index

by Grove Koger

de Vere, Edward, Earl of Oxford (1550-1604), introduced by Query to actor William

Shakespeare (1582), 31

encouraged by Query to write under Shakespeare’s name (1583), 31

embeds alchemical formulae in plays per Query’s instructions, 34

sexual advances rebuffed by Query (1585), 35

Query’s book identifying him as Shakespeare ridiculed by scholars (2011), 177

Dee, Dr. John (1527- ), accepts Query as apprentice in alchemical research, 24-26

corresponds with Michel de Nostredame (Nostradamus), 25-26

apparent lack of jealousy re Query’s formulation of elixir, 28

threatened by Elizabeth I (1602), 53

stages his own death (1608), 55

reunion with Query in Alexandria (1869), 131

meets Richard Burton in Trieste (1875), 134

relocates to Berlin (1928), 145

flees Germany for Beirut (1944), 155

alerts Soviet agent Kim Philby to imminent arrest by MI6 (1963), 158

urges Query not to reveal details of elixir, 179

enters Carmelite Order, Priory of Elijah, Lebanon (2012), 180

ejected from Carmelite order (2016), 181

Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom (r. 1901-10), as Prince of Wales, encountered by

Query in brothels in Alexandria (1869), 133

and in Constantinople (1870), 134

Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom (r. 1936), accompanied by Wallis Simpson, joins

Query in nude bathing on Rab Island, Yugoslavia (1936), 115

encouraged by Query not to abdicate (1936), 116

marries Simpson (1937), 117

introduced by Query to Adolf Hitler (1937), 119

learns of Query’s affair with Simpson, 120

elixir of life, formulation by Query, 27

dangerous side effects of, 28

life-prolonging effects of, 29-32, 139, 157

enhancement of sexual prowess by, 45, 97, 117-48, 133-34, 157-61

Elizabeth I, Queen of England (r 1558-1603), seeks Query’s counsel re Mary, Queen of Scots,

37-38

attraction to Query, 46-49

attraction unreciprocated, 47-49

threatens Dee and Query with imprisonment (1602), 53

sudden death of (1603), 54

Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom (r. 1952- ), orders Query arrested under the Official

Secrets Act (2012), 181

orders investigation of Query’s escape by glider from the Tower of London (2016), 182

The originals of these two pages (numbered 192 and 193 on the recto and verso of a single sheet of ordinary paper) were found in a file devoted to British writer J.G. Ballard in the Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, in 1988. The library’s reference staff were unable to account for their inclusion in what appeared to be a totally unrelated file, and while the sheet seems to have been torn carelessly from a genuine book, extensive research has failed to reveal any record of the book or its publisher.

by Grove Koger

BIO: Grove Koger is the author of a readers’ guide to travel narratives, When the Going Was Good; a chapbook of poetry, Not; and three chapbooks of short stories, Something Strange, Treacherous Waters, and Out of Idaho (forthcoming). He’s also Assistant Editor of Deus Loci: The Lawrence Durrell Journal, and blogs about travel and related subjects at https://worldenoughblog.wordpress.com/author/gkoger/.