the years of the wizard

Pre-order now – Out October 9th 2025

This is the story of the Renaissance magicians, and especially John Dee – his life, death and afterlife, and his extraordinary library of magical books – an entirely true though utterly improbable story. These were men on a quest to understand the universe, when, how and why it was made. This is the story of how they explored alchemy, divination, astrology and ancient angel-magic in order to further this quest.

But it is also the story of the magicians’ wife and children, and the magic they might have known, and because their stories have not survived I have imagined them for you.

‘In those early mornings (which is when I love to write) I remembered that there are many ways in which the world is magical, that magical realism is more than a literary device, that there is such a thing as everyday magic and it brings with it those brief moments when – through love or beauty – you feel yourself touched by the feather wings of Otherness. Was this the magic that the magicians’ wives and daughters knew, the magic we all potentially know?’

The final part of the book examines how the magical world of early modern Europe finished, and asks the questions: – What is magic? Why do we crave it? How come it is so, well, magical? And has it really ended?