John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature [Hardcover]

Deborah E. Harkness (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 052162228X | ISBN-13: 978-0521622288 | Publication Date: November 13, 1999 | Edition: 1St Edition

Elizabethan England's most famous natural philosopher John Dee recorded his reflections on the natural world, the practice of natural philosophy, and the apocalypse in a series of conversations with angels, which have long been an enigmatic facet of his life and work. This book makes extensive use of Dee's library and annotations to clarify this mystery by providing a detailed analysis of these conversations. Professor Harkness contextualizes Dee's angel conversations within the natural, philosophical, religious, and social contexts of his time, arguing that the conversations represent a continuing development of John Dee's earlier concerns and interests. This book will appeal to those with an interest in the history of science, students of religion, and everyone who approaches the new millennium with a wary eye.

Editorial Reviews

Review

" John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature, marks an important addition to Dee scholarship. For the first time, it places Dee's conversations with angels into a comprehensible framework. Harkness elegantly demonstrates that Dee's angel conversations were at the center of his mission to reform nature and the world in the midst of intellectual and religious tumult when the end of human history was imminently expected. This book brilliantly brings out the place of the angel conversations as exegetical aids in a natural philosophy that was meant to restore a corrupted and decaying Book of Nature. Natural philosophy was to provide a bridge between this world and the next, but only with the help of angels could faulty human perception and intelligence be remedied and the real significance of the things of nature be made clear." Pamela Smith, Pomona College

"John Dee's 'angelic conversations' have long proved resistant to the attentions of intellectual historians. Deborah Harkness's impressive and important new book, by situating this unique intellectual formation in a full range of appropriate historical contexts not only makes them intelligible for the modern reader, but identifies some of the key cultural imperatives which shaped late-Elizabethan intellectual life." Stephen Clucas, Birkbeck College, University of London

"[A] fascinating study." Religious Studies Review

"Harkness' book is a welcome addition to Dee scholarship, one that perpahs will open the way to solving the questions that remain." Albion

"Harkness's monography is a lively read that offers an interesting interpretation of Dee's works and their place within early modern intellectual life. It is a work that clearly deserves a place within the corpus of Dee scholarship." The Historian

"Through careful description and analysis, Harkness takes us into that very strange world of early modern thought-a world of astrology, alchemy, and Christian cabala-which eventually led to the rise of science. This is a scholarly book, full of interesting footnotes and with an extensive bibliography, Such apparatus, however, should not dter the interested but nonacademic reader. This is clearly one of the best books to be published on esoteric spirituality during the Renaissance in recent years. It is clear, insightful, and a pleasure to read." the quest Sept-Oct 2001

"This is a truly remarkable story and merits telling for its own sake. Harkness's version is beautifully written with rich footnoting and a good command of the sources. That she has told it unflinchingly and with sensitivity to its subject only adds to its value." Canadian Journal of History

Book Description

John Dee's angel conversations have been an enigmatic facet of Elizabethan England's most famous natural philosopher's life and work. Professor Harkness contextualizes Dee's angel conversations within the natural philosophical, religious and social contexts of his time philosophy, and the apocalypse, and argues that they represent a continuing development of John Dee's earlier concerns and interests. These conversations include discussions of the natural world, the practice of natural philosophy, and the apocalypse.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 268 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1St Edition edition (November 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 052162228X
• ISBN-13: 978-0521622288
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,935,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deborah Harkness is a professor of history at the University of Southern California. She has received Fullbright, Guggenheim, and National Humanities Center fellowships, and her most recent scholarly work is The Jewel House: Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution. She also writes an award-winning wine blog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful for those interested in angel magic and intellectual history, October 14, 2007

By 

Albert Hand "student-teacher of alchemical arts" (northern CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature (Hardcover)

Deborah Harkness' book is remarkable among scholarly works on Dee in that the entire text is dedicated to an in-depth analysis of his angelic conversations. She has brought a powerful voice to Renaissance scholarship with methodological insight into how to study Dee's place in the wider cultural "conversations" of his time. Up to date on the difficult issues surrounding the interpretation of the place of alchemy and cabala in Dee's work, she provides a compelling argument in support of the sophistication of both his scientific and theological learning.

Harkness has also made a solid contribution with her research into Dee's sources on angel magic, offering the reader tantalizing glimpses into Dee's marginalia in texts like the dionysian corpus (see her longer PhD dissertation for more juicy text gossip) and other neoplatonic texts, without falling into the trap of blindly following the opinions of past scholars either positive (F. Yates) or negative (K. Thomas).

This book is dense but readable and offers and excellent place to start in the intimidating world of John Dee studies. As a student transitioning from undergrad to graduate work I found it most helpful, and a ready jumping-off point for more. The bibliography is rich but not unwieldy.

If you're interested in the "Dee and Renaissance Talk" angle a good place to go next is Sherman's book on Dee and the Politics of Speaking and Writing. If the "Dee and Renaissance Magic" topic is more to your liking seek out Szonyi's book on Dee's Occultism. For language/theory check out Hakansson's "Seeing the Word." If you just want to know about Dee's place in the history of science read Clulee. To get up to date on the cutting edge of Dee scholarship see Clucas' interdisciplinary volume. For Alchemical information see the recent Dee-centered issue of the Ambix journal.

Google Claire Fanger's excellent review for a more academic point of view than mine.

No bookshelf or library on Dee, or Renaissance Magic in general, could be complete without this book, and will be well-used by those with curiosity and a demand for efficient management of information.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars John Dee's Conversation with Angels, November 8, 2009

By 

javafusion - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: John Dee's Conversations with Angels: Cabala, Alchemy, and the End of Nature (Hardcover)

This book is well researched and the author also happens to be a good writer. Certainly deserves a place on the shelf for any study of Dee.