thus

172-601: A nomadic life in Central Europe, meanwhile continuing their spiritual conferences, which Dee detailed in his diaries and almanacs. They had audiences with Emperor Rudolf II in Prague Castle and King Stephen Báthory of Poland, whom they attempted to convince of the importance of angelic communication. The Bathory meeting took place at the Niepołomice Castle (near Kraków , then capital of Poland) and

258-462: A "protagonist who doesn't ring true." The film rights to Stoneheart were purchased by Paramount months before the book was even released with Scott Rudin and Lorenzo di Bonaventura producing the film adaptation. On March 24, 2009, Disney was in talks for the film adaptation with Robert Zemeckis set to produce the film through ImageMovers. Charlie Fletcher After studying English Literature at university, Fletcher began his career in

344-585: A British Empire stretching across the North Atlantic. Dee promoted the sciences of navigation and cartography . He studied closely with Gerardus Mercator and owned an important collection of maps, globes , and astronomical instruments. He developed new instruments and special navigational techniques for use in polar regions . Dee served as an advisor to English voyages of discovery, and personally selected pilots and trained them in navigation. He believed that mathematics (which he understood mystically)

430-571: A Cold War, with each other. No one else can see what is happening to him, except Edie Laemmel, a glint. She has the power to experience past events recorded in stones by touching them. But unknown to them the Stone has alerted the Walker, one of its servants, who stalks them with the help of his own servant, the Raven. On his journey, George discovers he has special powers. The Black Friar identifies George as

516-451: A Protestant institution by Royal Charter in 1578. However, he could not exert much control over its fellows, who despised or cheated him. Early in his tenure, he was consulted on the demonic possession of seven children, but took little interest in the case, although he allowed those involved to consult his still extensive library. Dee left Manchester in 1605 to return to London, but remained Warden until his death. By that time, Elizabeth

602-482: A belief that man had the potential for divine power that could be exercised through mathematics. His goal was to help bring forth a unified world religion through the healing of the breach of the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches and the recapture of the pure theology of the ancients. From 1570 Dee advocated a policy of political and economic strengthening of England and establishment of colonies in

688-653: A computer game and as a national Sunday newspaper columnist and a restaurant reviewer. He met and married his wife, Domenica, a fellow Scot , in Los Angeles. They have two children and live in Edinburgh . Fletcher's Stoneheart , was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award in 2007. Stoneheart , along with Ironhand and Silvertongue make up the Stoneheart trilogy . In this trilogy there

774-401: A diviner at their increasingly lengthy, frequent spiritual conferences. The order for wife-sharing caused Dee anguish, but he apparently did not doubt it was genuine and they apparently shared wives. However, Dee broke off the conferences immediately afterwards. He returned to England in 1589, while Kelley went on to be the alchemist to Emperor Rudolf II. Nine months later, on 28 February 1588,

860-493: A figure of Britannia kneeling by the shore beseeching Elizabeth I to protect her nation by strengthening her navy . Dee used Geoffrey 's inclusion of Ireland in King Arthur 's conquests to argue that Arthur had established a "British empire" abroad. He argued that the establishment of new colonies would benefit England economically, with said colonies being protected by a strong navy. Dee has been credited with coining

946-478: A gown like an artist's gown, with hanging sleeves, and a slit.... A very fair, clear sanguine complexion... a long beard as white as milk. A very handsome man." Dee was an intense Christian, but his religiosity was influenced by Hermetic and Platonic - Pythagorean doctrines pervasive in the Renaissance . He believed that numbers were the basis of all things and key to knowledge. From Hermeticism he drew

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1032-411: A magician and the vivid story of his association with Edward Kelley have made him a seemingly irresistible figure to fabulists , writers of horror stories , and latter-day magicians . The accretion of fanciful information about Dee often obscures the facts of his life, remarkable as they were. It also does nothing to promote his Christian leanings: Dee looked to the angels to tell him how he might heal

1118-533: A major collection of mathematical and astronomical instruments. In 1552, he met Gerolamo Cardano in London, with whom he investigated a purported perpetual motion machine and a gem supposed to have magical properties. Rector at Upton-upon-Severn from 1553, Dee was offered a readership in mathematics at Oxford University in 1554, which he declined, citing as offensive English universities' emphasis on rhetoric and grammar (which, together with logic , formed

1204-513: A maker, someone with a special gift for sculpting things from stone or metal. The Friar also tells them to find the 'Stone Heart' and put the broken dragon carving back to make amends for the damage George has done. But on the way the Gunner has sacrificed himself by breaking his promise sworn in the Maker's name to the Walker to try and save Edie, and ultimately falls into the clutches of the Walker. It

1290-680: A son was born to Dee's wife, whom Dee baptised Theodorus Trebonianus Dee and raised as his own. Dee returned to Mortlake after six years abroad to find his home vandalised, his library ruined and many of his prized books and instruments stolen. Furthermore, he found that increasing criticism of occult practices had made England still less hospitable to his magical practices and natural philosophy. He sought support from Elizabeth, who hoped he could persuade Kelley to return and ease England's economic burdens through alchemy. She finally appointed Dee Warden of Christ's College, Manchester , in 1595. This former College of Priests had been re-established as

1376-549: A symbol used by Dee. Although there is evidence that Fleming read a memoir of Dee's about the time that he created the Bond character, scholar Teresa Burns has cast doubt on the claim that "007" originates from any symbol used by Dee. John Dee is one of the main antagonists in the book series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott . In the series, John Dee has gained immortality from

1462-567: A visionary plan for preserving old books, manuscripts and records and founding a national library, but it was not taken up. Instead, he expanded his personal library in Mortlake , acquiring books and manuscripts in England and on the Continent. Dee's library, a centre of learning outside the universities, became the greatest in England and attracted many scholars. When Elizabeth succeeded to

1548-541: Is anachronistic . He was invited to lecture on Euclidean geometry at the University of Paris while still in his early twenties. He was an ardent promoter of mathematics, a respected astronomer and a leading expert in navigation , who trained many who would conduct England's voyages of discovery . Meanwhile, he immersed himself in sorcery , astrology, and Hermetic philosophy . Much effort in his last 30 years went into trying to commune with angels , so as to learn

1634-466: Is a second reality to contemporary London, co-existing with "normal" reality, but seen by only a few people. This trilogy is about a boy who enters that second reality, and must survive in it. Fletcher published a standalone novel, Far Rockaway , in September 2011. It is the story of a feisty young woman who is injured with her grandfather in an accident and who wakes up in a world constructed from all

1720-523: Is accompanied by the Young Soldier. The animal and other creature statues (such as the pterodactyl and the salamanders) have no spirit inside them so cannot talk. They are called 'taints'. The Grid Man – a metal sculpture separated into a grid, he moves part by part, just out of sync. Although a humanoid shape, it is classified as a taint. The Grid Man statue is located in High Holborn at

1806-547: Is his curse to watch time. Stoneheart was shortlisted for the Branford Boase Award and longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize . It has also been nominated for the Carnegie Medal . Responses to Stoneheart were mixed. Several critics praised the central concept, calling it an "intriguing premise" and an "ingenious idea". The Scotsman said the book was "thrilling stuff", and The Times

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1892-459: Is left to George to use his new-found gifts as a maker to rescue her. In so doing he sacrifices his own safety and is fated to take 'The Hard Way', remaining with her in this dangerous unLondon. In Ironhand , the Gunner is imprisoned below the city in an old water tank. At the moment George and Edie set off to try and rescue him they are separated, as George is snatched into the air by a cat-faced gargoyle named Spout. Edie sets off on her own. George

1978-444: Is revived by the power of all the stolen heart stones the Gunner saved from under the city, and she finds, among them, her mother's own stone. This is doubly shocking for Edie – she knows her mother didn't realise she had been a glint, and the fire remaining in the stone suggests her mother, believed dead, may actually be alive. George has one more duel to fight before the last stone vein twines into his heart and kills him. The arrival of

2064-479: Is seemingly rescued from Spout by Ariel, a spit who is also an Agent of Fate come to ensure he takes The Hard Way. She takes him to receive the challenge issued by a statue called The Last Knight. He has to fight three duels: on land, on water and in the air. He is rescued from certain death on the end of the Knight's lance by the timely arrival of Spout who snatches him into the sky. George mends Spout's broken wing, and

