Florian Illies

The Alchemist of Peacock Island. The new book by the bestselling author and ‘great storyteller’ (Süddeutsche Zeitung)

Let us delve into the grand dreams of a great man: Johannes Kunckel is a magician and alchemist who believes he can conjure up gold. The Elector of Brandenburg therefore grants him Peacock Island, situated between Potsdam and Berlin, so that he may secretly create a new world from fire in his magical workshop. Eventually, a glass emerges from his furnace unlike anything the human eye had ever seen before: red as a ruby. It quickly becomes one of the most coveted luxury goods in Europe.

In the midst of the Baroque era, Johannes Kunckel makes the transition from magic to chemistry. And in doing so, he makes history.

Florian Illies now retells this story in his inimitable style – full of atmosphere, full of empathy for the past, full of poetry and wit.

Peacock Island | Hardback | 1st edition | 144 pages | Dimensions: 11.5 cm x 8.5 cm x 1.7 cm | Language: German