Meet the Fascinating Characters of the Predestination series' Tudor England
Dr John Dee
Mathematician, cartographer, astrologer...In short, England's greatest polymath of the 16th century.
This is an AI imagining of John Dee, aged ~22 years old (his age when Speculation is set).
BIO
John Dee was born in London in 1527, and educated at St John's College, Cambridge University.
England (and much of Europe) was in a state of change; Religiously, Martin Luther's 95 theses (of 1517) had launched the Protestant reformation which was gathering pace in England and Germany especially, and socially the renaissance (which started in Florence, Italy) was in full swing, reviving and exceeding the achievements of antiquity and bringing sweeping social changes.
Dee was perhaps the leading academic in England, accumulated one of the largest libraries in the country, coined the term 'British Empire', and consulted widely for the nobility and most especially for Queen Elizabeth.
Author's notes
Dee was an almost mystical figure in his own age, gaining an early reputation as a magician, quickly becoming the leading intellect of the country in the sixteenth century.
Hopefully you agree, he makes the ideal protagonist to explore the early renaissance world depicted in the Predestination series.
In the novella, Divination: A Conspiracy of Blood, Dee learns Alchemy from a vising Polish astronomer/astrologer (Mikołaj Kopernik) and when Kopernik dies in mysterious circumstances he undertakes an investigation that ultimately uncovers a coup.
In the novella, Speculation: Undercurrents of Treachery, Dee and his associate Nicholas search for a treasure that could solve England's currency crisis but are opposed by supposed-friend and foe alike.
In the series prequel, Resurrection: The Heresy of a Jesuit, I build upon the facts that in 1550 Dee studied with Gerard Mercator in Louvain, and also lectured on Euclid in Paris.
Dee met the Italian polymath, Gerolamo Cardano, in London in 1552 and investigated a magical gem, which gave me the central idea for book 1, Predestination: The Bloodstone of Boiorix.
When Elizabeth becomes queen, he is her scientific and astrological advisor, so I give him an earlier association with her in Proclamation: Poetry will be the death of me, which is set at the very start of Queen Mary's reign.
The Marian period seem to have been lean years for Dee, as far as the historical record relates anyway, so I created the tangental involvement in Wyatt's rebellion, related in Insurrection: Weddings can be Murder.
Kat Arden
Mysterious adventuress
This is an AI imagining of Kat, aged ~21 years old, her age during Predestination.
BIO
Kat is fictional, but her parents were real; Alice and Thomas Arden, of Faversham, Kent.
Alice Arden is infamous to the extent that she is mentioned in Holinshed's Chronicles (the first complete printed history of England, of 1577) and also has a play written of her crimes, called "Arden of Faversham" in 1592.
Author's notes
I was intrigued (and horrified) by the exploits of Alice Arden and when reading about them I noticed she had a daughter, Margaret. I wondered how the daughter coped as she grew up, with her mother's shadow presumably hanging darkly over her; aside from the clergy, there were no 'social services' to provide counselling in the sixteenth century!
I created the character Kat Arden to explore how such a daughter might have been treated, and how she may have rebelled against established norms. The character of Kat evolved to be a young adventuress who joins Dr Dee's entourage and adventures.
We first meet Kat in Predestination, when she is entrusted by John Dee to find Dr Gerolamo Cardano, who has mysteriously disappeared from London. She finds Cardano and Jack in Richmond and escorts them to Kingston to meet Dee. Kat and Jack engage in a flirty relationship that develops through the book. Kat is separated from the team when they insist on visiting her home town of Faversham, Kent, which she wants to avoid but can't bring herself to talk about. Luckily, they reunite later and Kat and Jack go on an adventure together to find the fabled Bloodstone of Boiorix gemstone.
In Proclamation, Kat manages to leave encoded notes for Jack to find, as the watchers take her to be held by her 'Guardian' Lord Cheyne, either at Rochester Castle or Shurland Hall.
In Insurrection, Lord Cheyne takes Kat (and his watchers) on his travels about Kent. He has heard disturbing rumours about Sir Thomas Wyatt and his friends, so he visits Wyatt's home, Allington Castle, near Maidstone. Kat's adventurous spirit causes her to discover the nature of Wyatt's shenanigans - he is planning a rebellion! But before she can work out what to do about Wyatt's plans, and before any help can arrive, Kat finds herself accused of murder and imprisoned. Her friends arrive and work with Kat to solve the murder while the insurrection plays out around them.
Jack (Jacques Delauris)
Escaped galley slave turned assistant
This is an AI imagining of Jack, aged ~21 years old, his age during Predestination.
BIO
The character of Jaques/Jack is ficticious, but I portray his family as being Waldensians.
The Waldensians were a proto-Protestant Christian movement founded by Peter Waldo, a merchant in Lyon, in the late twelth century. They had numerous beliefs that put them at conflict with the established Catholic church, including; denying purgatory, believing anyone could be a preacher, believing prayers were equally effective wherever they were said, stating that relics were not holy and that holy water was no different from rain water. Naturally they were persecuted by the Catholic church.
In the sixteenth century the Waldensians had a community in Mérindol, France. King Francis I ordered them to be punished for heresy. Provençal and papal soldiers brutally killed hundreds of Waldensian villagers. In total, they destroyed about two dozen villages. Pope Paul III approved of the actions taken.
Author's notes
I was appalled, but not surprised, when I first heard about the massacre of the Waldensians of Mérindol. As far as I know there has never been an apology forthcoming from the Catholic church - but of course it would take an age to apologise for all the wrongs committed in the church's name, so perhaps that explains it.
I decided to base the character of Jack on a survivor of the massacre (hundreds of men were shipped off to serve in the French galleys). This background gave me a character who was strong, resilient, and agnostic, if not even an atheist, although this is not discussed in the books. I thought his cynicism would provide an ideal counter to Dr Dee's shifting spirituality.
My first draft of Predestination carried the working title of The Ship's Boy, and focussed even more on Jack than the eventual novel did.
Jack has a central role in Predestination, the first book of the series. By hearing his backstory we learn about the treatment of the Waldensians by the Catholic Church, which included taking young men prisoner and sending them to be galley slaves in the French navy, which is arguably a better fate than awaited the womenfolk. Jack also gives us the chance to meet the Hanseatic Guild, who were a major economic force in the sixteenth century. When Jack assists the stranger, Gerolamo Cardano, he meets Kat and thus enters the ambit of Dr John Dee. Kat and Jack engage in a flirty relationship that develops through the book.
In Proclamation, Jack works with Dr Dee to help Princess Elizabeth out of a jam. During their adventure Jack finds a note left for him by his beloved Kat - but it's in code and he can't read it. Can you?
In Insurrection, Jack is still brooding about Kat, unable to stop thinking about her, and jumps at the chance of getting more information by travelling to Allington Castle with Dee. His reunion with Kat is only marred by the fact that she's accused of the murder of her guardian, Lord Cheyne! Luckily they can work together to solve the murder while Wyatt's Rebellion occurs around them.
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