2150-740: Is some confusion as to whether they are Spits or Taints. Dictionary Johnson – the statue of the first man to write down all English words and their definition, Samuel Johnson . Like Johnson himself, the statue is prone to muscle spasms and fidgeting behaviour. The statue, made by Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald is in Westminster at Aldwych & Strand behind St Clement Danes Church . The Black Friar – enigmatic Spit whose true allegiances are unknown. The statue stands above Black Friar's Pub in Blackfriars , London. Fusilier – The 5th Spit George Chapman meets. The Fusilier saves George from

2236-578: Is the likely loose inspiration for Welsh folkloric outlaw Twm Siôn Cati , as his cousin; the pair corresponded, and Jones visited Dee several times. From 1577 to 1601, Dee kept a sporadic diary (also referred to as his almanac), from which most of what we know of his life in that time has been gleaned. In 1587, Kelley informed Dee of the angel's wish that they share wives. Theodore Dee, born nine months later, could have been fathered by Kelley, and not Dee. Jane died in Manchester of bubonic plague and

2322-474: Is the subject of Henry Gillard Glindoni 's painting John Dee Performing an Experiment Before Queen Elizabeth I . Dee is a major character in John Crowley 's four-volume novel Ægypt , the first volume of which, The Solitudes , was published in 1987. Donald McCormick claimed Dee was Ian Fleming 's inspiration for his James Bond character. He also claimed that the "007" moniker originated as

2408-451: Is time that the cause of all this universal condemnation should be examined in the light of reason and science; and perhaps it will be found to exist mainly in the fact that he was too far advanced in speculative thought for his own age to understand." Through this and subsequent re-evaluation, Dee is now viewed as a serious scholar and book collector, a devoted Christian (albeit at a confusing time for that faith), an able scientist, and one of

2494-640: Is widely assumed they died in the epidemic that took their mother (as Dee had by this time ceased to keep a diary). While Arthur was a student at the Westminster School , Dee wrote to his headmaster echoing the normal worries of boarding-school parents. Arthur was an apprentice in much of his father's alchemical and scientific work and in fact often his diviner until Kelley appeared. He went on to become an alchemist and Hermetic author, whose works were published by Elias Ashmole . The antiquary John Aubrey describes Dee as "tall and slender. He wore

2580-535: The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, but by eleven, which would restore it to the birth of Christ. Another proposal of Dee's was to align the civil and liturgical years and have them both start on 1 January. Perhaps predictably, England chose to spurn suggestions that had papist origins, despite any merit they may have had. Dee has often been associated with the Voynich manuscript . Wilfrid Michael Voynich , who bought

2666-534: The Star Chamber and exonerated himself, but was turned over to the Catholic bishop Edmund Bonner for religious examination. His strong, lifelong penchant for secrecy may have worsened matters. The episode was the most dramatic in a series of attacks and slanders that dogged Dee throughout his life. Clearing his name yet again, he soon became a close associate of Bonner. Dee presented Queen Mary in 1556 with

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2752-928: The Welsh du ( black ). His grandfather was Bedo Ddu of Nant-y-groes, Pilleth , Radnorshire ; John retained his connection with the locality. His father Roland was a mercer and gentleman courtier to Henry VIII . Dee traced descent from Rhodri the Great , 9th century ruler of Gwynedd , and constructed a pedigree accordingly. His family had arrived in London with Henry Tudor's coronation as Henry VII. Dee attended Chelmsford Chantry School (now King Edward VI Grammar School ) from 1535 to 1542. He entered St John's College, Cambridge in November 1542, aged 15, graduating BA in 1545 or early 1546. His abilities recognised, he became an original fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge on its foundation by Henry VIII in 1546. At Trinity,

2838-671: The Welsh Marches and of valuable manuscripts kept at Wigmore Castle , knowing that the Lord Treasurer 's ancestors came from the area. In 1564, Dee wrote the Hermetic work Monas Hieroglyphica ("The Hieroglyphic Monad "), an exhaustive Cabalistic interpretation of a glyph of his own design, meant to express the mystical unity of all creation. Having dedicated it to Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor in an effort to gain patronage, Dee attempted to present it to him at

