Why a Booktrail?
1672, 2000s: Stories linked across history, a mystery that must be solved.
The Alchemist’s Secret
What you need to know before your trail
Now: When Paige returns to her ancestral family home, Woodham Hall, she’s nursing an unbearable heartbreak. The man she’d thought she loved has told her the most terrible lie, one she feels she’ll never recover from. The only thing that seems to be able to hold her interest is the story of a poisoning that once supposedly happened in the house – depicted in brutal detail in a painting by an unknown artist…
1672: Jeanne’s life at Woodham Hall is happy. Admittedly her brother-in-law – the lord of the manor – is unfaithful to her sister, causing terrible discord in the house. But Jeanne adores her sister, and her niece, Helene, and even though her growing feelings for another member of the household are illicit, they are bringing her great joy. That is, until Sir Robert chooses to move his mistress in.
Jeanne and her sister are to be banished to a French abbey to live out their days but all the sisters can think is how to get back to Helene, and the woman who Jeanne might just love. From the glittering court of the Sun King to the dark depths of French society and those who perform alchemy, they will do whatever they must. Even if it means murder…
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
France
The novel takes inspiration from a series of real life scandals:
The Affair of the Poisons: (1677–1682)
members of the aristocracy were accused of using alchemists and witches to obtain “inheritance powders” (poison) to eliminate rivals.
Madame de Montespan
Madame de Montespan: The King’s famous mistress, who was implicated in occult scandals
Alchemy
Alchemy was described as “magical thinking” in medicine – doctors at Versailles believed the body was governed by the four alchemical elements.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Alchemist’s Secret
Destination/location: Suffolk, France Author/guide: Clare Marchant Departure Time: 1672, 2000s
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