The Alchymist's Cat

The Alchymist's Cat

First edition cover
Author	Robin Jarvis
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	Deptford Histories
Genre	Fantasy novel
Publisher	Hodder Wayland
Publication date	1994
Media type	Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
Pages	320
ISBN	ISBN 0-7500-0889-X
OCLC	28800221

The Alchymist's Cat (The Alchymist's Cat in the original British version) is the first book in The Deptford Histories series by Robin Jarvis. Published in 1994, the series is a fantasy book set in 1660s London. The Alchymist's Cat provides background material for Jarvis' earlier Deptford Mice series, showing the beginning of Jupiter and his family in the series.

Plot Summary

A young boy Will Godwin is forced to work for the evil apothecary Dr. Elias Theophratus Spittle after he frames Will for murder.

One winter, Will finds a family of cats in a graveyard and he brings them back to Spittle's home. The family consists of a mother cat, later named Imelza, and her kittens - Jupiter, Leech and Dab. Soon after Will finds the cats, he persuades Spittle, who is searching for the way to become immortal and take one of the cats as a familiar spirit. Spittle chooses Jupiter, whom he trains in the magic arts. But, Spittle hates Leech, which pushes Leech to plot the downfall of his brother Jupiter.

The Bubonic plague spreads through London, ravaging its people with sickness and death. Although Imelza and Dab escape from Spittle, Imelza is beaten to death by a mob. Will's friend Molly saves Dab from near death. When Dab returns home, he's killed by Spittle during the course of the apothecary's experiments. Jupiter and Leech battle over who is heir to the black arts. After Spittle creates an immortality potion, he creates the Philosopher's Stone. Later, he succumbs to the plague and dies. Jupiter uses the potion on Spittle to resurrect him. Jupiter then discovers Dab's body, so he drinks the potion himself and turns on his master, whom he kills in a fire. Leech betrays Jupiter and leaves him to die in the fire, inheriting his brother's magic powers. Leech then falls into the fire himself. It is revealed later that the cat rescued by Will is Leech. Having drunk the immortality potion, Leech convinces a rat kept by Spittle to take him to the sewers. Leech takes his brother's name and title as his own: "Jupiter, Lord of All".

The book weaves gradually both story lines together. Both the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London appear in the story.

Chapters

The Beginning

1. Childhood Forsaken
2. "Where Dreams and Nightmares Mingle"
3. The Apothecary
4. A Hideous Task
5. A Dragon in the Rags
6. Necromancy
7. Playing with Fire
8. Adieu
9. "Lord Have Mercy on Us"
10. The Plague Doctor
11. At the Southwarke Mission
12. The Fall of Adonis
13. The Depths of His Black Heart
14. Of Reckoning and Destiny

The Blackened Beast

Movie

This book has been announced as being adapted into a movie, with the script being written by Richard Carpenter. ^[1]

An anime feature is being made, pending approval. The film has Susannah M. Saenz attached as screenwriter and is to be produced by Wildcat Productions.

External Links

• Robin Jarvis Website

References