Newton the Alchemist: Science, Enigma, and the Quest for Nature’s Secret Fire

A book that finally demystifies Newton’s experiments in alchemy

When Isaac Newton’s alchemical papers surfaced at a Sotheby’s auction in 1936, the quantity and seeming incoherence of the manuscripts were shocking. No longer the exemplar of Enlightenment rationality, the legendary physicist suddenly became the last of the magicians. Newton the