2924-628: The academic trivium ) over philosophy and science (the more advanced quadrivium , composed of arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy). He was busy with writing and perhaps hoped for a better position at court. In 1555, Dee joined the Worshipful Company of Mercers , as his father had, through its system of patrimony . In that same year Dee was arrested and charged with the crime of "calculating", because he had cast horoscopes of Queen Mary and Princess Elizabeth . The charges were raised to treason against Mary. Dee appeared in

3010-455: The heliocentric theory. Dee applied Copernican theory to the problem of calendar reform. In 1583, he was asked to advise the Queen on the new Gregorian calendar promulgated by Pope Gregory XIII from October 1582. He advised that England accept it, albeit with seven specific amendments. The first was that the adjustment should not be the ten days that would restore the calendar to the time of

3096-628: The supernatural as a means to acquire knowledge. He sought to contact spirits through the use of a scryer , which he thought would act as an intermediary between himself and the angels. Dee's first attempts with several scryers were unsatisfactory, but in 1582 he met Edward Kelley (then calling himself Edward Talbot) who impressed him greatly with his abilities. Dee took Kelley into his service and began to devote all his energies to his supernatural pursuits. These "spiritual conferences" or "actions" were conducted with intense Christian piety, always after periods of purification, prayer and fasting . Dee

3182-890: The universal language of creation and achieve a pre-apocalyptic unity of mankind. A student of the Renaissance Neo-Platonism of Marsilio Ficino , he drew no distinctions between his mathematical research and his investigations of Hermetic magic, angel summoning and divination: all his activities were part of his quest for a transcendent understanding of divine forms underlying the visible world: Dee's "pure verities". Dee amassed one of England's biggest libraries. His scholarly status also took him into Elizabethan politics as an adviser and tutor to Elizabeth I and through relations with her ministers Francis Walsingham and William Cecil . He tutored and patronised Sir Philip Sidney ; his uncle Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester ; Edward Dyer ; and Sir Christopher Hatton . Dee

3268-567: The 20th century, the Municipal Borough of Richmond (now the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames ) honoured John Dee by naming a street near Mortlake "Dee Road". Dee was a friend of Tycho Brahe and familiar with the work (translated into English by his ward and assistant, Thomas Digges ) of Nicolaus Copernicus . Many of his astronomical calculations were based on Copernican assumptions, although he never openly espoused

3354-529: The Black Friar for help but, helped by an urchin-like statue named Little Tragedy, tries to escape the pub when it appears the Walker has come to the door. Only when they arrive at their destination through the mirrors does it become apparent that Tragedy has betrayed her to the Walker, since they are now in a past London, the London of the Frost Fair where she once glinted herself being killed. Meanwhile,

3440-471: The Chancery Lane junction Minotaur – captures Edie but is killed by the plasticine bullet that George makes. Spout – named by George, lives near St Pancras railway station and originally an enemy though after (in the next book) George uses his 'maker' skills to heal its wing, befriends him and fights by his side. Temple Bar Dragon – the most detailed of all dragon sculptures. As with Spout,

3526-492: The Dark Elders, his mentors. The film Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) has two scenes in which Queen Elizabeth consults Dr. Dee, played by David Threlfall . Phil Rickman casts Dee as the main detective, investigating the disappearance of the bones of King Arthur during the reign of Elizabeth I in the historical mystery The Bones of Avalon (2010). The play Burn Your Bookes (2010) by Richard Byrne examines

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3612-483: The Gridman. The Royal London Fusiliers Monument , made by Albert Toft , is on High Holborn , near Chancery Lane tube station and the regimental chapel is at St Sepulchre-without-Newgate . (Image of Royal Fusilier memorial.) The Queen – first met in 'Ironhand' when she decides Edie needs help. Her statue consists of her, a battle chariot and her 2 daughters. The Old Soldier – first met in 'Silvertongue' he

