Strange History of Renaissance Magicians with Rachel Morris

Please note this is NOT a ZOOM Lecture but an in person lecture, tickets include a complimentary glass of Devil's Botany Absinthe

THE STRANGE HISTORY AND HOMELIFE OF RENAISSANCE MAGICIANS WITH RACHEL MORRIS

Join author Rachel Morris for a highly atmospheric exploration of the charismatic magicians of the Tudor and Renaissance courts and the wives and families who kept the whole magical show on the road.

All things were believable back then – wizards, alchemy, fairies, angels. This is the story of those magical times.

This event will offer a luminous deep dive into the lives of men from Dee to Kepler to Bruno, who were also scientists, astrologers, mathematicians and alchemists.

The remarkable ideas of these magical men still permeate modern culture, from Philip Pullman to C S Lewis. But what do we know of the rest of their households – the lovers, wives, mothers and daughters?

In The Years of the Wizard Rachel Morris also vividly reimagines the less documented lives of the magicians' families and lovers whose stories have too often been overshadowed by those of the powerful men in their company.

Women supported the travelling households by packing up the libraries, feeding the assistants, entertaining the patrons and educating the children as well as archiving, documenting and collaborating on magical work. Without them, this astonishing era of discovery would have ground to an emphatic halt.

AUTHOR BIO

Former director of the museum-making company Metaphor, Rachel Morris has been part of the creation, design and delivery of some of the most exciting displays, renovations and museums of the last few decades, from the new Cast Courts at the V&A and the Ashmolean, Oxford to the Terracotta Warriors at the British Museum and Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Rachel is also the author of The Museum Makers and two novels.

is the UK's first absinthe distillery, founded by Directors of The Last Tuesday Society's Absinthe Parlour & Cocktail Bar. Celebrating spirit's connection to art, literature, magic & mixology, Devil's Botany is unleashing the future of absinthe with bold expressions for the adventurous drinkers of today.

The venue opens at 18:30. Doors will close at 19:00 to avoid disrupting the speaker. We kindly ask that all guests arrive before 19:00. Refunds are not possible for in person events with less than seven days notice in any circumstances.

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Host or Publisher The Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities