Cirrus@Austlit

'The essays in this mischievously titled collection, How to Proceed, are, in the author’s own words, ‘apparently offhand, informal, digressive and unashamedly personal’. Perhaps, he suggests in the introduction, they are not really essays at all. They explore subjects ranging from the nature of time to the pleasures (and pitfalls) of walking, the mysteries of marriage to the matter of taking risks. Trust is scrutinized and the gaining of self-knowledge tested. Always lively, often amusing, sometimes poignant, these verbal excursions make clear that, in most circumstances, discovering how to proceed is rarely less than tricky. Written with a poet’s eye for detail – the author is a distinguished poet – this collection, whether focusing on the perils of modern transport or the potential satisfactions of curiosity, contains many surprising departures.' (Publication summary)

'In London in 1583, the mathematician John Dee and the seer Edward Kelly began summoning up a succession of spirits, who instructed them in the secrets of the universe and warned them of imminent apocalyptic change. Attaching themselves to the visiting Polish Count Laski, they set off for Europe, taking with them a mysterious alchemical elixir discovered in the Cotswolds. When Laski went bankrupt, they sought out the Emperor Rudolph in Prague and King Stephen in Krakow. Expelled from the Empire for necromancy, they settled under the protection of Count Rozmberk in Southern Bohemia, successfully transmuted gold and, on instruction from the spirits, exchanged wives. Queen Elizabeth summoned them back to England to share their alchemical expertise and sent the poet Edward Dyer to collect them.' (Publication summary)