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The arcanum--the recipe to make gold--was mankind's legendary quest since the Age of Reason. By the early 18th century, however, porcelain began to rival gold in value. Gleeson recounts the true story of Johann Friedrich Bottger, an alchemist, who, at the cost of his own life, discovered how to make porcelain and changed the course of history.

"'The Arcanum' tells how Bottger discovered the process for making porcelain and how he and a few gifted artisans made the Saxon town of Meissen a byword for innovative craftsmanship. Along the way there are adventures and mishaps, industrial espionage, aristocratic excess and royal incest, toxic factory fumes, scalding heat and, finally, Frederick the Great as the deus ex machina, whose Prussian soldiers overthrow the power of Saxony and scatter the plates and craftsmen to the four winds. But the persevering efforts of all those involved in the story, especially that magnificent visionary, Augustus, remain with the reader long after the last page. The author's fine grasp of her subject and lucid writing have allowed her to produce an industrial history that is both pleasurable and informative."

Stuart Ferguson, Wall Street Journal, 3/19/1999

The Arcanum: The Extraordinary True Story: Search Results