AustLit logo

AustLit

image of person or book cover 187086212198665918.jpg
Image courtesy of publisher's website.
y separately published work icon Raising Spirits, Making Gold and Swapping Wives : The True Adventures of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly single work   novel   historical fiction  
Issue Details: First known date: 1999... 1999 Raising Spirits, Making Gold and Swapping Wives : The True Adventures of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'In London in 1583, the mathematician John Dee and the seer Edward Kelly began summoning up a succession of spirits, who instructed them in the secrets of the universe and warned them of imminent apocalyptic change. Attaching themselves to the visiting Polish Count Laski, they set off for Europe, taking with them a mysterious alchemical elixir discovered in the Cotswolds. When Laski went bankrupt, they sought out the Emperor Rudolph in Prague and King Stephen in Krakow. Expelled from the Empire for necromancy, they settled under the protection of Count Rozmberk in Southern Bohemia, successfully transmuted gold and, on instruction from the spirits, exchanged wives. Queen Elizabeth summoned them back to England to share their alchemical expertise and sent the poet Edward Dyer to collect them.' (Publication summary)

Notes

  • Dedication : To Lyndy Abraham

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

VIEW PUBLICATION DETAILS FOR ALL VERSIONS ()

Works about this Work

The Next Book Michael Wilding , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Wild about Books : Essays on Books and Writing 2019; (p. 59-62) 'Every new book I begin seems to present a different sort of problem. In theory, having written one, the next should be easy. Just follow what you did before. But in practice it does not always work out like that. For a start, doing what you did before can all too readily be a recipe for boredom. The times I’ve roughed out the outline of a book and thought, ah, that section will be simple, that’s what I did with this story or that novel, I know how to do that, it hasn’t proved simple at all. I would find I couldn’t do it again a second time. The novelty, the creative energy, the creation through discovery wasn’t there.' (Introduction)
Interview with Michael Wilding Teresa Burns (interviewer), 2013 single work interview
— Appears in: Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition , Vernall Equinox vol. 3 no. 23 2013;
A Spirited Narrative Laurie Hergenhan , 2001 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 163 2001; (p. 115)
— Review of Raising Spirits, Making Gold and Swapping Wives : The True Adventures of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly Michael Wilding , 1999 single work novel
Talk of Angels Michael McGirr , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 221 2000; (p. 27-28)
— Review of Raising Spirits, Making Gold and Swapping Wives : The True Adventures of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly Michael Wilding , 1999 single work novel
True Adventures of an Alchemist Ralph Elliott , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 June 2000; (p. 21)
— Review of Raising Spirits, Making Gold and Swapping Wives : The True Adventures of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly Michael Wilding , 1999 single work novel
Of Angels and Other Enigmas Peter Pierce , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 10 June 2000; (p. 12)
— Review of Raising Spirits, Making Gold and Swapping Wives : The True Adventures of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly Michael Wilding , 1999 single work novel
True Adventures of an Alchemist Ralph Elliott , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 10 June 2000; (p. 21)
— Review of Raising Spirits, Making Gold and Swapping Wives : The True Adventures of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly Michael Wilding , 1999 single work novel
Talk of Angels Michael McGirr , 2000 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , June no. 221 2000; (p. 27-28)
— Review of Raising Spirits, Making Gold and Swapping Wives : The True Adventures of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly Michael Wilding , 1999 single work novel
A Spirited Narrative Laurie Hergenhan , 2001 single work review
— Appears in: Overland , Winter no. 163 2001; (p. 115)
— Review of Raising Spirits, Making Gold and Swapping Wives : The True Adventures of Dr John Dee and Sir Edward Kelly Michael Wilding , 1999 single work novel
Interview with Michael Wilding Teresa Burns (interviewer), 2013 single work interview
— Appears in: Journal of the Western Mystery Tradition , Vernall Equinox vol. 3 no. 23 2013;
The Next Book Michael Wilding , 2019 single work essay
— Appears in: Wild about Books : Essays on Books and Writing 2019; (p. 59-62) 'Every new book I begin seems to present a different sort of problem. In theory, having written one, the next should be easy. Just follow what you did before. But in practice it does not always work out like that. For a start, doing what you did before can all too readily be a recipe for boredom. The times I’ve roughed out the outline of a book and thought, ah, that section will be simple, that’s what I did with this story or that novel, I know how to do that, it hasn’t proved simple at all. I would find I couldn’t do it again a second time. The novelty, the creative energy, the creation through discovery wasn’t there.' (Introduction)
VIEW ALL WORKS ABOUT (6)
Last amended 23 May 2023 06:51:28
Subjects:
Settings:
  • Europe,
  • 1500-1599
Newspapers:
    Powered by Trove
    X