The Alchymist's Cat

Synopsis

In London in 1664, an orange tabby cat named Imelza encounters a black cat she calls Master Midnight, who identifies himself only as Imp. She is seduced by him and becomes pregnant that night. Meanwhile, young Will Godwin of Adcombe loses his entire family to smallpox and is invited to London by an unknown uncle.

His neighbour, miller John Balker, accompanies him despite misgivings. On their first night, the uncle fails to appear at the Sickle Moon tavern; the miller gets drunk, and both are attacked by ruffians who murder Mr. Balker. A man calling himself Elias Theophrastus Spittle scares the attackers away with apparent magic, then hides Will in his shop and convinces a crowd that Will killed the miller.

Will becomes Spittle's servant to ensure his silence. Spittle cuts Will's hair short as disguise and forbids him from entering the private quarters, but Will explores and finds a wizard's paraphernalia. When caught, Will offers to help gather magical ingredients, and Spittle reveals he is an alchemist seeking the Philosopher's Stone.

Reception

Sally Estes of Booklist described the novel as a creepy, atmospheric horror tale and a vivid story of treachery, cruelty, and sorcery leavened only by Will's innate goodness. Kirkus Reviews called it a crackerjack creepfest, noting that Jarvis's florid prose presents London as a major player in the unfolding disaster, with ghastly revelations piling upon grisly tableaus as the plot hurtles toward a spectacular final conflagration amidst London's Great Fire. Christine McGinty of School Library Journal found the book filled with adventure, suspense, and dread, though parts move slowly, and noted the unexpected cliff-hanger ending.

Did You Know?

• Jarvis chose the setting after reading the diaries of Samuel Pepys, saying he spent ages reveling in the research of plague and the Great Fire.
• He imagined Dr. Spittle to resemble comic actor Alastair Sim, but used his barber as a reference for the first edition's cover painting.
• A film adaptation was announced in late 2004 with a script by Richard Carpenter, but no further updates were given and the project was assumed scrapped.