Drama:

John Dee was at the high point of his career: he was a brilliant mathematician and scientist, a supporter of Galileo’s amazing new ideas about the universe. He was also very well connected: he was teaching astrology to Elizabeth I. It was quite natural, then, that when the opportunity arose to perform the most momentous experiment in history he would seize it.

The experiment is to take place in Bohemia. With his colleague Edward Kelly, and both their wives, Dee sets out for the continent. Kelly’s presence is vital for the work: only he can see the spirits. In a secluded mansion the experiment begins. Kelly gazes into a ‘show stone’ – a polished piece of black rock – and tells Dee about the other worldly spirits that he ca n see. With his theoretical knowledge Dee is able to identify the spirits and decide what to say to them. The experimenters take great care to avoid all contact with evil spirits which could not only damage them directly but leave them open to charges of being sorcerers.

Spirits are believed by Dee (and a great many others) to constitute an unseen third part of the world. They are present in the physical processes around us – Isaac Newton is later to believe that they are responsible for maintaining the stability of the solar system. Scholars have been able to glean valuable information about spirits from the Bible as well as other arcane and mystical writings. What Kelly is reporting conforms very accurately with what Dee already knows about spirit world. There is no greater joy for a scientist than to have a theory confirmed by experiment.

The excitement is immense: imagine the splitting of the atom, the discovery of DNA, and first contact with intelligent alien life forms all rolled into one. In the euphoria and long hours of work Dee and Kelly bond as never before. They are looking into the dawn of a new age of possibility for all mankind – this is Childhood’s End for the human race and they are the first to glimpse it. In the new age, they realise, mankind will share all things in a spirit of brotherhood.

The two experimenters decide to live from now on in the sharing spirit of the new age. In particular Kelly suggests that they should begin by sharing their wives. Dee readily agrees, and the joyous pair go to tell the girls the good news.

History does not record exactly what reactions are to be read, jointly or separately, on the faces of Mrs Dee and Mrs Kelly. It does record however that this experiment in new age sharing went no further. This cold blast of reality is the beginning of the end for the partnership. Having now failed to introduce free love Kelly concentrates on trying to make money: he wants to publish their results and bask in fame. Dee is much more cautious: condemnation would spell the end of his career and he is aware of how easily declarations of occult achievements can be misunderstood if you get it wrong.

Kelly goes off to Prague by himself where he does indeed get it badly wrong. He is imprisoned by Rudolf of Bavaria, not for witchcraft but for claiming to be able to transmute base metals into gold and then failing to come up with the goods. The Dees are back home in Mortlake when they hear that Kelly has been killed while trying to escape.

But Dee’s career too is at an end. His protector Elizabeth is succeeded by James I a man who is dedicated to the eradication of witchcraft and sorcery. Dee’s whole life’s work is now suspect and he ends his days in poverty, left behind by progress not towards and age that didn’t believe in magic but by progress towards one that believed in it too much.