3698-430: The Gunner has discovered that the Walker has killed many glints and stolen their sea-glass heart stone in his search for power. He escapes the water tank by crawling through London's underground rivers, taking the stones with him. He expects to die at midnight (turn o' day) but survives because George stands his watch on his plinth in his place. While he does this, George experiences what the Gunner and his brother soldier,

3784-575: The Ice Devil has frozen time and the city, which is disappearing under a heavy snow fall. And the ordinary people seem to have disappeared, leaving George and Edie the only normal humans in a city now only populated by warring statues. George Chapman – the protagonist, whose adventures the story follows. Branded a 'maker' during a battle with the Temple Bar Dragon. Edie Laemmel – one of the thought to be extinct 'glints', met early on in

3870-611: The New World . His manuscript Brytannicae reipublicae synopsis (1570) outlined the state of the Elizabethan Realm and was concerned with trade, ethics and national strength. His 1576 General and Rare Memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation was the first volume in an unfinished series planned to advocate for the establishment of English colonies abroad. In a symbolic frontispiece, Dee included

3956-526: The New World over that of Spain 's. He also asserted that Brutus of Britain and King Arthur, as well as Madog, had conquered lands in the Americas, so that their heir, Elizabeth I of England, had a prior claim there. Some ten years after Dee's death, the antiquarian Robert Cotton bought land round Dee's house and began digging for papers and artifacts. He found several manuscripts, mainly records of Dee's angelic communications. Cotton's son gave these to

4042-546: The Officer, experience every night, an hour in the trenches under bombardment during an artillery duel in World War One (this is George's first duel). While he does this, he meets a soldier with his own dead father's face and, though the soldier dies, George is able to heal his guilt at his father's death and realise he was both loved and known to love him back. The Gunner and George and the Officer are reunited, along with

4128-399: The Queen (Boadicea) and her daughters who have taken an interest in saving Edie. They travel through mirrors into the past to try and rescue her. Edie escapes briefly from the Walker but is recaptured, after she has buried her sea-glass heart stone to save it. He takes her to the Frost Fair, where, despite having foreseen it, Edie is unable to prevent her own death beneath the ice. George fights

4214-536: The Walker on the ice (his second duel) while the Gunner retrieves Edie's body. The Queen takes them all through the mirrors in her chariot but only after trying to run down the Walker, only for him to escape into the Outer Darkness beyond the Black Mirrors. Unseen by any of the others, but felt as an icy blast, an Ice Devil enters our world as the Walker exits it and follows them back to the present. Edie

4300-507: The book, who reluctantly befriends George. The Walker – The antagonist of the book. Cursed and now a servant of the stone, he is unable to keep still. It is strongly implied in the book that he is actually the Elizabethan occultist John Dee . The statues that are models of humans have the spirit of that particular person inside of them, enabling them to talk. Being the 'spitting image' of that person, they are called 'Spits'. Spits are

4386-417: The chase, George bumps into the Gunner, a statue of a World War I soldier who helps him escape the pterodactyl and salamanders. He explains to George that by breaking the stone dragon, he has entered a different world – an un-London – where statues move and talk. There are many worlds and the world George has entered is one where all the statues and sculptures are Spits or Taints and are at war, though presently

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4472-523: The children and statues can see and interact with the reality of the normal world, but the people in that reality are unaware of the second reality around them. While on a school trip to the Natural History Museum , George breaks off the head of a stone dragon. This sets off a stone pterodactyl literally peeling itself off the top of the building and chasing George. As George runs away he sees three stone salamanders also chasing him. During

4558-401: The classic swashbuckling adventure novels he read her as a child. She has to make her way to the castle at the end of this world in order to rescue him, knowing that only by so doing will she survive getting back in the real world. The story takes place both in this fantasy world and in the modern Manhattan ER in which doctors fight for both their lives as their family look on. The Oversight ,

4644-632: The clever stage effects he produced for a production of Aristophanes ' Peace earned him lasting repute as a magician. In the late 1540s and early 1550s, he travelled around Europe, studying at Louvain (1548) and Brussels and lecturing in Paris on Euclid . He studied under Gemma Frisius and became friends with the cartographers Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius . Dee also met, worked and learnt from other continental mathematicians, such as Federico Commandino in Italy . He returned to England with

