first alchemists bookInvestigating the origins of alchemy and the legend of the Philosopher's Stone, Tobias Churton explores the oldest surviving alchemical texts, the original purpose of the "Royal Art," and the first alchemists themselves. Showing how women dominated early alchemy, Churton looks at the first known alchemist, the Jewess Maria the Prophetess, the early alchemist Cleopatra (not the well known Egyptian queen), and 3rd 4th century Egyptian female artisan