|
Published
in the United Kingdom by Hodder Children's Books. 2007 |
Cover
illustration
© Leonid Gore 2004 |
| 'The
alchemist glared at the cat. "It gratifies me to see how mighty you have
become, my familiar..."' |
| 
|
It
is the winter of 1664 and young Will Godwin, an alchymist's assistant, chances
upon a mother cat and her three new-born kittens in a London churchyard. Taking
pity on the freezing family, Will carries them back to his master's apothecary
shop. And there, among the bubbling bottles and evil-smelling jars in Dr. Spittle's
laboratory, unfolds an extraordinary tale of sorcery, disease, villainy and murder.
|  | Musings |
| |
'Many past events had been mentioned in the
original trilogy of "The Deptford Mice" which I wanted to go back to
and explore. This was the obvious one to begin with. Jupiter's origins were intriguing,
how did he learn the magic? How did he get to live so long down in the darkness? I
had been reading the diaries of Samuel Pepys and spent ages revelling in the research.
Plague and the Great Fire - I couldn't wish for a better backdrop! Despite
its being a prequel, I still wanted "The Alchymist's Cat" to be packed
with surprises and to keep the reader guessing right till the end. It was also
interesting to see if I could combine the human world with that of the animals.' 
'In
my mind I imagined Doctor Spittle to be very like the wonderful comic actor, Alastair
Sim. On the original cover however I used my barber as reference and included
the scene where he cuts Will's hair especially for him.' |
The Characters Imelza
A beautiful ginger cat who
gives birth to three kittens. She is a hunter and hates being trapped in the apothecary's
attic. Dab
The gentle daughter
of Imelza who tries to mediate between her brothers
and is mortally afraid of the brutal outside world. Leech
Spiteful runt
of Imelza's offspring. Leech is jealous of his brother's skill and learning and
will let nothing stand in his way to claw his way to power. Jupiter
The strongest of Imelza's children, he is hungry
for knowledge and learns more than his master ever realizes. William
Godwin
A yeoman's son who is tricked
into slaving for Doctor Spittle in his apothecary shop.Will is too good hearted
to let the cats he finds in a lonely churchyard perish in the cold and so sets
in motion a chain of terrible events. Elias
Theophrastus Spittle
Wicked
old apothecary and secret alchemist whose main ambition is to find the Philosopher's
Stone and live the pampered, wealthy life he believes he truly deserves. Sir
Francis Lingley
One of Doctor
Spittle's most regular customers. He is a dandy who is ambitious to impress the
King but makes the mistake of underestimating the malicious apothecary. Peggy
Blister
Vulgar,
lonely woman who paints her face like a doll but whose tongue is as sharp as a
viper. Widow
Mogs
Horrible feline midwife
who mutters to her long dead husband and intimidates first time mothers. Molly
Lovely young woman who seems
to know a great deal about medicines and never speaks of her background. The
Gobtrots
Slightly deranged
couple who live and run the raghouse but are utterly devoted to one another. Magnus
Zacchaire
A
learned alchemist from the previous century whose spirit is called from beyond
the grave and imprisoned in a bottle by Doctor Spittle. Becket
A gormless brown
rat who has been captured by Doctor Spittle and lives in a cage in the attic. Heliodorus
Foreign
black rat who is not afraid of 'the tigers' who pace below his cage in the apothecary's
attic and is rude to them as often as possible. John
Balker
The
kindly miller who takes Will Godwin on an ill fated trip to London after the boy's
family are wiped out by the smallpox. | 
