D’Scover’s office is based in London and the locations featured in the book are all real, as are most of the historical events mentioned. Adam Street (where Adam is discovered), for example, is a street in London that runs between The Strand and the Thames; you can find it easily online and have a virtual wander around.
You can also find out a lot more about this world by using the websites below; but I’m afraid I can’t tell you where the office actually is because that is classified information.
If you do find it, keep it to yourself . . .
John Dee
www.johndee.org
A very complete biography of all things John Dee – real person, real alchemist, but real magic, real angels?
Decide for yourself . . .
The Voynich Manuscript
The Voynich manuscript is authentic. It is currently held by the Beinecke Library of Yale University in Connecticut. The Voynich is attributed to the thirteenth-century monk and scholar Roger Bacon and was later associated with John Dee. It has never been deciphered and is one of the world’s great literary mysteries.
You can have a look at the Voynich for yourself by going to www.library.yale.edu/beinecke and searching digital images for the Voynich. You will see the little crinkly beige-coloured book. Click on it and you can browse the manuscript yourself – without having to use your CC at all.
Why not take some time to have a look at the Beinecke building, too? You’ll see the marble wall panels that are described in chapter 17.
www.voynich.nu/index.html is a fantastic site that allows you to choose how much more you want to know about the Voynich manuscript. You can dip in and just look at the pictures or, like a number of people with a lot of time on their hands, make it your life’s work to attempt to decode it!
Other Great Sites
www.thebritishmuseum.org
Here you can search the picture library for some wonderful images of the Great Court or search the online collections for artefacts relating to John Dee, including the obsidian mirror that Adam will need to break the code of the manuscript.
http://cathedral.southwark.anglican.org/
D’Scover was based in the tower of Southwark Cathedral (his room is described in chapter 12) and the Sisters guarded the precious monastic texts here. Go to this website and click on ‘Visit Us’, then go to ‘History and Architecture’ to find out more about the history of the cathedral and Southwark.
www.nhm.ac.uk/
In chapter six, Marcus is re-allocated to the Natural History Museum. Click on ‘Visit Us’ and explore the various galleries, including the mammal room where the characters play their macabre betting game.
www.forteantimes.com
This is the site that Adam and D’Scover use to search for reports of ghost activity around the world. This website, and the magazine it represents, is a truly wonderful resource for anyone interested in all things ‘as yet unexplained’.
www.cottingley.net/fairies.shtml
This is a lovely website from the village of Cottingley where you can read all about the ‘faked’ fairies.