4730-607: The deep and serious rifts between the Roman Catholic Church, the Reformed Church of England, and the Protestant movement in England. Queen Elizabeth I used him several times as her court astronomer, not solely because he practised Hermetic arts, but as a deeply religious and learned, trustworthy man. A revaluation of Dee's character and significance came in the 20th century, largely through the work of

4816-411: The dragon is against George, having a big battle with him and scarring his hand, but in the last book of the series, the Temple Bar Dragon turns over sides because of his purpose. The purpose of its construction being to defend the city, it ended up being a major part in the battle. The Pterodactyl – the first taint that unpeeled itself from a frieze at the Natural History Museum and chased George. It

4902-485: The early 1580s, Dee was discontented with his progress in learning the secrets of nature and his diminishing influence and recognition in court circles. Failure of his ideas concerning a proposed calendar revision, colonial establishment and ambivalent results for voyages of exploration in North America had nearly brought his hopes of political patronage to an end. He began subsequently to turn energetically towards

4988-522: The film business and then progressed to the BBC where he worked in film editing. He then went to California where he became a screenwriter, having been awarded a Warner Brothers Fellowship in Screenwriting at USC School of Cinema and TV . He wrote screenplays for TriStar , MGM , Paramount and Warner Bros. among others. He also moved into other types of writing, including magazine features,

5074-477: The first in a series of adult novels, was published by Orbit Books in May 2014. John Dee John Dee (13 July 1527 – 1608 or 1609) was an English mathematician , astronomer , teacher, astrologer , occultist , and alchemist . He was the court astronomer for, and advisor to, Elizabeth I , and spent much of his time on alchemy , divination , and Hermetic philosophy . As an antiquarian , he had one of

5160-738: The good guys against the evil villain taints. The Gunner – the first 'Spit' George meets in the book. The Gunner is part of the Royal Artillery Memorial which was made by Charles Sargeant Jagger and stands in Hyde Park Corner . The Officer One of the Spits who is part of the Royal Artillery Memorial and whom George meets as he stands on the plinth of the Gunner. The Sphinxes – Met near Cleopatra's Needle . Being half lion and half woman, there

5246-491: The historians Charlotte Fell Smith and Dame Frances Yates . Both brought into focus the parallel roles of magic, science, and religion in the Elizabethan Renaissance . Fell Smith writes: "There is perhaps no learned author in history who has been so persistently misjudged, nay, even slandered, by his posterity, and not a voice in all the three centuries uplifted even to claim for him a fair hearing. Surely it

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5332-426: The impoverished yet popular Polish nobleman Albert Łaski , who, after overstaying his welcome at court, invited Dee to accompany him back to Poland . With some prompting by the "angels" (again through Kelley) and by dint of his worsening status at court, Dee decided to do so. He, Kelley and their families left in September 1583, but Łaski proved to be bankrupt and out of favour in his own country. Dee and Kelley began

5418-503: The largest libraries in England at the time. As a political advisor, he advocated the foundation of English colonies in the New World to form a " British Empire ", a term he is credited with coining. Dee eventually left Elizabeth's service and went on a quest for additional knowledge in the deeper realms of the occult and supernatural. He aligned himself with several individuals who may have been charlatans, travelled through Europe, and

5504-450: The manuscript in 1912, suggested that Dee may have owned it and sold it to Rudolph II . Dee's contacts with Rudolph were less extensive than had been thought, however, and Dee's diaries show no evidence of a sale. However, he was known to have owned a copy of the Book of Soyga , another enciphered book. The British Museum holds several items once allegedly owned by Dee and associated with

5590-469: The most learned men of his day. His Mortlake library was the largest in the country before it was vandalised, and created at enormous, sometimes ruinous personal expense; it was seen as one of the finest in Europe, perhaps second only to that of De Thou . As well as being an astrological and scientific advisor to Elizabeth and her court, he was an early advocate of colonisation of North America , envisioning

