The Last Alchemist

Count Cagliostro, Master of Magic in the Age of Reason

By: Iain McCalman

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Paperback | 13 April 2004

At a Glance

Paperback
288 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20.32 x 13.34 x 1.83

Paperback

$28.54

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Freemason ... Shaman ... Prophet ... Seducer ... Swindler ... Thief ... Heretic
Who was the mysterious Count Cagliostro?

Depending on whom you ask, he was either a great healer or a dangerous charlatan. Internationally acclaimed historian Iain McCalman documents how Cagliostro crossed paths -- and often swords -- with the likes of Catherine the Great, Marie Antoinette, and Pope Pius VI. He was a muse to William Blake and the inspiration for both Mozart's Magic Flute and Goethe's Faust. Louis XVI had him thrown into the Bastille for his alleged involvement in what would come to be known as "the affair of the necklace." Yet in London, Warsaw, and St. Petersburg, he established "healing clinics" for the poorest of the poor, and his dexterity in the worlds of alchemy and spiritualism won him acclaim among the nobility across Europe.

Also the leader of an exotic brand of Freemasonry, Count Cagliostro was indisputably one of the most influential and notorious figures of the latter eighteenth century, overcoming poverty and an ignoble birth to become the darling -- and bane -- of upper-crust Europe.

Industry Reviews

"Gracefully weaves in the politics and passions of the age....Cagliostro is [an] extraordinary figure." -- New York Times

"Perceptive, intelligent and -- by no means least -- immensely entertaining" -- Washington Post

"A rollicking narrative [about] a fantastic rogue." -- Boston Globe

"A rip-roaring biography." -- Providence Journal-Bulletin

"A readable and entertaining account of the life and times of one of history's more colorful and intriguing characters." -- Houston Chronicle

"Engagingly told ...the stories fly as quickly and colorfully as scarves from a magician's sleeve." -- Sacramento Bee

"Lively....a fast-paced adventure and expose of the seamy side of the 18th century." -- Daily Telegraph (London)

"Gripping ... Iain McCalman breathes new life into ... Count Cagliostro ... curious, diverting and instructive." -- Weekly Standard

"A lively bio [that] opens the files on a fascinating character--a con man for the ages." -- Kirkus Reviews

"[A] rich, fantastic, devilishly romantic book ... utterly absorbing ... a charming puzzle from beginning to end." -- Simon Winchester, author of KRAKATOA

"An enlightening account of the career of one of the most famous charlatans of the 18th century." -- Publishers Weekly

"[A] fascinating life.... Smoothly written, deeply researched, and persuasively argued." -- Peter Gay, author of FREUD

"Iain McCalman writes history which has the teasing, exciting psychological ambiguity of the best fiction." -- Peter Conrad, author of MODERN TIMES, MODERN PLACES

"THE LAST ALCHEMIST is presented with wit and elegance." -- Norman Davies, author of EUROPE: A HISTORY

" [A] fascinating biography ... recounts the astounding adventures of [a man] both revered and reviled by ... eighteenth-century celebrities." -- Booklist

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