The Evolving Meaning of Alchemy

In The Deadliest Lie, the first book in the Miriam bat Isaac Series, Miriam explains how she became interested in alchemy:

When I first became interested in alchemy, I didn’t have a name for it. Once I learned that the soul resides in the body, I knew that the soul of a metal must reside somewhere in its body too, for didn’t Aristotle tell us that all things are composed of the same vital substance? I realized that as long as an imperfect human body can be perfected by the addition of some extract of this vital substance, then an imperfect metal body can be perfected the same way. So instead of studying the healing of humans, I could study the healing of metals. Then I’d know how to perfect them into silver or gold. That’s when I made up my mind that I wanted to be an alchemist.

In Miriam’s time, alchemy was a legitimate experimental science based on the widely held theories of Aristotle. In the evolution of its meaning, however, alchemy has changed to mean things quite different, from the work of sorcerers to a way to promote relaxation in a boutique New Jersey day spa.

But if you need to relax, you don’t have to fight the New Jersey traffic or pay the high prices for a spa. All you need to do is read The Deadliest Lie or any other Miriam bat Isaac story. It will transport you to a far more exotic land than New Jersey and engage you in a satisfying adventure with some intrepid new friends. Just click here.