5676-410: The public. His "Mathematical Preface" to Euclid was meant to promote the study and application of mathematics by those without a university education, and was popular and influential among the "mechanicians": a growing class of technical craftsmen and artisans. Dee's preface includes demonstrations of mathematical principles that readers could perform themselves without special education or training. In

5762-458: The scholar Méric Casaubon , who published them in 1659, with a long introduction critical of their author, as A True & Faithful Relation of What passed for many Yeers between Dr. John Dee (A Mathematician of Great Fame in Q. Eliz. and King James their Reignes) and some spirits . As the first public revelation of Dee's spiritual conferences, the book was popular. Casaubon, who believed in the reality of spirits, argued in his introduction that Dee

5848-516: The spiritual conferences: In December 2004, both a shew stone (used for divining) formerly belonging to Dee and a mid-17th-century explanation of its use written by Nicholas Culpeper were stolen from the Science Museum in London, but recovered shortly afterwards. To 21st-century eyes, Dee's activities straddle magic and modern science , but to apply a hard and fast distinction between these two realms or epistemological world views

5934-584: The term British Empire , but Humphrey Llwyd has also been credited with the first use in his Commentarioli Britannicae Descriptionis Fragmentum , published eight years earlier in 1568. Dee posited a formal claim to North America on the back of a map drawn in 1577–1580; he noted that "circa 1494 Mr. Robert Thorn his father, and Mr. Eliot of Bristow, discovered Newfound Land." In his Title Royal of 1580, he wrote that Madog ab Owain Gwynedd had discovered America, intending thereby to boost England's claim to

6020-532: The throne in 1558, Dee became her astrological and scientific advisor. He chose her coronation date and even became a Protestant. From the 1550s to the 1570s, he served as an advisor to England's voyages of discovery, providing technical aid in navigation and political support to create a " British Empire ", a term he was the first to use. Dee wrote in October 1574 to William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley seeking patronage. He said he had occult knowledge of treasure in

6106-425: The time of his ascension to the throne of Hungary . The work was esteemed by many of Dee's contemporaries, but cannot be interpreted today in the absence of the secret oral tradition of that era. His 1570 "Mathematical Preface" to Henry Billingsley 's English translation of Euclid's Elements argued for the importance of mathematics as an influence on the other arts and sciences. Intended for an audience outside

6192-427: The two form a bond. Spout calls George 'Ironhand', though he pronounces it as 'Eigengang'. Although he has cheated death, the legacy of The Hard Way is inescapably carved into George's flesh, as three veins of marble, bronze and stone twine up his arm, each representing a duel to be fought. Each one will only stop moving fatally towards his heart as he fights and wins the duel it represents. Edie meanwhile has gone back to

6278-408: The universities, it proved to be Dee's most widely influential and frequently reprinted work. In 1577, Dee published General and Rare Memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation , a work setting out his vision of a maritime empire and asserting English territorial claims on the New World . Dee was acquainted with Humphrey Gilbert and close to Sir Philip Sidney and his circle. By

6364-523: Was a popular figure in literary works by his contemporaries and he has continued to feature in popular culture, particularly in fiction or fantasy set during his lifetime or dealing with magic or the occult. Edmund Spenser may be referring to Dee in The Faerie Queene (1596). William Shakespeare may have modelled the character of Prospero in The Tempest (1610–1611) on Dee. Dee

6450-550: Was accused of spying for the English Crown . Upon his return to England, he found his home and library vandalised. He eventually returned to the Queen's service, but was turned away when she was succeeded by James I . He died in poverty in London, and his gravesite is unknown. Dee was born in Tower Ward , London, to Rowland Dee, of Welsh descent, and Johanna, daughter of William Wild. His surname "Dee" reflects

6536-701: Was acting as the unwitting tool of evil spirits when he believed he was communicating with angels. This book is mainly responsible for the image, prevalent for the next two-and-a-half centuries, of Dee as a dupe and deluded fanatic. About the time the True and Faithful Relation was published, members of the Rosicrucian movement claimed Dee as one of their number. There is doubt, however, that an organized Rosicrucian movement existed in Dee's lifetime, and no evidence he ever belonged to any secret fraternity. His reputation as

