In this accessible and authoritative study, Gareth Roberts provides an introduction to the history, concepts, terms and presuppositions of western European alchemy, as well as discussing the works of individual alchemists and the characteristically metaphorical and paradoxical languages they employed.

With a wealth of illustrations in colour and black and white, drawn from he outstanding collections of alchemical manuscripts and printed books in The British Library, and an illustrated glossary of alchemical terms, The Mirror of Alchemy is a fascinating survey of the subject for anyone interested in medieval and Renaissance thought and culture.