Ethel Cripps was the mistress of Roderick Burgess and John Dee's mother, who plays a vital role in Dream's fate.
History[]
Early life[]
Ethel was born around 1899. She became a member of the Order of Ancient Mysteries, an occult society led by her lover, Roderick Burgess. In 1930, she abandoned Burgess, and fled England with his second in command, Ruthven Sykes. The pair stole some £200,000 and several treasures from the Order, including the helm, pouch, and ruby belonging to the Dream Lord.
In 1936, she abandoned Sykes, taking his protection amulet with her. Without it, he was vulnerable to magical attack by Burgess, who killed him almost immediately.[1]
Ethel gave birth to John Dee, who would later be known as Doctor Destiny. She went from calling him her "dream boy" to wishing out loud that she had strangled him at birth.[2] It was her demand that he started using a pseudonym when his criminal tendencies came to light, she told him, "You are not going to bring shame on the family name." During his youth, he was exposed to the ruby stolen from Dream of the Endless, which he then used in experiments that gave him immense power but drove him insane, leading to his incarceration at Arkham.[3]
In 1989, when she was 90 years old, Ethel traveled to Gotham after a decade-long search for John. She visited Arkham Asylum and was briefly reunited with her son.[4]
Shortly after that her protection amulet became null and no longer worked when Dream triumphed over the demon who originally granted it to Sykes,[5] and she died of old age, bequeathing the amulet to her son.[6]

Ethel in her later years
It was revealed that during Heather After's childhood, prior to her death, Ethel had spoken to Heather regarding her heritage on her deathbed. When the latter attempted to manipulate her, however Heather had chosen to reject her great grandmother's schemes and make her own path in magic. During this talk, Ethel revealed that she wasn't just Rodrick's mistress, but she kept her ears pealed and successfully learned a level of magical knowledge and gained magical powers during her time as his mistress.[7]
Physical Appearance[]
In her youth, Ethel was slender and dark haired, the very picture of a flapper. As an old woman, she was the very picture of a crone.
Personality[]
Ethel is shown as a strong-willed and demanding person, well aware of her resources and possibilities while she was threatening the doctors with legal action. Not much of her family history with John it shown, but the fragments known don't paint her as a particularly stable person.
Trivia[]
TBA
References[]
- ↑ The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes #1, "Sleep of the Just".
- ↑ The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes #7, "Sound and Fury".
- ↑ The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes #5, "Passengers".
- ↑ The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes #2, "Imperfect Hosts".
- ↑ Confirmed both by Neil Gaiman and by The Sandman Companion on p. 29
- ↑ The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes #4, "A Hope in Hell".
- ↑ The Dreaming: Waking Hours #9, "The Faerie King, Part 2".