John Dee - Literary and Cultural References

Literary and Cultural References

Dee was a popular figure in literary works written by his own contemporaries, and he has continued to feature in popular culture ever since, particularly in fiction or fantasy set during his lifetime or that deals with magic or the occult.

16th and 17th centuries

• Edmund Spenser may refer to Dee in The Faerie Queene (1596).
• William Shakespeare may have modelled the character of Prospero in The Tempest (1610–11) on Dee.

20th century

• John Dee is the alter ego of the DC Comics character Doctor Destiny
• The four novel set Ægypt (1987–2007) by John Crowley features John Dee.
• Dee figures prominently in the mystical-occult mythology created for the concept album Imaginos (1988) by the American rock band Blue Oyster Cult.
• Dee is the main protagonist of Peter Ackroyd's novel The House of Doctor Dee (1993).
• Dee is an antagonist, though depicted somewhat sympathetically, in Patricia Wrede's novel-length retelling of a traditional fairy tale, Snow White and Rose Red (1989).
• John Dee is a vampire in White Wolf's pen and paper roleplaying game Vampire: The Masquerade.

21st century

• The "Swords of Albion" Series by Mark Chadbourn prominently features Dr Dee as the source of England's magical defences against "the Enemy."
• The series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott casts John Dee as a villain surviving in modern times.
• The play Burn Your Bookes (2010), by Richard Byrne, examines the relationship between John Dee, Edward Kelley and Edward Dyer.
• The novel Here, There Be Dragons set Dee as a (bad) Caretaker of the Imaginum Geographica.
• On the Iron Maiden album The Final Frontier, the fifth track "The Alchemist" talks about him.
• The opera Dr Dee: An English Opera, written by Damon Albarn, explores Dee's life and work. It was premiered at the Palace Theatre in Manchester on 1 July 2011 and will open at the London Coliseum as part of the London 2012 Festival for the Cultural Olympiad in June 2012.
• The "Stoneheart" Series by Charlie Fletcher portrays Dee as an oath breaker.
• The PS3 game Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception frequently mentions Dee as part of its plot.
• Phillipa Gregory's The Queen's Fool portrays John Dee as the friend and mentor of Hannah, the main character.
• Phil Rickman casts John Dee as the main detective, investigating the disappearance of the bones of King Arthur during the reign of Elizabeth I in the historical mystery The Bones of Avalon.
• John Dee is a supporting character in the The Kronos Chronicles by Marie Rutkoski.
• The plot of the Wii U game ZombiU is based on Dee's supposed apocalyptic prophecies.
• In Deborah Harkness's All Souls Trilogy's second book, "Shadow of Night" (released 7/10/12), he is featured prominently as himself, as well as his relationships with other historical figures of the time (Kelley, Queen Elizabeth I, etc.).