6622-667: Was also here". The Polish king, a devout Catholic and cautious of supernatural mediators, began their meeting(s) by affirming that prophetic revelations must match the teachings of Christ, the mission of the Holy Catholic Church, and the approval of the Pope. In 1587, at a spiritual conference in Bohemia , Kelley told Dee that the angel Uriel had ordered the men to share all their possessions, including their wives. By this time, Kelley had gained some renown as an alchemist and

6708-627: Was buried in the Manchester Cathedral burial grounds in March 1604. Michael, born in Prague, died on his father's birthday in 1594. Theodore, born in Třeboň , died in Manchester in 1601. His sons Arthur and Rowland survived him, as did his daughter Katherine, "his companion to the end". No records exist for his youngest daughters Madinia (sometimes Madima), Frances and Margaret after 1604, so it

6794-501: Was central to human learning. The centrality of mathematics to Dee's vision makes him to that extent more modern than Francis Bacon , though some scholars believe Bacon purposely downplayed mathematics in the anti-occult atmosphere of the reign of James I. Although Dee's understanding of the role of mathematics differs much from ours, its promotion outside the universities was an enduring achievement. For most of his writings, Dee chose English, rather than Latin, to make them accessible to

6880-439: Was convinced of the benefits they could bring to mankind. The character of Kelley is harder to assess: some conclude that he acted with cynicism, but delusion or self-deception cannot be ruled out. Kelley's "output" is remarkable for its volume, intricacy and vividness. Dee records in his journals that angels dictated several books to him this way, through Kelley, some in a special angelic or Enochian language. In 1583, Dee met

6966-476: Was dead and James I gave him no support. Dee spent his final years in poverty at Mortlake, forced to sell off various possessions to support himself and his daughter, Katherine, who cared for him until his death in Mortlake late in 1608 or early in 1609 aged 81. Both the parish registers and Dee's gravestone are missing. In 2013 a memorial plaque to Dee was placed on the south wall of the present church. Dee

7052-428: Was highly positive, describing it as "intelligently and elegantly written, with pace and suspense, varied and convincing dialogue, and big themes of loyalty, sacrifice and emotional growth." However some reviewers felt that it was "tedious and longer than necessary" and that "the execution is flat". In particular, Kirkus Reviews criticised the action for being "disappointingly dry", and Publishers Weekly said it had

7138-467: Was killed by The Gunner as with the salamanders. Salamanders – three lizard-like statues that are killed by The Gunner at the War Memorial. Mr Killingbeck – George's teacher at the start of the book. Kay – George's 'babysitter'. Lives in the flat below. The Clocker – Another of the 'Weirded' or cursed men, unlike the Walker it is his punishment, not his choice to serve the Stone. It

7224-487: Was later analysed by Polish historians (Ryszard Zieliński, Roman Żelewski, Roman Bugaj) and writers (Waldemar Łysiak). While Dee was generally seen as a man of deep knowledge, he was mistrusted for his connection with the English monarch, Elizabeth I, for whom some thought Dee was a spy. Dee did indeed pen a covert letter to spymaster Francis Walsingham in which he said "I am forced to be brief...That which England suspected

7310-707: Was married three times and had eight children. He married his first wife, Katherine Constable in 1565. They had no children, and she died in 1574. He married his second wife, whose name is unknown, in 1575. She died in 1576, again with no children. In 1578, when he was 51, he married the 23-year-old Jane Fromond (1555–1604), who had her own connection with the Elizabethan court as a lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth FitzGerald, Countess of Lincoln until she married Dee. They had 7 or 8 children, namely: Arthur Dee (1579–1651), Michael Dee (died 1594), Rowland Dee, Katherine Dee, Madinia Dee, Frances Dee, Margaret Dee, and possibly Theodore Dee (1588–1601). Dee referred to Thomas Jones, who

7396-443: Was more sought-after than Dee in this regard: it was a line of work that had prospects for serious and long-term financial gain, especially among the royal families of central Europe. Dee, however, was more interested in communicating with angels, who he believed would help him solve the mysteries of the heavens through mathematics, optics, astrology, science, and navigation. Perhaps Kelley in fact wished to end Dee's dependence on him as

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