Scholar, Courtier, Magician: The Lost Library of John Dee

Interesting exhibition at the Royal College of Physicians looking the life of John Dee through his books.

The books came to the college via a legacy from the Marquis of Dorchester in 1680 and it is a great idea to tell a life through books. It was delightful that many of them had annotations and doodles by Dee including a lovely sketch of a ship.

I’d heard of John Dee as a magician and in fact had seen The Tempest the night before. It is said that Prospero is based on him. However he was so much more a scholar, a courtier, a doctor and alchemist. The exhibition also gave the impression that he only turned to his stranger studies such as listening to angels, when he felt already discovered and recorded science was not answering all the questions he had.

It was nice to see object owned by Dee displayed beside the books including a crystal and his mirror. They had also borrowed a large Victorian history picture of him from the Wellcome which gave a flavour of his at the court of Elizabeth I.

Closes on 29 July 2016.

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